The song was written by G-Eazy and Lovato with Caroline Pennell, Jay Stolar, Mick Coogan, Sean Myer, and its producer Dakarai Gwitira.

[1] In an interview with Apple Music 1's Zane Lowe, G-Eazy declared: "It's one thing to have a conversation in private, but to make it a single and to video it, and to radio it, and to share that on a very, very, very public level, I just applaud Demi's bravery".

[4] In the video, the artists "face the various media headlines they've made over the years", including Lovato's hospitalization in 2018 for a drug overdose and G-Eazy's arrest and assault charges.

[5] On September 28, 2021, the artists performed "Breakdown" live on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

[6] Rolling Stone described the performance as evocative, where G-Eazy and Lovato appear with "headlines about each one, as well as images of nature, scrolling on the video screens behind them".