[4] To get an idea on how to write the song, Duritz went to the DreamWorks animation camp and watched approximately half of the film.

Duritz said that the song was indeed about the events that were happening in his life during the writing process, including falling in love with an "inconvenient" lover.

He was happy with the track's results, especially since it would appeal to multiple age groups, and he also claimed that "Accidentally in Love" would be "timeless" since it was an original song written for a film.

[8][9][10] In the latter country, a CD single was issued on July 12, 2004, containing live versions of "American Girls" and "If I Could Give All My Love (Richard Manuel Is Dead)" recorded in Oslo, Norway, as well the song's music video.

[18][19] In the United States, "Accidentally in Love" topped the Billboard Triple-A chart for five weeks in July and August 2004.

[25] The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) awarded the song a gold disc in January 2005 for shipping over 500,000 units.

[30] In the United Kingdom, the song debuted and peaked at number 28 on the UK Singles Chart and logged five weeks in the top 100.

[31] In October 2024, it was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales and streaming figures exceeding 600,000.

[43] The main music video for the song, directed by Meiert Avis, features a stuffed toy rabbit (voiced by and patterned after the band's frontman Adam Duritz) in the apartment of a young couple (the girl is Ashley Roberts from the Pussycat Dolls[44] and the boy is LA Models model Steve Vanda), complete with a TV showing scenes from the film.