"All I Want" is a song written by American singer and songwriter Olivia Rodrigo for the mockumentary television series '' High School Musical: The Musical: The Series''. It was performed by Rodrigo's character, Nina "Nini" Salazar-Roberts, in the fourth episode of the first season, "Blocking", which premiered on

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on November 29, 2019. A

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

with piano and strings, "All I Want" was written in three days while Rodrigo was filming the first season. The song was produced by

Matthew Tishler Matthew Tishler is an Emmy-nominated, multi-platinum songwriter and music producer who has written and produced songs for film, television, radio, stage, and theme parks. He is known for his work with teen pop artists such as Ashley Tisdale, Dove ...

and recorded live for the episode during filming. It was released on November 27, 2019, through Walt Disney Records as a promotional single from the album '' High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Soundtrack''. Despite not being promoted as a radio single, "All I Want" was a minor hit; it debuted on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 90 in January 2020, mainly due to downloads. It was a trend on the social media platform

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and has been certified Platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

—this success led to a contract with

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

and the release of Rodrigo's debut single, "

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", in 2021. "All I Want" is the most successful song from ''High School Musical: The Musical: The Series'', and has been described as Rodrigo's "breakout hit".

Composition

"All I Want" is a

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

featuring piano and string instruments. The song's arrangement was described as "traditional,

970s The 970s decade ran from January 1, 970, to December 31, 979. Significant people * Mar Abdisho I, Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, held position 963–986 * Eric the Red (950–1003), Norse Explorer * Richard I of Normandy (933–9 ...

singer-songwriter style, with a sprinkle of showtune sparkle". In an episode of ''Verified'' by Genius, Rodrigo explained that the line "Is it something wrong with me?" came from a conversation with her mother about relationships. According to sheet music published by

Hal Leonard LLC Hal Leonard LLC (formerly Hal Leonard Corporation) is an American music publishing and distribution company founded in Winona, Minnesota, by Harold "Hal" Edstrom, his brother, Everett "Leonard" Edstrom, and fellow musician Roger Busdicker. Curre ...

, "All I Want" is a moderately slow composition in E-flat major–later

modulating In music, modulation is the change from one tonality ( tonic, or tonal center) to another. This may or may not be accompanied by a change in key signature (a key change). Modulations articulate or create the structure or form of many pieces, as ...

F major F major (or the key of F) is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative minor is D minor and its parallel minor is F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consis ...

–with a

mixed meter The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

of alternating and .

Promotion

The scene with Rodrigo performing "All I Want" on ''High School Musical: The Musical: The Series'' was released to

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on the same day as its episode release. A number of videos were additionally released via

Disney Music Disney Music Group (DMG) is the music recording arm of Disney Platform Distribution, a division of The Walt Disney Company. It is located at the studio's headquarters in Burbank, California. The division's subsidiaries consist of two owned record ...

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channel, including a lyric video, an alternate video, and a live studio performance. Rodrigo performed the song on '' Live with Kelly and Ryan'' in February 2020, and for Z100 New York the following month. She also performed the song on the ukulele for

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's ''Summer Sing-Along'' on July 10, 2020. A

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "All I Want" was released on March 20, 2020, featuring Rodrigo playing a piano in a pink tulle dress with mountains in the background, accompanied by a

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

. Directed by Stephen Wayne Mallett, it was filmed at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Wendover, Utah. A

making-of In cinema, behind-the-scenes (BTS), also known as the making-of, the set, or on the set, is a type of documentary film that features the production of a film or television program. This is often referred to as the EPK (electronic press kit) vid ...

for the music video and an

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version were also released.

Julia Lester Julia Rose Lester (born January 28, 2000) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Ashlyn Caswell in the Disney+ series ''High School Musical: The Musical: The Series'' and for originating the role of Little Red Ridi ...

covered "All I Want" as part of the #HSMTMTSCoverChallenge, where the cast members of ''High School Musical: The Musical: The Series'' covered songs originally performed by other characters. "All I Want" was also covered by a cappella group

DCappella DCappella is an a cappella group formed via a national search and run by Disney Music Group featuring Disney songs. The group originally consisted of Antonio Fernandez, Joe Santoni, Morgan Keene, Orlando Dixon, RJ Woessner, Shelley Regner, and So ...

, and included on the track listing of their Japan-exclusive album ''All Ears'', released in June 2020.

Commercial performance

"All I Want" debuted on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 90 in January 2020, and stayed on the chart for two weeks. The song was not promoted as a radio single and its appearance on the chart was attributed mainly to download sales. It was certified Gold by the

on April 23, 2020, for 500,000 digital units. The success of Rodrigo's debut single "

" in early 2021 led to a resurgence of "All I Want" internationally, with a position of 119 on the ''Billboard'' Global 200 chart for the week ending January 30. The song has reached the

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * Tidal (album), ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * ...

. *

– Producer * Olivia Rodrigo – Composer, lyricist * Vic Florencia – Mixer, studio personnel

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Olivia Rodrigo 2010s ballads 2019 songs Olivia Rodrigo songs Pop ballads Songs from High School Musical (franchise) Songs from television series Songs written by Olivia Rodrigo High School Musical: The Musical: The Series