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.

Background and production

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, 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.

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 in 2003. 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''.

Release and music

"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. 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. It received a music video directed by Joey Boukadakis.

According to Chloe Barns of '' Collider'', "Found a Way" is a pop and alternative rock track. The song is about the relationship between the two main characters of the show. 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."

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". Lauren Hazlewood of ''Fashion'' described it as a "catchy theme song" while the staff of ''Iowa City Press-Citizen'' labeled the song as a "signature tune".
Maria Serra of ''Alternative Press'' praised the track, calling it a "banger". 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". ''Bustle'' 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". 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.

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 the song. Stamos sings in the video: "Drake and Josh. Everybody loves Drake and Josh". 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.

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". Bell also performed the song for American actor Jonathan Goldstein, who played the dad named Walter Nichols in ''Drake & Josh'', during a 2020 reunion. He performed the song live in Tucson, Arizona at a drive-in concert on March 13, 2021.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.

*Drake Bell vocals, writer
* Michael Corcoran writer

References

{{Drake & Josh

2007 songs
Songs written by Drake Bell
Songs written by Michael Corcoran (musician)
Comedy television theme songs
Television theme songs
Songs written for television series
Drake Bell songs
Drake & Josh
2005 songs
2004 songs