I Don't Wanna Be in Love (Keyshia Cole song)
| "I Don't Wanna Be in Love" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Keyshia Cole | ||||
| Released | February 5, 2021 | |||
| Genre | R&B[1] | |||
| Length | 3:50 | |||
| Label |
| |||
| Songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| Keyshia Cole singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"I Don't Wanna Be in Love" is a song by American singer Keyshia Cole. The song was released on February 5, 2021, through Cole's independent record label, Hearts and Stars and BMG, following its preview during Cole and Ashanti's appearances on the Verzuz webcast battle series in January 2021. It was written by Cole and Brian Bates, with production being handled by the former alongside Anthony Bell, Greg Edwards and Ron Fair.
A brokenhearted ballad, its lyrics revolve around Cole ending a friends with benefits relationship. The song was generally praised by music critics who complimented its lyrics and instrumental. In the United States, it reached number 43 on the US R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, as well as reaching number eleven on the Adult R&B Songs chart.
Background and release[]
In October 2020, almost 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 studio album.[2] On December 4, 2020, it was announced that Cole and fellow R&B singer Ashanti would participate in a Verzuz battle together.[3][4] Cole's longtime record producer Ron Fair revealed that she would premiere a new song during the battle.[5] The song was played as part of the last round of the battle on January 21, 2020.[6][7][8] Originally titled "I Don't Want to Be in Love", Cole revealed its artwork, along with the release date as February 5, 2021.[9][10] 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 hanging in the corner of the cover hanging above her symbolizing an injured heart.[11] The song was the first release under Cole's independent record label, Hearts and Stars, created with the support of BMG.[12][13] An audio visualizer was released to accompany the song's release.[14] The song was released to US urban contemporary radio stations on February 13, 2021.[15]
Composition and lyrics[]
"I Don't Wanna Be in Love" is an R&B ballad,[1][16] that lasts three minutes and 50 seconds.[17] The song's instrumental includes a string section and "heartstring-tugging" horns.[18] The song was written by Cole herself and Brian Bates with production being handled by the former alongside Anthony Bell, Greg Edwards and Ron Fair.[12][19] The song 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.[20] Justin Kantor of SoulTracks described the lyrics as "true-to-life" and the production as "effectively simple".[21] A writer from Hip Hop Weekly felt that the lyrics were describing "a dead end situationship".[11]
Reception[]
"I Don't Wanna Be in Love"" received generally positive reviews from music critics. Antwane Folk of Rated R&B positively described the song as a "kiss-off anthem",[19] while Anna-Kaye Kerr of Urban Islandz described the song as a "heartbreak anthem".[22] Jon Powell of Revolt labeled it an "emotionally charged ballad",[20] while Rap-Up found it a "brokenhearted ballad".[16] Paul Duong of Rap Radar interpreted that Cole "details a love hate relationship with a former lover and close friend".[23] Ken Hamm of Soul Bounce found Cole's vocals as "topnotch" and felt that in the song, she was "afraid of getting caught up in the rapture".[1] Alexander Cole of HotNewHipHop declared the song as "beautifully emotional" and complimented the instrumental, describing it as "gorgeous".[18]
"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, 2020,[24] where it moved up to number 29 the following week.[25] Three weeks later, the song had risen up to number 20 and stayed at that position for the next week.[26][27] Six weeks later, the song reached its peak at number eleven and spent a total of 22 weeks on the chart.[28] While gaining traction over those weeks, it entered Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart at number 50.[29] It later peaked at number 43 and spent a total of eleven weeks on the chart.[30]
Track listing[]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Don't Wanna Be in Love" | 3:50 |
Credits and personnel[]
Credits adapted from Tidal.[31]
- 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[]
Weekly charts[]
|
Year-end charts[]
|
Release history[]
| Region | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | February 5, 2021 |
|
[17] | |
| United States | February 13, 2021 | Urban contemporary radio | [15] |
References[]
- ^ a b c 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ @verzuzonline (December 4, 2020). "Yeah, it's official! The paperwork is IN