"I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" is the lead single and fifth track from

My Chemical Romance My Chemical Romance (commonly abbreviated to MCR or My Chem) is an American rock band from Newark, New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist ...

's second studio album, ''

Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge ''Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge'' (often shortened to ''Three Cheers'' or ''Revenge'') is the second studio album by American rock band My Chemical Romance, released on June 8, 2004, by Reprise Records. With this album, the band produced a cleaner ...

''. "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" was released to radio on September 28, 2004. The song is also featured on the soundtrack of '' Burnout 3: Takedown''.

Reception and accolades

It reached number 86 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and, in March 2005, number 19 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The song also helped expand the band's fan base, and has been certified Platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

. It was nominated for the

Kerrang! Award for Best Single The Kerrang! Award for Best Single is an honor presented at the Kerrang! Awards, an annual ceremony established in 1993 to recognise achievements in rock music. The award was renamed 'Best Song' for the 2018 ceremony onwards, but serves the same pu ...

. The cover art was redone in live action on the inside of the band's DVD ''

Life on the Murder Scene ''Life on the Murder Scene'' is a live album/ compilation album by American rock band My Chemical Romance. It was released on March 21, 2006. The release includes three discs (two DVDs and one CD) of the whole history documenting the band from t ...

''.

Music videos

The first music video version for the song features a montage of concert footage and the band's ordinary life in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

. It was produced by Rafaela Monfradini and Greg Kaplan, who was also the director. It also features pictures of brothers, bassist

Mikey Way Michael James Way (born September 10, 1980) is an American musician and actor. He is best known as the bassist of the rock band My Chemical Romance. He is also the multi-instrumentalist and backing vocalist of rock duo Electric Century. Mikey ...

and lead singer

Gerard Way Gerard Arthur Way (born April 9, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and comic book writer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and co-founder of the rock band My Chemical Romance. He released his debut solo album, ''Hesitant Alien'', ...

, when they were little kids and teenagers. The second version music video depicts life inside a fictional American high school in the form of a mock movie trailer. The band appears as a group of outcast students who are repeatedly harassed by another group who are portrayed as popular kids. The band members then attempt to take on the popular kids and ultimately have a showdown in a hallway, with the band members armed with croquet mallets and the popular kids with lacrosse and hockey gear. It also has some clips expressing some emotions and clips of the band playing in a garage. The music video was directed by

Marc Webb Marc Preston Webb (born August 31, 1974) is an American music video director and filmmaker. Webb made his feature film directorial debut in 2009 with the romantic comedy '' 500 Days of Summer'', and went on to direct ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' ...

, and parts of it were filmed at Alexander Hamilton High School and Loyola High School in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

during August 2004. Greg Kaplan and Rafaelia Monfradini produced the video. The video started production on August 13, 2004. As of February 2022, the video has 90 million views on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

. This version of the video was also named number one on

Fuse Fuse or FUSE may refer to: Devices * Fuse (electrical), a device used in electrical systems to protect against excessive current ** Fuse (automotive), a class of fuses for vehicles * Fuse (hydraulic), a device used in hydraulic systems to prote ...

's 25 Greatest Videos Countdown, beating out other videos such as " Basket Case" by

Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a ...

and "

Smells Like Teen Spirit "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana. It is the opening track and lead single from the band's second album, ''Nevermind'' (1991), released on DGC Records. The unexpected success of the song propelled ''Neve ...

" by

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lamp Richard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo. ...

Cover versions

Matt Pond PA recorded a cover of the song for Engine Room Recordings' compilation album ''

Guilt by Association Vol. 2 ''Guilt by Association Vol. 2'' is a compilation album released November 18, 2008 by Engine Room Recordings. Like its predecessor, '' Guilt by Association Vol. 1'', it features indie rock artists covering well-known pop and R&B songs. Overview T ...

'', which was released in November 2008. The song is a part of American musical duo

Twenty One Pilots Twenty One Pilots (stylized in all lowercase or as twenty øne piløts) are an American musical duo from Columbus, Ohio. Initially a band, the group was formed in 2009 by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph along with Nick Thomas and Chris Salih, who b ...

' setlist for their 2021 Takeover Tour.

Track listing

All tracks written by

. US promotional DVD UK promotional CD UK CD1 and 7" vinyl UK CD2 UK and Australian CD UK re-release CD1 and iTunes single UK re-release CD2

Credits and personnel

– lead and backing vocals *

Ray Toro Raymond Toro (born July 15, 1977) is an American musician who serves as lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the band My Chemical Romance. Early life Toro was born July 15, 1977, in Kearny, New Jersey. He is of Puerto Rican-Portuguese herita ...

– lead guitar *

Frank Iero Frank Anthony Iero, Jr. (, born October 31, 1981) is an American musician who is the rhythm guitarist and backup vocalist of the rock band My Chemical Romance and post-hardcore band Leathermouth. He is also the guitarist in the metal band L ...

– rhythm guitar *

– bass guitar *

Matt Pelissier My Chemical Romance (commonly abbreviated to MCR or My Chem) is an American rock band from Newark, New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist Mi ...

– drums * Howard Benson – keyboards ;Additional *Produced by Howard Benson *Mixed by Richard Costey and Simon Askew *Engineered and recorded by Dan Wise *Written by

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Im Not Okay (I Promise) 2004 singles My Chemical Romance songs Music videos directed by Marc Webb 2004 songs Songs written by Gerard Way Song recordings produced by Howard Benson Reprise Records singles