# Ever the Same

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"**Ever the Same**" is the third [single](/source/Single_(music)) from [Matchbox Twenty](/source/Matchbox_Twenty) [frontman](/source/Frontman) [Rob Thomas](/source/Rob_Thomas_(musician))'s 2005 debut album, *[...Something to Be](/source/...Something_to_Be)*. The song was released on November 7, 2005, and received a gold [certification](/source/Music_recording_certification) from the [Recording Industry Association of America](/source/Recording_Industry_Association_of_America) (RIAA). It has been used in commercials for *[NBA Cares](/source/NBA_Cares)*.[1]

## Song

"Ever the Same" is a [ballad](/source/Ballad) that Rob Thomas wrote for his wife, Marisol Maldonado.[2][3] For several years, she battled a serious illness that doctors were unable to identify.[2] 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."[4] After one particularly painful day, she cried herself to sleep in his arms.[2] He wrote the song, a promise that he would always be there no matter how tough life got, that evening.[2][3] Thomas says that "It all stemmed from the line: 'Just let me hold you while I'm falling apart.'"[4]

The music has a decided [80s music](/source/1980s_in_music) feel. Thomas describes it as appropriate to play in the last five minutes of a [John Hughes](/source/John_Hughes_(filmmaker)) film.[3]

## Music video

The music video, directed by [Phil Harder](/source/Phil_Harder),[5] 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](/source/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.

## Charts

### Weekly charts

Chart (2005–2006) Peak position Canada AC Top 30 (Radio & Records)[6] 3 Canada Hot AC Top 30 (Radio & Records)[7] 1 Ukraine Airplay (TopHit)[8] 105 US Pop 100 (Billboard)[9] 47

### Year-end charts

Chart (2006) Position US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[10] 6 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[11] 3

## Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref. United States November 7, 2005 Adult contemporary · hot adult contemporary radio Atlantic [12] Australia November 14, 2005 CD [13] United States March 6, 2006 Contemporary hit radio [14]

## References

1. ["ESPN.com - NBA - Twenty Questions for Tenny"](http://www.espn.com/nba/dailydime?page=dailydime-060221). *www.espn.com*. Retrieved 2018-06-11.

1. Dyball, Rennie (October 29, 2007), ["A Perfect Match"](http://people.com/archive/a-perfect-match-vol-68-no-18/), *People*, retrieved April 26, 2017

1. Carter, Chelsea (March 9, 2005), ["Rob Thomas closes the matchbox, opens solo career"](http://onlineathens.com/stories/030905/ent_20050309015.shtml#.WQDngPnyuUk), *Athens Banner-Herald*, retrieved Apr 26, 2017

1. Cooper, Tim (July 6, 2005), ["Rob Thomas: Anonymity in the UK"](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/rob-thomas-anonymity-in-the-uk-297247.html), *The Independent*, retrieved Apr 26, 2017

1. ["SOUND EFFECTS: Harder Fuller Films and Pixel Farm Collaborate on Rob Thomas Hillary Duff Videos"](http://screenmag.com/story/2009/feb/12/5732/?r=chicagocachedyou). *screenmag.com*. Retrieved February 22, 2019.[dead link]

1. ["R&R Canada AC Top 30"](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Archive-RandR/2000s/2006/RR-2006-07-07.pdf). *[Radio & Records](/source/Radio_%26_Records)*. No. 1665. July 7, 2006. p. 44. Retrieved April 18, 2024.

1. ["R&R Canada Hot AC Top 30"](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Archive-RandR/2000s/2006/RR-2006-01-20.pdf). *[Radio & Records](/source/Radio_%26_Records)*. No. 1641. January 20, 2006. p. 55. Retrieved April 18, 2024.

1. ["Ever the Same – Rob Thomas"](https://tophit.com/tracks/5127). [TopHit](/source/TopHit). Retrieved December 12, 2025. *Select* Ukraine *from Charts*.

1. "Pop 100". *[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))*. Vol. 118, no. 14. April 8, 2006. p. 64.

1. ["Adult Contemporary Songs – Year-End 2006"](https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2006/adult-contemporary-songs). *Billboard*. Retrieved September 20, 2019.

1. ["Adult Pop Songs – Year-End 2006"](https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2006/adult-pop-songs). *Billboard*. Retrieved September 20, 2019.

1. "Going for Adds". *[Radio & Records](/source/Radio_%26_Records)*. No. 1631. November 4, 2005. p. 22.

1. ["The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 14th November 2005"](https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20080222222429/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20051120-0000/issue820.pdf). [ARIA](/source/Australian_Recording_Industry_Association). November 14, 2005. p. 28. Archived from [the original](http://www.aria.com.au/Issue820.pdf) on February 22, 2008. Retrieved March 6, 2022.

1. "Going for Adds". *Radio & Records*. No. 1647. March 3, 2006. p. 47.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ever the Same](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ever_the_Same) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ever_the_Same?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.