"No Surprise" is a song recorded by American rock band Daughtry for their second studio album, Leave This Town (2009). It was released May 6, 2009 as the album's lead single, and the band debuted the song on American Idol that night.^[1] Chris Daughtry wrote the song with Chad Kroeger, Joey Moi, Eric Dill, and Rune Westberg, while Howard Benson handled the production.

An alternative rock power ballad with influences of pop rock, hard rock, and post-grunge,^[2] "No Surprise" utilizes layered vocals and distorted guitars to create a radio-friendly rock sound that has been compared to Kroeger's band Nickelback.^[3] Its lyrics depict a bittersweet breakup between lovers that has been a long time coming.^[4]

The song was a commercial success in the United States, reaching a peak position of 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming the group's fourth number one hit on the magazine's Adult Pop Songs airplay chart. It also charted well internationally, peaking at number 13 on the Canadian Hot 100 and being certified Gold by Music Canada, in addition to attaining top 40 positions in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and Sweden.

"No Surprise" is a midtempo alternative rock^[2] and pop rock^[2][5] ballad with a duration of four minutes and twenty-nine seconds (4:29) on the album track, or four minutes and nine seconds (4:09) on the single edit. According to the digital sheet music published by Alfred Publishing Co., Inc., the song was originally composed in the key of E♭ major and set in common time (⁴
₄) to a "moderate" tempo of 96 BPM.^[2] Daughtry's vocals are double-tracked on the majority of the track and span exactly two octaves, from E♭₃ to E♭₅.^[6][2] Distorted guitars dominate the song's instrumentation, while the production employs a Wall of Sound approach.^[6]

Lyrically, the song details the overdue end of an unhealthy relationship and has been described as "anthemic."^[7][4][3] The narrator appears to have mixed feelings about the breakup, with the chorus alternating between sentimental reflection ("you and I will be a tough act to follow") and relief ("It's no surprise I won't be here tomorrow / Can't believe that I stayed 'til today").^[6]

The video was directed by Nathan Cox^[16] and premiered June 3, 2009.^[17] It follows the story of a couple who live together but are struggling to make ends meet. It begins with the man trying to sign up for a mining job, but fails after the foreman tells him there are no work positions available. Meanwhile, the girl works at a diner and is being put off by her irritable boss. Later, she accidentally spills soda on a female customer after being bumped into by another man. The boss yells at her and she storms out, throwing her apron on the ground.

The next camera shot is at the couple's home as their neighbor is leaving for a musical gig. Both argue about their foreclosure of their home. The final segment begins the next morning when the man wakes up and leaves. The girl wakes up and is unable to find him. The video concludes with the girl looking around town (alternating shots between the band and her running through town and bumping into a guy) then, finally, sitting down on the ground, leaning against a big rock wondering what will happen next and the camera pans out and the viewer can see that the couple are sitting on opposite sides of the large boulder. In addition, Chris and his band are seen performing at the mining area, and Chris is seen with his guitar in some solo performance shots while standing on the ledge of a forklift arm in both day and night scenes.