text: breakout ( miley cyrus song ) " breakout " is a pop song by american recording artist miley cyrus . it was released to radio disney as promotion for cyrus ' second album of the same name . it was originally recorded by american pop singer katy perry as a demo track for her debut album one of the boys but due to not being included in the album , the song was passed on to cyrus . " breakout " is a dance - pop whose instrumentation includes keyboard , guitar , and drums while lyrics discuss growing up and being carefree . contemporary critics received " breakout " very well , appreciating its lyrical content . digital downloads began immediately after the breakout 's release on july 22 , 2008 , and led to commercial success in australia , canada , and the united states ; its highest international peak was at number forty - five on the canadian hot 100 . cyrus performed the song in several venues ; her first , in the 2008 disney channel games was used as a promotional music video and on her first world tour , the wonder world tour , it was the opening number . development " breakout " was written by ted bruner , trey vittetoe and gina schock of the go - go 's . it was first recorded by american pop singer katy perry , recording the track as a demo for her debut album one of the boys , though it was never fully executed for the album and was passed to cyrus , on whose version perry sings backing vocals , soon after a leaked version of katy perry on the internet . perry discussed her role with bliss magazine : " my vocals are actually on breakout . i thought , ' yes , i 'm singing on a miley single ' . " cyrus said naming the album breakout was influenced by the song as it was " one of [ her ] favorite songs " on the album ; this was because the song is feminine but has appeals to different age groups : " moms , dads , sisters , brothers can , you know , relate to it . and it 's basically because you just want to go out and have fun with your friends and sometimes , you know , go out dancing and let loose once in a while . " composition " breakout " is a dance - pop song with a strong use of pop rock elements , lasting three minutes and twenty - six seconds . written in the key of e major , it follows the chord progression g5 — dsus — csus2 — dsus , beginning with a fast beat , composed of chiming electric guitar and drums and later progressing to " the snares skip and the keyboards shimmer " . in the view of chris william of entertainment weekly , " breakout " ' s lyrics are " a harangue against life 's cruelest inequities " , drawing attention to the opening verse , " every week 's the same / stuck in school 's so lame / my parents say that i 'm lazy / getting up at 8 a.m. ' s crazy / tired of bein ' told what to do / so unfair , so uncool , " though adding that the song was a sign that the " little girl isn 't growing up " . however , mikael wood of the los angeles times said the song was indeed about growing up fast , referencing the lines " it feels so good to let go " and " wish it would never end " and jodi rosen of rolling stone also believed " she 's venting the frustrations of a teen who 's too grown - up to submit to her parents , teachers or anyone else " with the lines " tired of bein ' told what to do " . critical reception " breakout " received positive responses from contemporary critics , with chris william , writing for entertainment weekly stating that gina schock left influences from the go - go 's ' 1982 hit single " vacation " with " just the right amount of maturing " . mikael wood of the los angeles times called the song " a slightly tougher , more guitar - based sound than last year 's meet miley cyrus " , while bill lamb of about.com said the song was one of the " top tracks on breakout " and heather phares of allmusic said the song 's " school girl rebellion " was " designed to present the feisty , carefree miley " . according to sarah rodman of the boston globe , " breakout " is " pure pop realm with the go - go 's - style fizz " and jody rosen of rolling stone called the song " a more self - possessed [ ... ] sophisticated pop record under her own name " . ash dosanjh of yahoo ! music said , " you can forgive cyrus 's lack of poetic profundity because this is a dancefloor smash complete with ecstatic beats pummelling throughout . " along with " 7 things " , robert christgau called the song " one of the best of breakout " . ben ratliff wrote for the new york times that " breakout " " appeals to both age groups " , adding , " it ’ s a girls - only call to fun , but it hints at a decadent , school - free future . " however , sal cinquemani of slant magazine described " breakout " as a " noxious avril lavigne knockoff — an anti - education screed filled with declarations " . chart performance as it was not released as a single , " breakout " received exclusive airplay on radio disney , thus its chart appearances consisted mainly of digital downloads . on the week ending august 9 , 2008 , " breakout " debuted and peaked at number fifty - six in the billboard hot 100 where it spent seven consecutive weeks . in the same week , " breakout " was placed at number twenty - seven on hot digital songs and entered the canadian hot 100 at number forty - five , where it peaked , spending three consecutive weeks on that chart . " breakout " also debuted and peaked at number ninety - four in the australian singles chart . live performances cyrus premiered " breakout " at the opening of the 2008 disney channel games , held on may 4 , 2008 at walt disney world in orlando , florida , as part of disney channel 's summer - season activities . during performance , a recording of which was aired as a promotional music video on the disney channel , cyrus was dressed in a short , sequined black dress with a red tee shirt and black leggings underneath . on may 17 , she performed the song at the 2008 zootopia and , on july 25 , in new york city , at the rockefeller center , which was broadcast by the today show . on june 7 , 2009 , cyrus performed the song at twentieth annual a time for heroes celebrity carnival , an outdoor carnival supporting the elizabeth glaser pediatric aids foundation . " breakout " was on the set list of cyrus 's 2009 wonder world tour , her first world tour . cyrus performed the song as the opening number at each venue while wearing a black leather tank top and hot pants and a white fur vest . the performances began with cyrus trapped in a huge , crystal - like ice dome which emerged from the bottom of the stage . as she breaks out of the cocoon , cyrus begins to sing " breakout " , gradually switching from slow to upbeat tempo and , towards the end of the performances , she and the backup dancers perform on movable scaffolding . melinda m. thompson of the oregonian reported that , in the september 14 concert in portland , oregon , at the rose garden arena , drew a large response , bringing " screaming teens to their feet as she hit the stage ready to party " . lael loewenstein of variety stated that the performance in the september 22 concert in los angeles , california , at the staples center , touched " on the theme of self - reinvention " , a theme which loewenstein thought was to " announce her image reboot " . she later performed the song at the rock in rio concerts in lisbon , portugal and madrid , spain . charts