Born in McComb, Mississippi, Norwood was raised in Carson, California, beginning her career as a backing vocalist for teen groups. After signing with Atlantic Records in 1993, she released her self-titled debut album, Brandy, the following year, which sold six million copies worldwide. Norwood ventured into acting with the UPN sitcom Moesha (1996–2001), which won her an NAACP Image Award, and resulted in numerous other roles, such as the titular character in the television film Cinderella (1997) and Karla Wilson in the slasher film I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998). Her musical breakthrough came with the wildly successful single "The Boy Is Mine" (1998), a duet with fellow R&B contemporary Monica, which went on to become one of the best selling female duets of all time. Her second album, Never Say Never, won Norwood her first Grammy Award. In 2002, Norwood starred in the reality series Brandy: Special Delivery, documenting the birth of her daughter. Her third and fourth albums, Full Moon (2002) and Afrodisiac (2004), were released to critical success.
Norwood served as a judge on the first season of America's Got Talent before being involved in a heavily publicized car accident in 2006. Norwood's fifth album, Human (2008), was released to positive reviews, although it was a commercial failure. In 2010, she returned to television as a contestant on the eleventh season of Dancing with the Stars and starred in the reality series Brandy & Ray J: A Family Business. She was a series regular in the BET series The Game (2012–2015) and released her sixth album Two Eleven (2012) thereafter, both earning her critical praise. In April 2015, Norwood made her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago. She starred in and executive produced a sitcom titled Zoe Ever After on BET which premiered in January 2016. In July 2020, Norwood released her seventh studio album, B7, also her first project as an independent artist, to critical acclaim. In 2021, Norwood starred alongside Naturi Naughton, Eve and Nadine Velazquez in American Broadcasting Company's music drama series Queens to critical acclaim.
In June 2022, Norwood announced her major label return after signing with Motown Records under which she is expected to preprare her eighth studio album.
Shattered Heart
Brandy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I've been saving up this treasure for years
I hid it somewhere so no-one could touch it, yeah
With every love I had some reason to leave
No other like it 'cause it's so authentic
Many driver couldn't bear it alone
When I looked in your eyes, I thought of this, yeah
So I present you with my most precious gift
I put my love in a jar
My heart, like a piggybank
I'm giving it to you
So whatever you do...
Don't shatter my heart [Repeat: x 9]
Never knew that love could be so epic, yeah
But you saved me 'cause you're heroic
Legend has it that you've earned this throne
Since you came and pulled the sword out of the stone
Many driver couldn't weather the storm
You came in my life and turned the lights on
The way you took me baby, I couldn't resist
So I present you with my most precious gift
I put my love in a jar
In my heart, like a piggybank
I'm giving it to you
So whatever you do...
Don't shatter my heart
Emergency
Don't break the glass, call me
Our love can save anything like the Father
Believe me
I gave you my all 'cause
My heart makes me stronger
If you pour into it
I can go even harder
I put my love in a jar
In my heart, like a piggybank
I'm giving it to you
So whatever you do...
Don't shatter my heart [Repeat: x 25]
In Brandy's song "Shattered Heart" the singer is expressing her vulnerability and fears of having her heart broken once again after trying to protect it for so long. She compares her love and heart to a precious treasure hidden away, so authentic that no one else can claim it. Brandy talks about how many have tried to enter but none have been successful until she met someone who managed to polish her off and grab her heart. She sings about how epic the love is and how this person is her hero who weathered the storm with her.
Brandy then presents her love in a jar, her heart like a piggy bank as a gift to the person, but with a plea not to shatter it. She feels that they have the ability to save anything in their relationship like a father saving his child in an emergency. Brandy believes that pouring into her heart will make her stronger and enable her to go even harder.
Overall, the song is about conveying the fear of being hurt but being vulnerable enough to present one's heart to another with the hope of a forever-lasting relationship. It talks about how love can be so epic and the person who wins it becomes the hero, the chosen one who earned it.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't shatter my heart
The singer pleads with their lover not to break their heart
I've been saving up this treasure for years
The singer has been holding onto their love for a long time
I hid it somewhere so no-one could touch it, yeah
The singer kept their love hidden and protected
With every love I had some reason to leave
The singer had been hurt in previous relationships and had found it hard to commit
No other like it 'cause it's so authentic
The singer's love is genuine and unique
Many driver couldn't bear it alone
Many people couldn't handle the singer's love by themselves
Try to break through the gate but didn't ever call
Others tried to get through the singer's defenses, but never asked for help
When I looked in your eyes, I thought of this, yeah
The singer realized they could trust their lover when they looked into their eyes
So I present you with my most precious gift
The singer is giving their love as a gift to their lover
I put my love in a jar
The singer has bottled their love up like a precious object
My heart, like a piggybank
The singer's heart is fragile and needs protection like a savings jar
Never knew that love could be so epic, yeah
The singer has never experienced love like this before
But you saved me 'cause you're heroic
The singer's lover has been their hero and rescued them from their past
Legend has it that you've earned this throne
The singer's lover has gained their trust and respect
Since you came and pulled the sword out of the stone
The singer's lover has overcome obstacles and won their heart
Many driver couldn't weather the storm
Many before the singer's lover couldn't handle tough times in their relationship
You came in my life and turned the lights on
The singer's lover brought light and happiness to their life
The way you took me baby, I couldn't resist
The singer couldn't help giving their love to their lover
Emergency. Don't break the glass, call me
In case of relationship trouble, the singer wants their lover to communicate with them
Our love can save anything like the Father. Believe me
The singer has faith that their love can overcome any obstacle
I gave you my all 'cause. My heart makes me stronger
The singer has given their all in the relationship and this makes them stronger
If you pour into it. I can go even harder
If their lover reciprocates their feelings, the singer can give even more love and effort
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: CRYSTAL JOHNSON, LASHAWN DANIELS, LASHAWN AMEEN DANIELS, RODNEY JERKINS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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