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  • 21 Aug, 2019

  • By, Wikipedia

I Don't Wanna Be In Love (Keyshia Cole Song)
"I Don't Wanna Be in Love" is a song by American singer Keyshia Cole. It was written by Cole and Brian Bates, with production being handled by the former alongside Anthony Bell, Greg Edwards, and Ron Fair. The song was released on February 5, 2021, through Hearts and Stars and BMG, following its preview during her and Ashanti's joint appearance on the Verzuz webcast battle series in January 2021.

An R&B ballad, "I Don't Wanna Be in Love" revolves around Cole ending a friends with benefits relationship. The song was generally praised by music critics, who complimented its lyrics and instrumentation. In the United States, the song reached number 43 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. An accompanying audio visualizer was released via Cole's Vevo account for promotion.

Background and release

In October 2020, around three years after the release of her seventh studio album 11:11 Reset (2017), Keyshia Cole 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 Verzuz battle together. Cole's longtime record producer Ron Fair 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 and a pair of red and black sneakers, 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 as the first single under Cole's independent record label, Hearts and Stars, created with the support of BMG. An audio visualizer was released to accompany the song's release. The song was released to US urban contemporary radio stations on February 13, 2021.

Composition and lyrics

Musically, "I Don't Wanna Be in Love" is a R&B ballad, that lasts three minutes and 51 seconds. The song's instrumental includes a piano, bass, synthesizer, string section, and "heartstring-tugging" horns. Cole presents ad-libs 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 friends with benefits relationship, 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 described the lyrics as "true-to-life" and the production as "effectively simple". A writer from Hip Hop Weekly 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 music critics. Writing for Rated R&B, 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 labeled it an "emotionally charged ballad", whereas the staff of Rap-Up found it a "brokenhearted ballad". For Rap Radar, Paul Duong interpreted that Cole "details a love hate relationship with a former lover and close friend". Ken Hamm of Soul Bounce 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 declared the song as "beautifully emotional" and complimented the instrumental, describing it as "gorgeous".

"I Don't Wanna Be in Love" entered the US Billboard Adult R&B Songs 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 Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart at number 50. It later peaked at number 43 and spent a total of 11 weeks on the chart.

Track listing

Digital download
No.TitleLength
1."I Don't Wanna Be in Love"3:50

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.

  • Keyshia Cole  – vocals, production, composition, lyrics
  • Anthony Bell  – production, composition, lyrics
  • Adam Schoeller  – engineering
  • Balewa Muhammad  – composition, lyrics
  • Brian Bates  – production, composition, lyrics
  • Greg Edwards  – production, composition, lyrics
  • Jahqae Muhammad  – production, composition, lyrics
  • Jaycen Joshua  – composition, engineering, lyrics
  • Pat Thrall  – engineering
  • Ron Fair  – production, arranging, engineering, orchestral

Charts

Release history

Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various February 5, 2021
  • Hearts and Stars
  • BMG
United States February 13, 2021 Urban contemporary radio

References

  1. ^ Jones, Janesha (October 24, 2020). "'Real Close': Keyshia Cole Hints That She Is Almost Done With Her Eighth Studio Album". Atlanta Black Star. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  2. ^ Ruiz, Matthew Ismael (December 4, 2020). "Ashanti and Keyshia Cole Announced for Next Verzuz Battle". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on November 27, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  3. ^ Folk, Antwane (December 4, 2020). "Exclusive: Ron Fair Calls Keyshia Cole's New Music Extraordinarily Satisfying". Rated R&B. Archived from the original on January 19, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  4. ^ Bloom, Madison (January 21, 2021). "Ashanti and Keyshia Cole's Verzuz Battle: Here's What Happened". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on November 23, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  5. ^ "Keyshia Cole Follows Ashanti's Verzuz Lead + Announces New Single". SOHH. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  6. ^ "Keyshia Cole Drops New Situationship Single I Don't Wanna Be In Love". Hip Hop Weekly. Archived from the original on November 25, 2021. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  7. ^ "I Don't Wanna Be In Love by Keyshia Cole". United States: Tidal. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  8. ^ Mahadevan, Tara (February 5, 2021). "Listen to Keyshia Cole's New Song I Don't Wanna Be in Love". Complex. Archived from the original on March 2, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  9. ^ Keyshia Cole - I Don't Wanna Be In Love (Audio Visualizer). keyshiacole. February 4, 2021. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2021 – via Vevo.
  10. ^ "BDSRadio Charts". Archived from the original on February 13, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  11. ^ Hamm, Ken (February 5, 2021). "Keyshia Cole Struggles With Being A Side Piece On I Don't Wanna Be In Love". Soul Bounce. Archived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  12. ^ "Keyshia Cole Drops New Single 'I Don't Wanna Be in Love'". Rap-Up. February 5, 2021. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  13. ^ Cole, Alexander (February 5, 2021). "Keyshia Cole Returns With Emotional Single I Don't Wanna Be In Love". HotNewHipHop. Archived from the original on November 23, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  14. ^ Powell, Jon (February 5, 2021). "Keyshia Cole is back with new single I Don't Wanna Be In Love". Revolt. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  15. ^ Kantor, Justin (February 13, 2021). "First Listen: Keyshia Cole doesn't Wanna Be In Love". SoulTracks. Archived from the original on February 28, 2021. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  16. ^ Folk, Antwane (February 5, 2021). "Keyshia Cole Returns With New Single I Don't Wanna Be In Love". Rated R&B. Archived from the original on February 17, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  17. ^ Kerr, Anna-Kaye. "Keyshia Cole Drops Comeback Single I Don't Wanna Be In Love". Urban Islandz. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  18. ^ Duong, Paul. "Keyshia Cole - I Don't Want to Be in Love". Rap Radar. Archived from the original on March 2, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  19. ^ "Billboard Adult R&B Airplay Chart: The week of February 27, 2021". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  20. ^ "Billboard Adult R&B Airplay Chart: The week of March 6, 2021". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 25, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  21. ^ "Billboard Adult R&B Airplay Chart: The week of April 3, 2021". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 21, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  22. ^ "Billboard Adult R&B Airplay Chart: The week of June 19, 2021". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 21, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  23. ^ "R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay: The week of May 15, 2021". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 13, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  24. ^ "R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay: The week of June 19, 2021". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 18, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  25. ^ Various releases of I Don't Wanna Be in Love:
  26. ^ "Adult R&B Songs – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
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