Music

Aly & AJ Released an Explicit Version of Their Hit ‘Potential Breakup Song’ — Here’s How Much Profanity Is in the New Version

On Dec. 29, Aly & AJ released a new explicit version of their 2017 hit 'Potential Breakup Song.' Here's how the new version is different from the original.

by Eryn Murphy

Published on December 29, 2020

3 min read

The origin of ‘Potential Breakup Song’

Aly & AJ released “Potential Breakup Song” on June 26, 2007. The song was the first single released from the band’s third studio album, Insomniatic. The song debuted at No. 77 on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at No. 17 on the chart.

In a 2020 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Aly & AJ described their writing process for “Potential Breakup Song.”

“We just had fun with that song. And we didn’t know that it would necessarily be something that the fans would respond to so heavily, but I feel like we knew that we’d written a great song at that moment,” Aly Michalka said. “That day we were like, ‘Oh, great. It’s a good day. We got a good one.’ And it was literally just us and two other people who were making the record at the time. And I want to say it was maybe towards the end of that album.”

AJ Michalka added, “We’ll never forget, we were in Santa Monica. I don’t think we had our license. So we would get driven to the studio. And I would say that song was done in a day.”

How Aly & AJ feel about the song gaining popularity

Aly Michalka and AJ Michalka rose to fame for their work on Disney Channel in addition to releasing music. Both sisters starred in the 2006 made-for-TV movie Cow Belles, and Aly Michalka also appeared in the Disney Channel series Phil of the Future.

For a few years, the duo released music as 78violet before returning to the name Aly & AJ. In 2017 they released an EP titled Ten Years, and the band released another EP called Sanctuary in 2019. As the duo prepare to release a full album, their song “Potential Breakup Song” experienced a resurgence in popularity.

“It’s funny, even hearing ‘TikTok fame’ is hilarious, because the song is quite old, and it had its day in the sun. And it’s just funny that now this younger generation has no idea what the song is and who the artist is necessarily,” Aly Michalka told Entertainment Weekly.

AJ Michalka thinks that while people around the world deal with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, they have returned to a simpler time.

“I think people are falling back now on nostalgia and memory and it was a year where a lot of people didn’t feel safe, and listening to old music or watching an old movie was a comfort,” she said.

Aly & AJ’s new version of ‘Potential Breakup Song’ is explicit

On Dec. 29, 2020, Aly & AJ released an explicit version of “Potential Breakup Song.” A majority of the lyrics are the same as the original version, with three curse words added.

In the first verse, the lyric “except for the fact it was my birthday / my stupid birthday” became “except for the fact it was my birthday / my f*cking birthday.”

A lyric in the second verse changed from “Let me repeat that / I want my stuff back” to “Let me repeat that / I want my sh*t back.” Finally, in the bridge, Aly & AJ changed a line from “Before you nearly, nearly mess up” to “Before you nearly, nearly f*ck up.”