I Don't Care

Album: Only Human (2014)
Charted: 1
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This sweary single finds Cheryl singing: "I don't care, and it feels so f--king good to say, I swear that I don't care." She told Capital FM: "It sums up pretty much how I feel right now. [It's] very pop, but fun pop!"
  • Cheryl co-wrote the song with Katy Perry's frequent songwriting partner Bonnie McKee, along with Joakim Ahlund, who collaborated with Chrissie Hynde on her 2014 debut solo album Stockholm and "Love Me Again" singer John Newman.
  • Cheryl said about the feisty lyrics: "I'm a woman now; I'm at that age that things don't bother me like they used to. I still care about things, but I've discovered what's important to care about, and what's most definitely not."
  • The music video, directed by Colin Tilley, finds Cheryl lounging on the beaches of Spain. Tilley formerly collaborated with the singer on the video for the album's lead single "Crazy Stupid Love," which was shot at The Underground Club in London.
  • Cheryl became the first British female solo artist to have five #1 singles in the UK when this entered the Official Charts at the summit. The singer overtook Geri Halliwell and Rita Ora who both had clocked up four chart-toppers.
  • Bonnie McKee was less than impressed with how the track turned out. "That was my 10th #1, so I'm grateful for it but I didn't want to give it up," she told The Idolator. "It was a song I had written for myself. They tweaked a couple lyrics and changed the title."

    "The original title was 'Waking Up Diagonal.' It's the first line of the song," McKee continued. "I just thought it was more interesting than 'I Don't Care,' which is such a boring title to me. When I hear that song it breaks my heart a little bit because it's my story."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Carol Kaye

Carol KayeSongwriter Interviews

A top session musician, Carol played on hundreds of hits by The Beach Boys, The Monkees, Frank Sinatra and many others.

Corey Hart

Corey HartSongwriter Interviews

The Canadian superstar talks about his sudden rise to fame, and tells the stories behind his hits "Sunglasses At Night," "Boy In The Box" and "Never Surrender."

Lita Ford

Lita FordSongwriter Interviews

Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.

Rosanne Cash

Rosanne CashSongwriter Interviews

Rosanne talks about the journey that inspired her songs on her album The River & the Thread, including a stop at the Tallahatchie Bridge.

Kevin Godley

Kevin GodleySongwriter Interviews

Kevin Godley talks about directing classic videos for The Police, U2 and Duran Duran, and discusses song and videos he made with 10cc and Godley & Creme.

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie Combination

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie CombinationSong Writing

In 1986, a Stephen King novella was made into a movie, with a classic song serving as title, soundtrack and tone.