"Semi-Charmed Life" is a song by American rock band Third Eye Blind from their 1997 eponymous debut studio album.

According to Jenkins, the refrain of "Semi-Charmed Life" was inspired by Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side", and the band intended for it to serve as an answer song.

[2] In regards to the song's style, Jenkins explained that it was meant to reflect changes that occurred in the San Francisco music scene at the time, particularly a growing interest in hip hop.

[3] In an interview with Rolling Stone, Jenkins said that the concept of the song was developed through his observations of friends using crystal meth at a Primus concert.

[4] The juxtaposition of the music and lyrical content was intentional, as Jenkins intended to illustrate the "bright, shiny feeling" one gets when using crystal meth.

During his time as a struggling musician in San Francisco, Jenkins recalled sitting in a room with future 4 Non Blondes singer and songwriter Linda Perry, who worked as a waitress down the street, performing their original compositions to one another.

[6] Jenkins was initially against the decision to release "Semi-Charmed Life" as the lead single from Third Eye Blind, as he did not believe that it was representative of the work as a whole.

[5] Prior to the formation of Third Eye Blind, Jenkins was part of the rap duo Puck and Zen, alongside Detroit rapper Herman Anthony Chunn.

[10] When reached for comment by the San Francisco Chronicle, producer Eric Valentine claimed that "Semi-Charmed Life" had "been around for many years.

Despite being uncredited, Cadogan alleged that he was responsible for co-writing four songs on the album, including "Semi-Charmed Life", and thus was entitled to 25 percent of their profits, for which he had not been compensated.

"[6] Cadogan provided multi-layered guitar textures using an Epiphone Casino, Hamer electric, Gibson J-200 acoustic, and a Gretsch Country Gentleman.

"[23] David Grad of Entertainment Weekly praised the radio-friendly nature of the song, calling it a "nice taste of Third Eye Blind's formula.

"[24] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic cited "Semi-Charmed Life" as evidence that Third Eye Blind can "craft a naggingly memorable hook.

"[26] Glamour reviewer and senior editor Anna Moeslein cited "Semi-Charmed Life" as the best song of the 1990s, commenting that the "easy-breezy guitar and 'do do do!'

"[27] According to Justin Joffe of Observer, the song is "both poppy and addressed some heavy shit," which gave the band "an edge over their radio-ready contemporaries that many would later imitate with less sincerity.

"[19] Aidin Vaziri of the San Francisco Chronicle referred to "Semi-Charmed Life" as "possibly the catchiest song about casual sex and meth addiction ever.

The opening snap of the drums, the ringing power chords, and the wordless refrain seem to beam down from some impossibly halcyon era, as if Cheap Trick suddenly became the house band for Schoolhouse Rock.

"[31] At the 1997 Billboard Music Awards, "Semi-Charmed Life" garnered Third Eye Blind a win in the Modern Rock Track category.

[32] In the United States, "Semi-Charmed Life" debuted at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the issue dated July 5, 1997.

Almost four months after its release, "Semi-Charmed Life" was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of five hundred thousand.

[40] The song also received considerable airplay in the country, with Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems (BDS) confirming that "Semi-Charmed Life" peaked at number 13 on the Canada Adult Contemporary chart.

[43] In the United Kingdom, "Semi-Charmed Life" spent five weeks on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 33 for the issue dated September 27, 1997.

[6] The video starts with a satellite in outer space before quickly transitioning to an American flag patch on a man's leather jacket.

Once the first chorus begins, the video focuses on the band performing in a dimly lit room with a large spinning clock hanging behind them.

[47] In 1998, Third Eye Blind and Smash Mouth jointly headlined a college-theater tour, in which "Semi-Charmed Life" was regularly performed.

[50] Due to the commercial success of "Semi-Charmed Life" and the follow-up single "Graduate", Third Eye Blind were offered the role of being an opening act for the Rolling Stones, U2, and Foo Fighters on their respective tours.

[53] In January 2022, Third Eye Blind collaborated with Smith & Cult on a line of nail polish, which included a color titled "Semi-Charmed" to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their debut album.

The song had prominent appearances in Contact (1997), Excess Baggage (1997), Wild Things (1998), Dirty Work (1998), Gigli (2003), Game Night (2018), and The Lovebirds (2020).

[58] "Semi-Charmed Life" also appears as a playable track in the music rhythm video game Guitar Hero: Van Halen (2009)[59] in addition to being downloadable content in Rock Band 4 (2015)[60] and Rocksmith 2014 (2014).

[63] American rock band XEB, which consists of three of the founding members of Third Eye Blind, performed "Semi-Charmed Life" while touring in 2017.