| Real World | |
| Cover: | Real World.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Matchbox 20 |
| Album: | Yourself or Someone Like You |
| Genre: | Alternative rock[1] |
| Length: | 3:51 |
| Label: | |
| Producer: | Matt Serletic |
| Prev Title: | 3AM |
| Prev Year: | 1997 |
| Next Title: | Back 2 Good |
| Next Year: | 1998 |
"Real World" is a song by American rock group Matchbox 20. It was released in March 1998 as the fourth single from their debut album, Yourself or Someone Like You. The single was initially ineligible to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100 due to not receiving a physical release in North America; it instead peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart in August 1998.[2] However, in December 1998, the Hot 100 chart rules were changed to allow airplay-only singles to chart, and "Real World" became the band's first single to enter the listing, debuting and peaking at number 38. Worldwide, "Real World" reached number five in Canada and number 40 in Australia.
The song was written by lead singer Rob Thomas, and details him wondering about what it would be like if he lived in various settings other than the current one, including a superhero, a rainmaker, and being a boss at a job, and if they would worsen or improve his life.
The music video, directed by Matthew Rolston, starts with Rob walking through a bowling alley with a camel, a scene that was filmed at The Dust Bowl in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia. It then shows him on a street, where Kyle Cook is on an ice cream truck, but instead of selling ice cream, he unveils what appears to be a raw steak. Next, Rob is doing a news broadcast, with Brian Yale acting as a director. In the meantime, intercut with this is a diner with Paul Doucette dressed as a waitress, eventually discarding the outfit. In the midst of the news broadcast, we see what appears to be a breakfast cereal commercial with Adam Gaynor sitting with a family. The video concludes with the camera going back and forth between Rob with the camel and at the news station.
European and Australian CD single[3]
Japanese CD single[4]
| Chart (1998) | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[5] | 17 | |
| US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[6] | 8 | |
| US Mainstream Rock Tracks (Billboard)[7] | 56 | |
| US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[8] | 35 | |
| US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[9] | 8 | |
| US Triple-A (Billboard)[10] | 13 |
| Region | Date | Format | Label(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | March 24, 1998 | Alternative radio | [11] | |
| May 12, 1998 | Contemporary hit radio | [12] | ||
| Europe | September 7, 1998 | CD | ||
| Japan | September 25, 1998 | [13] |