"Don't Wanna Know" is a song by American pop rock bandMaroon 5. It features additional vocals from American rapper Kendrick Lamar. The song was released on October 12, 2016, as the lead single and was included on the deluxe version from their sixth studio albumRed Pill Blues. The song reached the top 10 in 23 countries, including number 6 in the United States.
Background and release
On October 11, 2016, Maroon 5 announced a single "Don't Wanna Know" featuring Kendrick Lamar, will be released worldwide at midnight on the following day, October 12. Lamar was known in the 2013 song "YOLO" by The Lonely Island featuring the band's lead singerAdam Levine, which Lamar previously collaborated with Levine.
Composition
"Don't Wanna Know" is written in the key of G major in common time with a shufflingtempo of 100 beats per minute. The song follows a chord progression of CMaj7DEmBm/E, and Levine's vocals span from D4 to C6.
Critical reception
Mike Wass of Idolator stated "there's nothing bloated or excessive about the finished product. In fact, this is a case of less is more. freshens up Maroon 5's sound and goes HAM on the repetition — all but guarantees the band a smash hit in the process. Kendrick's verse feels like an afterthought, but apart from that, this is hard to fault." Vultures Halle Kiefer said "it'll be on the soundtrack to every car commercial, Target ad, and drunken breakup you flounder through for the next three months" and went on to say "Don't Wanna Know has a distinctly non-Maroon 5 sound, putting a breezy, bouncy, lighthearted spin on drinking to forget, and dancing to dull the pain of losing the one true connection you ever had."
Commercial performance
"Don't Wanna Know" debuted at number 56 on October 29, 2016, and jumped to number 9 in its second week on November 5, on the BillboardHot 100, becoming the band's 12th top 10 hit peaking at number 6.
Music video
The music video for "Don't Wanna Know" was directed by David Dobkin and does not include Lamar, instead using the song's original version. It premiered on The Today Show on October 14, 2016 and was spoofed the augmented reality gamePokémon Go. In the video, Levine is dressed as a blue turtle dealing with heartbreak over an orange played by Sarah Silverman, with the Maroon 5 members also dressed the various costumes. In certain scenes, they being chased and hiding from people who play the game to eliminate themselves, as well as the set of shooting a music video in the studio complete with film crew, the band performing in a concert and the house party. The video features cameos from Ed Helms, Amanda Cerny, David Lautman, Natalie Cohen, Shaquille O'Neal and Vince Vaughn.
