Ever the Same

"Ever the Same" was released in November 2005 as the third single from Matchbox Twenty frontman Rob Thomas's debut album, ...Something to Be. The song is another hit from the album that went gold[1] and has also been used in commercials for NBA Cares.[2]

"Ever the Same"
Single by Rob Thomas
from the album ...Something to Be
ReleasedNovember 7, 2005
GenrePop rock
Length4:17 (Album Version)
3:51 (Radio Edit)
4:02 (Video Edit)
LabelAtlantic
Songwriter(s)Rob Thomas
Producer(s)Matt Serletic
Rob Thomas singles chronology
"This Is How a Heart Breaks"
(2005)		 "Ever the Same"
(2005)		 "...Something to Be"
(2006)

Song

"Ever the Same" is a ballad that Rob Thomas wrote the song for his wife, Marisol Maldonado.[3][4] For several years, she battled a serious illness that doctors were unable to identify.[3] According to Thomas, Maldonado was "so frustrated by it that she would keep me at bay because she felt she'd be bringing me down."[5] After one particularly painful day, she cried herself to sleep in his arms.[3] He wrote the song, a promise that he would always be there no matter how tough life got, that evening.[3][4] Thomas says that "It all stemmed from the line: 'Just let me hold you while I'm falling apart.'"[5]

The music has a decided 80s music feel. Thomas describes it as appropriate to play in the last five minutes of a John Hughes film.[4]

Music video

The music video, directed by Phil Harder,[6] features various shots mixed against a drawn and partially colored city background, interspliced with shots of Thomas singing the song. The music video features Wilmer Valderrama. Wilmer's character is a dove keeper who writes messages of hope and attaches them onto the doves legs before allowing them to fly off. As the video progresses, different people all over the city receive these tiny notes. Rob Thomas's wife Marisol is also featured in this video, playing a woman who lives in the apartment adjacent to Rob's. Both Rob and Wilmer look up to see her standing on the edge of her window ledge, presumably thinking about jumping off (most likely in a moment of despair). Wilmer then releases a dove to Marisol, who stops to read the note, smiling and taking seat on the ledge. She eventually jumps off from the ledge, transforming midway into a dove. Rob Thomas, who is out taking his dog for a walk, is sitting on a bench when the dove that once was Marisol lands beside him. He takes the message from its leg and then releases her. The video ends with crowds of people staring up in wonder as Wilmer's flock of doves color the sky and Marisol returning to Wilmer while Rob watches from his window. The video is a touching symbolism of hope and the way we must support each other to survive.

Chart positions
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gollark: Are you asking me?
gollark: Ooh, that'd be a fun and insanely stupid project, traversing the entire system environment for coroutines and messing them up.
gollark: How would that *help*?
gollark: What mean you?

References
  1. "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". RIAA. Retrieved 2018-06-11.
  2. "ESPN.com - NBA - Twenty Questions for Tenny". www.espn.com. Retrieved 2018-06-11.
  3. Dyball, Rennie (October 29, 2007), "A Perfect Match", People, retrieved April 26, 2017
  4. Carter, Chelsea (March 9, 2005), "Rob Thomas closes the matchbox, opens solo career", Athens Banner-Herald, Athens, GA, retrieved Apr 26, 2017
  5. Cooper, Tim (July 6, 2005), "Rob Thomas: Anonymity in the UK", The Independent, London, retrieved Apr 26, 2017
  6. "SOUND EFFECTS: Harder Fuller Films and Pixel Farm Collaborate on Rob Thomas Hillary Duff Videos". webcache.googleusercontent.com. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  7. "Australian-charts.com – Rob Thomas – Ever the Same". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  8. "Charts.nz – Rob Thomas – Ever the Same". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  9. "Rob Thomas Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  10. "...Something to Be – Rob Thomas | Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  11. "Rob Thomas Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  12. "Rob Thomas Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  13. "Rob Thomas Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  14. "Adult Contemporary Songs – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
  15. "Adult Pop Songs – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
  16. "American single certifications – Rob Thomas – Ever the Same". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
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