Broken-Hearted Girl - Live Performances

Live Performances

"Broken-Hearted Girl" was in Knowles' set list of the worldwide I Am... World Tour (2009–10), which was in support of I Am... Sasha Fierce. The performances of her uptempo songs were followed by a rapid costume change. Wearing a white dress, she sang the ballads on the album in a row; she performed "Broken-Hearted Girl" after singing "Smash into You", on the top of a staircase, and "Ave Maria", for which she changed into a wedding dress. A recorded version of the performance was previewed on the music video website Vevo. It was released on her 2010 live album I Am... World Tour on November 29, 2010.

Jay Lustig of New Jersey On-Line commented that the song's live performance had "plenty of blues grit". Jayson Rodriguez of MTV News noted that Knowles showed her softer side while performing the ballad. Tamara Hardingham-Gill of the Daily Mail wrote, "Her incredible vocal abilities were showcased during ballads such as 'Broken Hearted Girl' ... where she was note perfect throughout." Similarly, The Observer's Barbara Ellen commented that Knowles was "clawing pathos" on "Broken-Hearted Girl" and "can shape-change at will". Michael Cragg of musicOMH highlighted that Knowles' performance of "Broken-Heated Girl" was better than those of the previous two ballads "because it is allowed to exist on its own terms; a simple song, sung beautifully". Jim Farber of the Daily News noted that Knowles showed "something more internal and deep" with the performance of the song. However, Ben Ratliff of The New York Times criticized the performance, writing that it was "the evening's most comical moment, in a concert involving a bustier made with motorcycle lights".