I Found a Way

"I Found a Way" (also known as "Found a Way") is a song by American actor and singer Drake Bell, from the Nickelodeon show Drake & Josh's soundtrack album of the same name (2005), and Bell's debut studio album Telegraph (2005). The song was written by Bell and Michael Corcoran, one of Bell's band members. It served as the theme song for the show after the show's producer Dan Schneider lauded the track. Bell performed "I Found a Way" at various events throughout his career.

"I Found a Way"
Song by Drake Bell
from the album Drake & Josh and Telegraph
Released2004
Recorded2003
Length2:59
Label
Songwriter(s)

Background and production
Bell in 2007, when Drake & Josh was on air

American actor and singer Drake Bell told American animator Butch Hartman during an interview in September 2018 that the theme song for Drake & Josh was originally going to be a Lenny Kravitz song. American producer Dan Schneider asked Bell how much of his music he wanted to put on the show. Bell was very eager to make music for the show and told Schneider he wanted to be a "rock star". The actor told his friend Michael Corcoran, one of his band members,[1][2] that they should write a theme song for Drake & Josh because everyone was listening to Kravitz at the time and wanted to have a track that could be identified with the show.[3]

Bell and Corcoran were faced with writer's block for hours because of wanting to "make a theme song" and decided to just "write a song". Bell told Hartman the track they wrote was similar to the works of Elvis Costello and is about helping out your brother when they are feeling down. The two musicians made a one minute demo of the song. Bell brought the record to Warner Bros Studios to show Schneider the demo. The producer was reluctant at first, not wanting to hurt Bell's feelings if he did not like the track. Bell insisted and played the track to him. Schneider ended up loving the track and made it the theme song for Drake & Josh.[3][4][5][1]

Release and lyrics

"I Found a Way" was originally released as the first track from the Nickelodeon show Drake & Josh's soundtrack album of the same name on February 22, 2005.[6] It was later released as the second track under the title "Found a Way" on Bell's debut studio album Telegraph on August 23, 2005.[7] It received a music video directed by Joey Boukadakis.[8] According to Bell, his fans have usually sung the song's chorus as: "If you open up your mind/See what's inside/It's gonna take some time to realize." Bell stated that the correct lyric was, "It's gonna take some time to re-align."[9][10][11]

Critical reception

Writing for Bustle, Taylor Ferber said the theme song is "catchy AF" and opined it is "totally a perfect fit to get audiences in the upbeat mood of the show, and it's also unique in that one of its stars performed it".[12] Lauren Hazlewood of Fashion described it as a "catchy theme song"[13] while the staff of Iowa City Press-Citizen labeled the song as a "signature tune".[14] Maria Serra of Alternative Press praised the track, calling it a "banger".[9] MTV News editor Crystal Bell ranked "I Found a Way" at number 4 on her The 17 Best Nickelodeon Theme Songs, Ranked list, calling it "a hella catchy tune".[15] Bustle's Tobi Gbile ranked "I Found a Way" at number four on his These Childhood Theme Songs Will Give You Feels list, saying the theme song is one of his favorites and that it became "one of Nickelodeon's staple tracks in the mid 2000s".[16] Nick Caruso and Matt Webb Mitovich for TVLine included the theme song on their The Top TV Theme Songs of All Time: 2000-2009 Edition list.[1]

Live performances

In August 2016, American actor Josh Peck posted a video on his Instagram account of fellow American actor John Stamos singing his own version of theme song. Stamos sings in the video: "Drake and Josh. Everybody loves Drake and Josh".[17] Bell sang the song with a fan in Fresno, California, at a meet and greet held at Heroes Comics prior to his concert in 2018.[18]

During one of his shows in 2020, the actor started to sing "I Found a Way" and stopped the crowd after they sang, "It's gonna take some time to realize." Before continuing to play the track, Bell told the audience that the word was "realign" and not "realize".[19] Bell also performed the song for American actor Jonathan Goldstein, who played the dad named Walter Nichols in Drake & Josh, during a 2020 reunion.[20] He performed the song live in Tucson, Arizona at a drive-in concert on March 13, 2021.[21]

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[22]

References
  1. Caruso, Nick; Webb Mitovich, Matt (July 18, 2020). "The Top TV Theme Songs of All Time: 2000-2009 Edition". TVLine. Archived from the original on September 1, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  2. J. Moser, John (August 21, 2020). "Former Nickelodeon TV star Drake Bell to bring his rock band to Easton's OneCentreSquare". The Morning Call. Archived from the original on August 14, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  3. Hartman, Butch (September 3, 2018). "Making of the Drake and Josh Theme Song (ft. Drake Bell)". Speech Bubble w/Butch Hartman. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2021 – via YouTube.
  4. Rubin, Elana (April 19, 2020). "Then And Now: The cast of 'Drake and Josh' 16 years later". Insider. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  5. Guglielmi, Jodi (June 20, 2018). "Drake Bell Talks 'Constantly Evolving' Music and Racy New Photos: 'I'm Finding More Ways Than Ever to Express Myself'". People. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  6. "Original Soundtrack Drake & Josh: Songs from and Inspired by Hit TV Show". AllMusic. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  7. "Drake Bell Telegraph". AllMusic. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  8. Drake and Josh - "I Found A Way". Retrieved 2021-07-13.
  9. Serra, Maria (September 19, 2018). "We've Been Singing The 'Drake and Josh' Theme Song Wrong for Years". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on September 7, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  10. Grant, Stacy (September 6, 2016). "You've Been Singing the Drake & Josh Theme Song Wrong for Years". MTV News. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  11. Fuentes, Tamara (September 20, 2018). "We've Been Singing The 'Drake and Josh' Theme Song Wrong All These Years". Seventeen. Archived from the original on August 21, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  12. Ferber, Taylor (July 5, 2017). "12 Reasons 'Drake & Josh' Will Always Be Iconic". Bustle. Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  13. Hazlewood, Lauren (August 28, 2018). "We Spoke to Drake Bell About His Growing Music Career and the Possibility of a Drake and Josh Reboot". Fashion. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  14. "Drake Bell of Nickelodeon's 'Drake & Josh' fame playing Blue Moose". Iowa City Press-Citizen. January 16, 2019. Archived from the original on July 15, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  15. Bell, Crystal (February 18, 2015). "The 17 Best Nickelodeon Theme Songs, Ranked". MTV News. Archived from the original on July 23, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  16. Gbile, Tobi (September 10, 2015). "These Childhood Theme Songs Will Give You Feels". Bustle. Archived from the original on May 16, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  17. Sadlier, Allison (August 29, 2016). "John Stamos sings Drake and Josh theme with Josh Peck". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  18. Jennifer Cueva, Courtesy (February 6, 2018). "Drake Bell sings 'I Found a Way' with Fresno fan". The Fresno Bee. Archived from the original on May 16, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  19. Stivale, Shelby (February 26, 2020). "Wait What: Viral Video Shows Fans They've Been Singing The 'Drake & Josh' Theme Song Wrong". J-14. Archived from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  20. Grant, Stacey (January 31, 2020). "Drake Bell Sang the Drake & Josh Theme Song While Walter Watched Like a Proud Dad". Seventeen. Archived from the original on July 29, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  21. Greaber, Joey (March 12, 2021). "Drake Bell to perform in Tucson at drive-in concert March 13". KGUN-TV. Archived from the original on May 16, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  22. "Credits / Drake & Josh: Songs from and inspired by the hit TV show / Various artists". Tidal. Archived from the original on May 16, 2021. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
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