"I'm Not Famous" is a song by American indie pop band AJR. It was released as the lead single of their fourth EP What Everyone's Thinking via the band's label AJR Productions on March 25, 2016. It would later appear as the tenth track on their second studio album The Click (2017). The song lyrically takes pride in not being famous, listing positives while using upbeat pop instruments. Two music videos were released for the song.
Background and composition After the success of their single "I'm Ready" and their debut studio album Living Room (2015), AJR received various fan questions about being famous. The band would reply with "we're not famous", which inspired them to develop the song concept of "I'm Not Famous". The song aims to weaken society's obsession with fame, commentating on it to have listeners think less positively of it.
"I'm Not Famous" was released on March 25, 2016, as the lead single of What Everyone's Thinking. The song utilizes elements of jazz while maintaining the band's standard indie pop sound. It additionally uses a V–vi–IV–I chord progression in the key of F major.
Music videos A video for "I'm Not Famous" was directed and edited by AJR, and released on April 25, 2016. The video primarily takes place in the streets of New York City, with lead singer Jack Met publicly traversing the city in a onesie to prove that he's not famous. The video was filmed with a budget of $100, using a local YouTube Space to film some scenes. Another video for "I'm Not Famous" featuring Legendary Shots was released on September 6, 2016, with the band performing in front of various stunts.
Commercial performance "I'm Not Famous" placed at number 25 on SiriusXM's Weekend Countdown for the week of August 27, 2016. The song had little streaming success upon release, amassing 1.6 million plays on Spotify within its first six months of release. It received higher commercial performance after the band released "Weak", with the success of the single echoing onto "I'm Not Famous".
Track listings Digital download "I'm Not Famous" – 3:40
US vinyl single "I'm Not Famous" – 3:40 "Weak" – 3:21
Personnel Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.
Adam Met – bass guitar, backing vocals, composer Jack Met – lead vocals, guitar, melodica, percussion, ukulele, composer Ryan Met – backing vocals, keyboards, trumpet, ukulele, composer, producer Chris Gehringer – mastering engineer Delbert Bowers – audio mixing
Release history + Release dates and formats for "I'm Not Famous" Region Date Format(s) Label Various March 25, 2016 AJR United States June 2016 Radio airplay BMG October 7, 2016 7-inch
References