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1997 single by Third Eye Blind

"Semi Charmed Life" is a song by American rock band Third Eye Blind from their 1997 eponymous debut studio album. It was released to modern rock radio as the lead single from the album on February 18, 1997, by Elektra Records. Frontman Stephan Jenkins is credited as the sole writer of the song, although guitarist Kevin Cadogan has disputed the song's authorship through litigation. The song was produced by Jenkins and Eric Valentine. An alternative rock and power pop song with a rap influenced singing style, the lyrics of "Semi Charmed Life" concern a crystal meth addiction and transition periods in one's life. "Semi Charmed Life" was one of the first demos recorded for Third Eye Blind, in which it went through five iterations before the band settled on its final mix. Valentine recorded and mixed the song in and around San Francisco at Toast Studios, Skywalker Ranch, H. O. S., and The Site. The instrumentation used in the song includes guitars, brushes, and a drum machine. According to Jenkins, the refrain of "Semi Charmed Life" was inspired by Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side", and the band intended for it to serve as an answer song. The song was conceived after Jenkins witnessed his friends using crystal meth at a Primus concert. The music video for "Semi Charmed Life" was directed by Jamie Morgan and it depicted an idealistic visual of San Francisco. The song received positive reviews from music critics, who praised its instrumentation and radio friendly nature. In retrospective reviews, some critics have cited "Semi Charmed Life" as one of the best songs of the 1990s. In the United States, the song peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was certified 4x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Internationally, "Semi Charmed Life" was a top 40 hit in six countries.

Frontman Stephan Jenkins is credited as the sole songwriter of "Semi Charmed Life". Jenkins intended to write a song that acted as a San Francisco response to Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side", with the "doo, doo, doot" chants present throughout the song being directly inspired by Reed's song. In regards to the song's style, Jenkins explained that it was meant to reflect changes that occurred in the San Francisco music scene at the time, particularly a growing interest in hip hop. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Jenkins said that the concept of the song was developed through his observations of friends using crystal meth at a Primus concert. The juxtaposition of the music and lyrical content was intentional, as Jenkins intended to illustrate the "bright, shiny feeling" one gets when using crystal meth. Jenkins, however, maintains that the meaning of the song more broadly relates to changing periods in one's life. Jenkins was initially against the decision to release "Semi Charmed Life" as the lead single from Third Eye Blind, as he did not believe that it was representative of the work as a whole. Guitarist Kevin Cadogan was concerned with the explicit lyrical content of the song, as he feared that radio stations would refuse to play the song. Elektra Records suggested that the band release "Semi Charmed Life" as their debut single as opposed to "Losing a Whole Year", prompting the release of several radio edits of the song. In 2000, rumors circulated that guitarist Tony Fredianelli, who had previously auditioned for Third Eye Blind in 1993, had written the song's hook. When reached for comment by the San Francisco Chronicle, producer Eric Valentine claimed that "Semi Charmed Life" had "been around for many years. There are a lot of people who contributed to that tune and didn't get credit." On August 21, 2019, the lawsuit was terminated through voluntary dismissal with prejudice.

The recording sessions for "Semi Charmed Life" took place in and around San Francisco, California, at Toast Studios, Skywalker Ranch, and H. O. S. Production on the song was helmed by Jenkins and Eric Valentine, with Valentine also serving as the song's recording engineer. Valentine intentionally recorded the song without assistance from computers, opting to directly record the material onto tape machines. Valentine was also responsible for the mixing of the track, which was made at The Site, H. O. S., and Toast Studios. An assortment of amps were also used in the recording process, including a Matchless 30 into a Mesa/Boogie 4x12 cabinet, a Mesa/Boogie Heartbreaker head, a Vox AC30 and a 69 Marshall plexi Super Lead head into a Marshall 4x12 loaded with 25 watt Greenback speakers.

"Semi Charmed Life" is an alternative rock and power pop song, composed with a rap influenced singing style. However, when writing the composition, Jenkins contends that he was more broadly influenced by hip hop music. and is set in time signature of common time with a tempo of 104 beats per minute. Jenkins's vocal range spans three octaves, from G3 to C6. Mark Jenkins of The Washington Post referred to the song as a "rap inflected pop rocker." He commented: "'Semi Charmed Life' take[s] an infectious glee in reinventing rock that's simple, direct and yet epic." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic cited "Semi Charmed Life" as evidence that Third Eye Blind can "craft a naggingly memorable hook." Also from AllMusic, Liana Jonas praised "Semi Charmed Life" as an "infectious and buoyant rock song," commenting that the song's commercial success juxtaposed with its "blatant lyrics about oral sex and drug induced highs goes to show the unpredictability of music industry authorities." Glamour reviewer and senior editor Anna Moeslein cited "Semi Charmed Life" as the best song of the 1990s, commenting that the "easy breezy guitar and 'do do do!' intro still spark joy." According to Justin Joffe of Observer, the song is "both poppy and addressed some heavy shit," which gave the band "an edge over their radio ready contemporaries that many would later imitate with less sincerity." Andrew Chow of Time designated "Semi Charmed Life" as a classic karaoke song. In a critical review, G. M. of Spin stated that the song has "an oil slick groove endemic to studio hacks and scene burnouts." Arielle Gordon of Pitchfork referred to the song as an "inescapable hit," further commenting: "[the song] sounds like feeling the sun on your skin after a long winter. The opening snap of the drums, the ringing power chords, and the wordless refrain seem to beam down from some impossibly halcyon era, as if Cheap Trick suddenly became the house band for Schoolhouse Rock." At the 1997 Billboard Music Awards, "Semi Charmed Life" garnered Third Eye Blind a win in the Modern Rock Track category.

In the United States, "Semi Charmed Life" debuted at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the issue dated July 5, 1997. In Canada, "Semi Charmed Life" peaked at number two on the Canada Top Singles chart for the issue dated August 4, 1997. On the Canada Rock/Alternative chart, "Semi Charmed Life" peaked at number 3. Third Eye Blind recruited Morgan to direct the music video after being impressed with his work on Bush's "Swallowed" music video. Regarding the idea behind the music video, the band strove to capture an idealistic visual of San Francisco. In order to accomplish this task, Morgan recruited San Francisco residents to appear in the video. In 1998, Third Eye Blind and Smash Mouth jointly headlined a college theater tour, in which "Semi Charmed Life" was regularly performed. Similarly, "Semi Charmed Life" was performed during the band's co headlining amphitheater tour with the Goo Goo Dolls in 2002. On December 8, 1997, Third Eye Blind performed the song at the Billboard Music Awards. Due to the commercial success of "Semi Charmed Life" and the follow up single "Graduate", Third Eye Blind were offered the role of being an opening act for the Rolling Stones, U2, and Foo Fighters on their respective tours. The song was performed on the Summer Gods Tour (2017 2019), with a recording of the performance subsequently included on the live album Summer Gods Tour Live 2017.

In 1998, Spin asked Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl what lyric from 1997 he wishes he would have written; Grohl cited the refrain of "Semi Charmed Life". In January 2022, Third Eye Blind collaborated with Smith & Cult on a line of nail polish, which included a color titled "Semi Charmed" to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their debut album. Additionally, the band released an acoustic version of "Semi Charmed Life" on Unplugged (2022).

"Semi Charmed Life" has been used in various media including film, television shows, and video games. The song had prominent appearances in Contact (1997), Excess Baggage (1997), Wild Things (1998), Dirty Work (1998), Gigli (2003), Game Night (2018), and The Lovebirds (2020). Despite not appearing on the film's soundtrack, "Semi Charmed Life" was praised for its appearance in the 1999 teen sex comedy film American Pie. The song was also featured on the soundtrack for the 2005 film A Lot Like Love. Additionally, a mash up of "Semi Charmed Life" and "Call Me Maybe" circulated on the Internet in the middle of 2012. A cover version of the song was featured in the video game Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007). "Semi Charmed Life" also appears as a playable track in the music rhythm video game Guitar Hero: Van Halen (2009) in addition to being downloadable content in Rock Band 4 (2015) and Rocksmith 2014 (2014). The song was used in the original theatrical trailer for Disney's The Tigger Movie (2000); a Disney spokeswoman said that she was not aware of the sexual content within the song's lyrics.

Singers and bands of various genres have covered the song in their own style. American pop rap duo Timeflies heavily sampled "Semi Charmed Life" in their song "Semi Charmed", which was released in November 2017. American rock band XEB, which consists of three of the founding members of Third Eye Blind, performed "Semi Charmed Life" while touring in 2017. In October 2017, Mokita and Maty Noyes collaborated on the song "Goodbye", which repurposes the chorus of "Semi Charmed Life". In 2018, American singer songwriter Cassadee Pope referenced "Semi Charmed Life" in her song "How I Feel Right Now". Dance Gavin Dance released a cover of the song on Hopeless Records' compilation album Songs That Saved My Life (2018). Four Year Strong released a cover of the song on their third studio album Explains It All (2009).