Breathe In. Breathe Out. is the fifth studio album by American singer Hilary Duff. It was released on June 12, 2015, by RCA Records. Duff began work on the album in January 2012, but after scrapping the songs she recorded, she resumed the sessions in September 2013, continuing throughout 2014 and 2015. After being signed to RCA Records in 2014, she released the singles, "Chasing the Sun" and "All About You". Following the release of these two singles Duff recorded more songs in Sweden in February 2015, and released the album's lead single, "Sparks". Musically, Breathe In. Breathe Out. is a dance-pop record with EDM and folk-pop elements. Singer-songwriter Kendall Schmidt is featured on the final cut, "Night Like This".
The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, praising the album's production quality and the mix of genres on the record. The album debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 chart, making it her fifth top-five entry. It achieved top 5 positions too in Australia and Canada. The single "Sparks" became Duff's first top ten hit on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart since 2008's "Reach Out", her fourth top ten entry, and her fifth single to chart there overall. "Sparks" was certified Gold in Mexico (AMPROFON).
Duff worked with a number of famous singers and songwriters. She teamed up with British singer Ed Sheeran for the track "Tattoo" and with Tove Lo for the single "Sparks", apart from working with Matthew Koma for the title track among others. She also teamed up with fellow long time collaborator Kara DioGuardi for the track "Rebel Hearts". Duff promoted Breathe In. Breathe Out. only by appearances on television talk-shows and through radio interviews, as she confirmed in 2016 that she would not be touring in support of the album despite her previously stated plans. It is also her sole release under RCA Records.
Background and production
Duff told MTV News at the Total Request Live finale on November 16, 2008, that she would begin working on her fifth studio album in "two weeks". When asked about how the new music would sound, Duff said: "I like so many different kinds of music. Something poppy and catchy — I'm girly but I think I'm kind of tough, so maybe a little rock influence." The plan however never materialized, and Duff went on a long hiatus from music.
Duff announced that she was recording new material in January 2012 with musicians like Jason Evigan and Ali Tamposi, during her pregnancy and again in September 2013 most notably with Billy Mann. Early recording sessions for the album consisted of EDM tracks that were later scrapped in favor of songs with a folk-pop feel because Duff felt that "it wasn't the push that I wanted to have out there." Later sessions resulted in the singles "Chasing the Sun" and "All About You', both heavily influenced by the folk-pop and acoustic pop genre Duff was aiming for. By October 2014, she had recorded numerous tracks in which the titles made it online through social media Sometime in 2015, pictures from the scrapped folk-pop album's photoshoot leaked online via Twitter.
In February 2015, Duff once again decided to take the album in a different direction and began working in Sweden with Christian "Bloodshy" Karlsson and Tove Lo on new dance-oriented tracks for the album. Duff remarked that she "really wanted some of those super strong pop songs that Sweden really seems to have their finger on right now." Some of the folk-influenced tracks originally intended for the album before the change in direction, such as "Tattoo", "Brave Heart", and "Belong" managed to make it on to the album despite the change. "Chasing the Sun" and "All About You" later appeared as bonus tracks on the Fanjoy and Japanese editions of the album.