"I Don't Wanna Be in Love" is a song by American singer

Keyshia Cole Keyshia Myeshia Cole Johnson; born October 15, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Born and raised in Oakland, California, Cole began her career as a backing vocalist for MC Hammer. After signing with A&M Records ...

. It was written by Cole and Brian Bates, with production being handled by the former alongside Anthony Bell, Greg Edwards, and

Ron Fair Ronald Fair is an American A&R executive, record producer, record executive, musical arranger, recording engineer and conductor. In a career that has spanned over 30 years at major record labels he has produced and arranged hits for several art ...

. The song was released on February 5, 2021, through Hearts and Stars and

BMG BMG may refer to: Organizations * Music publishing companies: ** Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008 *** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that wa ...

, following its preview during her and Ashanti's joint appearance on the ''

Verzuz ''Verzuz'' is an American webcast series created by record producers Timbaland and Swizz Beatz, that airs on Verzuz TV. Verzuz was introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic as a virtual DJ battle, with Timbaland and Swizz Beatz facing off in ...

'' webcast battle series in January 2021. An R&B

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 ...

, "I Don't Wanna Be in Love" revolves around Cole ending a

friends with benefits relationship Friends with benefits relationships (FWB or FWBR) is a term commonly used to reference a relationship that is sexual without being romantic. Typically, these relationships can be between people that consider themselves non-platonic and friends wi ...

. The song was generally praised by

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

, who complimented its lyrics and instrumentation. In the United States, the song reached number 43 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (previously known as Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay) is a chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the top R&B and hip hop songs in the United States, based on audience impressions from a panel of radio stations monitored ...

chart. An accompanying audio visualizer was released via Cole's

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

account for promotion.

Background and release

In October 2020, around three years after the release of her seventh studio album '' 11:11 Reset'' (2017),

announced that she was "real close" to finishing work on her eighth album. On December 4, 2020, it was announced that Cole and fellow R&B singer Ashanti would participate in a ''

'' battle together. Cole's longtime

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

revealed that she would premiere a new song during the battle. The song was debuted during the last round of the battle on January 21, 2021 Originally titled "I Don't Want to Be in Love", Cole revealed its artwork, along with the release date of February 5, 2021. The artwork displayed Cole sitting with her toes pointed forward while dressed in a red

t-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are general ...

and a pair of red and black

sneakers Sneakers (also called trainers, athletic shoes, tennis shoes, gym shoes, kicks, sport shoes, flats, running shoes, or runners) are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but which are now also widely used fo ...

, along with a heart wrapped in a band-aid in the corner dangling above her, symbolizing an injured heart. The song was released for digital download and

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

as the first single under Cole's

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

, Hearts and Stars, created with the support of

. An audio visualizer was released to accompany the song's release. The song was released to US

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contem ...

radio stations on February 13, 2021.

Composition and lyrics

Musically, "I Don't Wanna Be in Love" is a

sentimental ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. C ...

, that lasts three minutes and 51 seconds. The song's instrumental includes a

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

, string section, and "heartstring-tugging"

horns Horns or The Horns may refer to: * Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells * The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain * ''Horns'' (novel), a dark fantasy novel written in 2010 by Joe Hill ...

. Cole presents

ad-libs In music and other performing arts, the phrase (; from Latin for 'at one's pleasure' or 'as you desire'), often shortened to "ad lib" (as an adjective or adverb) or "ad-lib" (as a verb or noun), refers to various forms of improvisation. The r ...

and high notes throughout the song. The song was written by Cole and Brian Bates, with production being handled by the former alongside Anthony Bell, Greg Edwards, and Fair. It is about Cole ending a

, with lyrics such as "We both got a situation, hesitation, whenever we hook up, it's all love, never any expectations / I know you went much further, I met your girl, never wanna hurt her", confronting the friend about their relationship. Justin Kantor of ''

SoulTracks ''SoulTracks'' is an American online magazine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine ...

'' described the lyrics as "true-to-life" and the production as "effectively simple". A writer from ''

Hip Hop Weekly ''Hip Hop Weekly'' is an American hip hop news and entertainment magazine founded in 2006. The magazine covers celebrity news, music, film, fashion, sports and features exclusive interviews with many notable figures within popular culture. Hist ...

'' felt that the lyrics are describing "a dead end situationship".

Reception

"I Don't Wanna Be in Love" was met with generally positive reviews from

. Writing for ''

Rated R&B ''Rated R&B'' is an independent online magazine based in the United States, which is dedicated and devoted to news, topics and almost all things related to rhythm and blues (R&B) and soul music. It publishes independent music reviews, features, ...

'', Antwane Folk viewed the song as a "kiss-off anthem", while Anna-Kaye Kerr from ''Urban Islandz'' described the song as a "heartbreak anthem". Jon Powell of

Revolt Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

labeled it an "emotionally charged ballad", whereas the staff of ''

Rap-Up ''Rap-Up'' is a magazine launched in 2001 by founder Devin Lazerine. The publication was originally a website devoted to hip hop, until Lazerine decided to pitch the possibility of a magazine to several publishers. The magazine is focused on the ...

'' found it a "brokenhearted ballad". For ''

Rap Radar Elliott Wilson (born January 14, 1971) is an American journalist, television producer, and magazine editor. He is the founder and CEO of ''Rap Radar''. In the past, he has worked as editor-in-chief of ''XXL Magazine''. While there, he became known ...

'', Paul Duong interpreted that Cole "details a love hate relationship with a former lover and close friend". Ken Hamm of ''

Soul Bounce ''Soul Bounce'' is an American daily Internet publication devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on R&B and soul. However, the range of musical genres covered extends to gospel, hip hop and ...

'' found Cole's vocals as "topnotch" and felt that in the song, she is "afraid of getting caught up in the rapture". Alexander Cole of ''

HotNewHipHop ''HotNewHipHop (HNHH)'' is an online publication that covers daily news about hip hop and pop culture, including streetwear, sports, and sneakers. In addition to its editorial content, HotNewHipHop also produces the video serieses; ''How to Roll ...

'' declared the song as "beautifully emotional" and complimented the instrumental, describing it as "gorgeous". "I Don't Wanna Be in Love" entered the US ''

Adult R&B Songs The Adult R&B Songs chart (formerly called Adult R&B Airplay) is an airplay chart that is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on urban adult contemporary radio stations, whose playl ...

at number 30 on the chart issue dated February 27, 2021, where it moved up to number 29 the following week. Three weeks later, the song had risen up to number 20 and stayed at that position for the next week. Six weeks later, the song reached its peak at number 11 and spent a total of 22 weeks on the chart. While gaining traction over those weeks, it entered the US ''

chart at number 50. It later peaked at number 43 and spent a total of 11 weeks on the chart.

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''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 * Tidal (servic ...

. *

vocals, production, composition, lyrics * Anthony Bell production, composition, lyrics * Adam Schoeller engineering *

Balewa Muhammad The Clutch was an American collective of songwriters and record producers based in Atlanta, consisted oCandice Clotiel "Gg" Nelson Ezekiel "Zeke" Lewis, Patrick Michael "J. Que" Smith, Balewa Muhammad and Keri Hilson. They are responsible for ...

composition, lyrics * Brian Bates production, composition, lyrics * Greg Edwards production, composition, lyrics * Jahqae Muhammad production, composition, lyrics *

Jaycen Joshua Jaycen Joshua is a mix engineer and music producer who owns the revered Canton House Studios in Studio City, California. Joshua started his mix career in 2005 when he became partners with his mentor Dave Pensado and formed The Penua Project. Joshu ...

composition, engineering, lyrics *

Pat Thrall Patrick Thrall is an American rock guitarist. Thrall began his recording career in 1972. He played guitar, vocals, and percussion with the group Cookin' Mama, which had his brother, Preston Thrall, on percussion. They released the album ''New Day ...

engineering *

production, arranging, engineering, orchestral

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{Keyshia Cole 2021 singles 2021 songs Contemporary R&B ballads 2020s ballads Keyshia Cole songs Songs written by Keyshia Cole Song recordings produced by Ron Fair