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10 songs that feel like Breaking the Girl

Matched to Breaking the Girl by Red Hot Chili Peppers on how the music actually moves — intensity, dynamic swing, texture, tempo — not by genre tag. Here's what makes each one a match.

The song you love
Breaking the Girl
Red Hot Chili Peppers
moderate 57/100 intensity 92 BPM
Space Bound — Eminem moderate 92 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same emotional pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (57/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (92 BPM).

Walk on Water — Eminem moderate 92 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (57/100). Same layered texture.

Saint Pablo — Kanye West moderate 92 BPM

Keeps the same emotional pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (57/100). Measured 99% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (92 BPM).

Die schöne Müllerin — Franz Schubert moderate 90 BPM

Measures 99% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (57/100). Same layered texture.

Heavy Balloon — Fiona Apple moderate 95 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same emotional pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (58/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (95 BPM).

Home — Depeche Mode moderate 95 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (58/100). Same layered texture.

Me and My Dog — boygenius moderate 95 BPM

Keeps the same emotional pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (58/100). Measured 99% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (95 BPM).

Capsized — Andrew Bird moderate 95 BPM

Measures 99% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (58/100). Same layered texture.

Babies — Pulp moderate 110 BPM

A 96% feel-match — carries the same emotional pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (59/100).

Ultraviolence — Lana Del Rey intense 95 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (60/100). Same layered texture.

…and if you want it calmer

Same feeling, measured gentler — for when Breaking the Girl is more than you want right now.

If I Were a Boy by Beyoncé
If I Were a Boy — Beyoncé safe 92 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but nothing in it lurches or startles. Intensity 28/100, down from 57. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Speed of the Sound of Loneliness by John Prine
Speed of the Sound of Loneliness — John Prine safe 85 BPM

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 7, so it lands at 16/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

The Tree of Forgiveness — John Prine safe 90 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while its dynamic range stays a gentler 5 where the original climbs to 7. Reads 21/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Everybody Hurts — R.E.M. safe 75 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 5 where the original climbs to 7. 22/100, versus the original's 57.

I Remember Everything by John Prine
I Remember Everything — John Prine safe 75 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 2 where the original climbs to 7. Intensity 8/100, down from 57.

Blowin' in the Wind by Bob Dylan
Blowin' in the Wind — Bob Dylan safe 80 BPM

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 3 where the original climbs to 7, so it lands at 12/100 — the pull without the edge.

Please, Please, Please by James Brown
Please, Please, Please — James Brown safe 80 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while nothing in it lurches or startles. Reads 32/100.

White Horse by Taylor Swift
White Horse — Taylor Swift safe 80 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 5 where the original climbs to 7. 23/100, versus the original's 57.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Breaking the Girl” by Red Hot Chili Peppers?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Space Bound” by Eminem, “Walk on Water” by Eminem, “Saint Pablo” by Kanye West — the top match scores 99% alike. Matching is by how the songs actually move (intensity, dynamic range, texture, tempo, predictability, vocal force), not by genre tag or popularity.

What songs are like “Breaking the Girl” but calmer?

“If I Were a Boy” by Beyoncé, “Speed of the Sound of Loneliness” by John Prine, “The Tree of Forgiveness” by John Prine keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “Breaking the Girl”?

It measures 57/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 7/10, layered texture, moderate sudden shifts, and dynamic vocals. Tempo is 92 BPM.

How do you decide which songs are similar?

Every song in our catalog is measured on 8 dimensions — intensity, dynamic range, tempo, sudden changes, texture, predictability, vocal force and fine sound detail. Similarity is the distance between two songs across those measurements, so matches cross genres and eras. Shared mood tags break ties.

By the numbers: how this song compares

Computed from this song’s place among the 19,209 songs we’ve measured.

Where it sits in 19,000 songs

On our 19k-song scale this lands in the middle band — more energetic than 76% of songs, calmer than the other 24%. Its intensity reading of 57/100 comes from a dynamic range of 7/10, layered texture, moderate shifts, and dynamic vocals. It shares this stretch of the spectrum with thousands of other tracks, so the finer fingerprint below is what really separates it.

What makes it unusual

What stands out most about this song is blazing intensity: more extreme on that axis than 76% of everything we've measured. At the far opposite end of the library sit the songs built on near-total stillness — steady volume, no surprises, a slow and unhurried pulse — the kind of track this one is the counterpoint to.

Feels almost identical to

Closest matches by feel across all 19,209 measured songs — not by genre or artist, by how they actually move.

What it’s good for

Sleep0/10
Focus4/10
Workout4/10
Dinner6/10
Party / hype4/10

Scored from this song’s tempo, intensity, dynamics and texture — not crowd votes.

1991 in context

The 266 songs we’ve measured from 1991 average a dynamic range of 6.8/10. At 7/10, this track is right in line with its year.

Mixes smoothly with

Within a few BPM and close in feel — they flow without a jarring transition.

The fingerprint

Intensity57
Dynamics67
Tempo29
Surprise50
Density33
Predictability50
Vocal force75
Trigger load25

The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.

Want the single closest match, with every dimension compared?

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