Renee developed a great love for music at an early age and honed her voice by singing
along with the radio. Before long she was entering talent contests and appearing in
local musical productions. Her aspirations for stardom were documented on video and
became the subject of two E! television documentaries,
"The Making of a Child Star" and "The Journey Continues".
In 1995, Renee appeared in her first commercial, the award winning ad for Levi Jeans.
In 1998 she did a Segento Cheese commercial.
She made her first foray in TV in 1995 in "Streets Of Laredo".
In 1998, Renee appeared in the episode "Doodlebug" in "Touch By An Angel".
In 1999, she was seen in two shows, "Chicken Soup For The Soul" and "Providence".
In 1999, Renee’s first major motion picture roles were "The Insider",
starring Al Pacino and Russell Crowe, and "End Of Days" with
Arnold Schwarzenegger. And, in 2000, she appeared in "Space Cowboys".
In 2002, she had her first major role in the CBS comedy "Still Standing", a four year run.
But, by 2002, Renee’s second career, her singing career, began to take shape.
After she saw the movie "Pleasantville", she fell in love with Etta James’s "At Last",
which began a love affair with the music of Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald,
Anita O’Day and the Great American Songbook.
Then Renee was able to perform with Eddie Reed’s Swing Band playing LA area clubs.
In September 2002, she released "By Request" to commemorate her club performances.
"At Last" being one of the tracks.
Renee gained the attention of Grammy Award winning producer David Foster
and subsequently signed a contract with the Warner Records label.
In 2003, 13 year old Renee performed at the Playboy Jazz Festival singing
"At Last" to an amazed jazz audience, who gave Renee a standing ovation.
Bill Cosby, whose jazz band backed Renee quipped that “she’s only 13
and knows only one song”.
Finally, in May 2004, all elements of Renee’s career came together.
On the "Still Standing" final episode, of the second season, she performed "Summertime",
in a dream sequence, the first track on her self-titled CD "Renee Olstead",
produced by David Foster, released that month.
The release started Renee on a whirlwind promotional tour starting with
the "Today Show" and "Jazz At Lincoln Center Spring Gala" in NYC.
Montreux Jazz Festival, as part of a European tour, David Letterman and
finally Oprah ended a busy 2004. Renee’s CD was #5 on the
Billboard Jazz Chart, for 2004, after many rave reviews.
In 2004, Renee recorded two songs for movie soundtracks.
She recorded "Merry Christmas In Love" for the Italian movie "Christmas In Love"
and "A Love That Will Last", a track on her CD, was used in "Princess Diary 2".
Also, in the summer of 2004, Renee’s next film "13 Going On 30" was released.
During and after the end of the "Still Standing" run, in the Spring of 2006,
Renee continued to perform her music around the world.
She performed in numerous charity events in the US.
Renee again toured Europe, this time with B.B. King, performed in Live 8,
in Berlin, and with Chris Botti and at the "Unite The Stars" charity event,
in South Africa.
Performance highlights include the "28th Gift Of Life Celebration" hosted
by George Lopez, with Renee performing "Midnight Man" with David Foster,
in 2007. The Java Jazz Festival, in 2008, "My Baby Just Cares For Me",
where Renee received the International Jazz Talent Award, and the "Hit Man:
David Foster And Friends" tribute to David Foster with Renee performing Through The Fire, in 2008.
In 2008, she recorded her third movie soundtrack with "Ain’t we Got Fun"
for the movie "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl".
TV came back in the picture, in 2008, as Renee was cast in the series
"The Secret Life Of The American Teenager" as Madison.
In the final episode, of the second season, again her two careers came together,
as Madison sang "Fly Me To The Moon" and
"Someone To Watch Over Me" at a wedding reception.
In 2009, Renee’s long awaited CD "Skylark", again produced by David Foster,
was released, and peaked at #3 on the Billboard Jazz Chart.
Discography:
2000: Stone Country
2000: Unleashed
2002: By Request
2004: Renee Olstead
2009: Skylark
Official Web Site: www.ReneeOlstead.com
Official Fan Site: www.ReneeOlstead.info
Breaking Up Is Hard To Do
Renee Olstead Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can't believe it's true!
Girl, there's just no livin' without you.
Don't take your love away from me.
Don't you leave my heart in misery.
'Cause if you go, then I'll be blue,
Breakin' up is hard to do.
And you kissed me all through the night.
Think of all that we been through,
And breakin' up is hard to do.
They say that breakin' up is hard to do,
Now I know, I know that it's true.
Don't say that this is the end.
Instead of breakin' up I wish that
We were makin' up again.
I beg of you don't say goodbye,
Can't we give our love just one more try?
Come on baby, let's start anew,
Breakin' up is hard to do.
The song "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" by Renee Olstead is a cover of Neil Sedaka's 1962 hit of the same name. The lyrics express the pain and difficulty of going through a break-up, with the singer unable to believe that their partner is leaving them. She states that she cannot live without her lover and begs them not to take away their love or leave her heart in misery. The chorus repeats the line "breakin' up is hard to do", which is a universal sentiment that many people can relate to.
The second verse reminisces about happier times in the relationship, where the couple kissed and held each other close. Despite this, they are still breaking up, and the singer acknowledges that it is a challenging experience. However, she refuses to accept that this is the end and wishes that they could make up instead of breaking up.
The final verse is a plea to the lover not to say goodbye and to give their love another chance. The singer wants to start anew and forget about the pain and difficulty of breaking up. While the song expresses sadness, it also offers a glimmer of hope that things can be resolved if both parties are willing to try.
Line by Line Meaning
You tell me that you're leavin',
You are saying that you want to leave me,
I can't believe it's true!
I am finding it very hard to believe,
Girl, there's just no livin' without you.
My life is incomplete without you,
Don't take your love away from me.
Please do not take your love back from me,
Don't you leave my heart in misery.
Please do not leave me heartbroken,
'Cause if you go, then I'll be blue,
If you leave, I will be very sad,
Breakin' up is hard to do.
Breaking up is not an easy thing to do.
Remember when you held me tight,
I fondly remember when you held me tightly,
And you kissed me all through the night.
I fondly remember when you kissed me throughout the night,
Think of all that we been through,
Please remember all the times we went through together,
And breakin' up is hard to do.
Breaking up is not an easy thing to do.
They say that breakin' up is hard to do,
I have heard that breaking up is not an easy thing to do,
Now I know, I know that it's true.
I now know for a fact that it is true,
Don't say that this is the end.
Please do not say that this is the end,
Instead of breakin' up I wish that
I wish we could fix our relationship instead of breaking up,
We were makin' up again.
I wish we could be reconciling with each other again.
I beg of you don't say goodbye,
I am begging you not to say goodbye to me,
Can't we give our love just one more try?
Can we try to fix our love just one time before we part our ways,
Come on baby, let's start anew,
Let's reboot and start all over again,
Breakin' up is hard to do.
Breaking up is not an easy thing to do.
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Royalty Network, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Howard Greenfield, Neil Sedaka
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind