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How can you forget the instrumental introduction to Gavin DeGraw’s “I Don’t Wanna Be”, which has a recognisable, upbeat, and energetic piano riff, accompanied by a driving drum beat and guitar? Songs like “I Don’t Want to Be” don’t come up that often anymore. Hence, you can’t question Gavin DeGraw for frequently using this iconic anti-pop anthem, driven by a piano groove, on his social media accounts like Instagram. Honest about his writing, from the opening lines, it’s about how he doesn’t need to be anyone else other than the son of a prison guard and a specialist. This means he’s not ashamed of being one and has been acknowledging it from day one.

Via his live performances, he would joke that this was the song that helped him to finally pay off his college/university loans. “I Don’t Want to Be” ended up on his debut album, “Chariot”, with the latter released as the second single. Perhaps the timing of the release is also very telling. After all, he wanted to be different from many of the boybands who were popular, especially in the ‘90s and the early 2000s.

In the later parts of the song, he speaks about staving off peer pressure and resisting against fake people, including liars and impostors. Basically, he’s sending the message that if your circle is often negative, you should not fall into the same trap. In fact, you can always decide for yourself and not be burdened by other people’s expectations. These are serious issues and rampant in real-life. Hence, those facing an identity crisis should make this their anthem, while those who have faced an identity crisis should remember this song exceptionally well.

Gavin DeGraw has succeeded in the sense that while his songs are relatable, he sounds just himself, and not like anybody else. His career-defining song was also chosen as the theme song of “One Tree Hill”, the American teen drama series, spanning nine seasons, which was coincidentally released in 2003.

The raspy, tenor voice grew up surrounded by music, though his parents had been a former prison guard and a former detox specialist. DeGraw’s grandfather was a self-taught musician, who played the harmonica, guitar and organ. Both DeGraw’s parents sang and played guitar. DeGraw’s father also played piano. They would often listen to and sing along to or do covers of songs by Elton John and Billy Joel as well as showtunes.

DeGraw’s parents, Lynne, died of pancreatic cancer in 2017, while the other, John, died in 2020, following a brief illness. Gavin has his elder brother Joey, who is also a musician. Neeka DeGraw, who alternates between baking (sourdough), travelling, and performing live, is Gavin’s older sister.

Music critics have hailed DeGraw the most talented singer-songwriter of his generation. It’s not surprising then that 27 August has been dedicated to DeGraw as International Listen to Gavin DeGraw Day.

“One Tree Hill”, which has US-based Malaysian Adele Lim as one of the series’ producers, is now streaming on Netflix. Cast members of the 187-episode drama include the American Chad Michael Murray of “Dawson’s Creek” (television series), “A Cinderella Story” (2004 film), and “Sullivan’s Crossing” (the Canadian romantic drama series, playing since 2023, available on Netflix) and Bethany Joy Lenz, the American musician-actress, who had co-hosted the podcast “Drama Queens” from 2021 to 2025, with other former One Tree Hill co-stars.

Gavin DeGraw, 49, has been writing and/or performing songs in the genres of rock, pop, pop-rock, soul, and R&B. DeGraw’s influences include Sam Cooke, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, and Ray Charles.