"I Don't Want to Be" is a song by American singer-songwriter

Gavin DeGraw Gavin Shane DeGraw (born February 4, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. DeGraw rose to fame with his song "I Don't Want to Be" from his debut album ''Chariot (album), Chariot'' (2003); the song became the main theme song for The WB/The CW, ...

from his 2003 debut album, ''

Chariot A chariot is a type of vehicle similar to a cart, driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid Propulsion, motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk O ...

''. The song gained exposure after the chorus was featured as the opening theme to

The WB The WB Television Network (shortened to The WB, stylized as "THE WB", and nicknamed the "Frog Network" and/or "The Frog" for its former mascot Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network that ran from 1995 to 2006. It launched on ter ...

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

teen drama series '' One Tree Hill'', and it was released as a radio single on February 17, 2004. It peaked at number 10 in the United States in 2005 and became a top-20 hit in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. The song is certified double platinum in the US, having sold and streamed over two million units. In 2012, the song reached number 27 on the UK Singles Chart, its highest position, due to the finale of ''One Tree Hill''s ninth and final season airing, which also featured DeGraw. The song's music video follows the message of the lyrics, featuring a girl investigating her high school peers while they are frozen in time, and she eventually decides to be herself.

Background and composition

wrote the song as a message to adolescents, encouraging them to be themselves and to not let outside factors change their personalities. DeGraw explained: Upon finishing the song, DeGraw was happy with the results, but he was unsure if the song would become a hit despite being able to "have an impact on people's psyche and on their tapping toe". Musically, the track is written in the key of

C minor C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E major and its parallel major is C major. The C natural minor scale is: Cha ...

and proceeds at a moderately slow

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 76 beats per minute.

Track listings

UK and Australian CD single # "I Don't Want to Be" (album version) – 3:37 # "I Don't Want to Be" (''Stripped''/acoustic version) # "Just Friends" (album version) – 3:24 # "I Don't Want to Be" (video) European CD single 1 # "I Don't Want to Be" (album version) – 3:38 # "I Don't Want to Be" (''Stripped'' version) – 4:04 # "Get Lost" – 4:26 # "I Don't Want to Be" (video) European CD single 2 # "I Don't Want to Be" # "I Don't Want to Be" (''Stripped'' version)

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the UK CD single liner notes. Studios * Recorded at

Sunset Sound Sunset (or sundown) is the disappearance of the Sun at the end of the Sun path, below the horizon of the Earth (or any other astronomical object in the Solar System) due to its rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth, it is a phenomenon th ...

, The Hook, Larrabee East (Los Angeles) and

The Hit Factory The Hit Factory is a recording studio in New York City owned and operated by Troy Germano. History In 1969, songwriter Jerry Ragavoy opened a recording studio in New York City and named it ''The Hit Factory.'' On March 6, 1975, Edward Germano, ...

(New York City) * Mixed at Larrabee North (Los Angeles) Personnel * Gavin DeGraw – lyrics, music, vocals, piano * Michael Ward – guitars * Alvin Moody – bass *

Joey Waronker Jon Joseph Waronker (born May 20, 1969) is an American drummer and music producer. He has performed with acts including Beck, R.E.M., Oasis and Roger Waters, and is a member of the experimental rock bands Atoms for Peace and Ultraísta. Back ...

– drums * Mark Endert – production, recording, mixing * Steve Gryphon – additional editing, additional programming

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Use in media

* The chorus of the song is the opening theme to '' One Tree Hill''. DeGraw performed the song on a season 1 episode of ''One Tree Hill''. He returned for the season five finale to perform the song with Jackson Brundage. In the eighth season, several artists covered it for the season's theme music, including Spinnerette, Grace Potter,

Against Me! Against Me! is an American punk rock band, formed in 1997 in Naples, Florida, by singer and guitarist Laura Jane Grace. That same year, Grace moved to Gainesville, Florida, which is considered the band's hometown. Since 2001, the band's lineup ...

Kate Voegele Kate Elizabeth Voegele ( ; born December 8, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She made her musical debut in 2003, with the release of her extended play ''The Other Side''. She performed numerous local live shows to promote the ...

Tegan and Sara Tegan and Sara () are a Canadian indie pop duo formed in 1998 in Calgary, Alberta. The band is led by identical twin sisters, Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin (born September 19, 1980). Both musicians are songwriters and multi-instrumentali ...

, Susie Suh,

Patrick Stump Patrick Martin Stumph (born April 27, 1984), known professionally as Patrick Vaughn Stump, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Rock music, rock band Fall Out Boy ...

, The New Amsterdams,

Laura Veirs Laura Pauline Veirs (born October 24, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter based in Portland, Oregon. She is known for her folk and alternative country records and live performances as well as her collaboration with Neko Case and k.d. lang o ...

(who sung the intro), Lucero (who sung the intro) and Matthew Ryan (who sung the bridge in his version).https://tvsourcemagazine.com/2010/09/1555-one-tree-hill-theme-song-returns-performed-by-various-artists/ DeGraw also performed the song for the series finale to celebrate their 10th anniversary of Tric. * The song appears in the game '' Karaoke Revolution Party'' and is available as part of the downloadable content in the game '' Karaoke Revolution: American Idol Encore''.

References

{{Authority control 2003 songs 2004 debut singles Gavin DeGraw songs J Records singles One Tree Hill (TV series) Songs about teenagers Songs written by Gavin DeGraw Television drama theme songs