The music in this song is based on "Attack Of The Name Game," which was recorded in 1982 by Stacy Lattisaw. "Attack Of The Name Game" is an Electronica version of the 1964 song "The Name Game" ("Shirley - Shirley, Shirley bo Birley Bonana fanna fo Firley...). "Heartbreaker" doesn't sound anything like "The Name Game," but through the transitive property of songwriting royalties, Shirley Ellis and Lincoln Chase received composer credit because they wrote "The Name Game."
Lyrically, this is far removed from a song about rhyming names - Mariah sings about a guy who broke her heart. Rainbow was the first album she released after her divorce from music executive Tommy Mottola, and while the lyrics may be personal for Carey, this is more of a fun song and doesn't convey the emotion of heartbreak found in her songs like "My All" and "We Belong Together."
Jay-Z helped write this and does a rap on it. The other writers were Narada Michael Walden and his songwriting partner Jeffrey Cohen. DJ Clue produced the track with Carey.
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