1 Thing
"1 Thing" | ||||
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Single by Amerie | ||||
from the album Touch | ||||
Released | January 18, 2005 | |||
Recorded | June 2004 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 4:01 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Rich Harrison | |||
Amerie singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"1 Thing" on YouTube |
"1 Thing" is a song by American singer Amerie from her second studio album, Touch (2005). Written by Amerie and Rich Harrison and produced by the latter, the song is influenced by go-go rhythms and features a prominent sample of the Meters' 1970 funk recording of "Oh, Calcutta!", written by Stanley Walden. Its lyrics focus on an unidentified "thing" that fuels a romantic attraction.
The song was released as the album's lead single on January 18, 2005, and is the only single from the soundtrack to the 2005 romantic comedy film Hitch. "1 Thing" received acclaim from critics, and peaked at number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number four in the United Kingdom, becoming Amerie's first top-10 single. Its digital download and ringtone releases were each certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). A remix of "1 Thing" features rapper Eve.
The song earned Amerie a nomination for
Conception and release
In 2004, when working on her second album, Amerie enlisted the services of producer Rich Harrison, who had helped produce and write her first album. In May 2004, Harrison heard "Oh, Calcutta!" for the first time and began working on the beat accompanying the ten-second back-and-forth breakdown between Meters drummer Ziggy Modeliste and guitarist Leo Nocentelli. Harrison said he loved the work of the Meters, especially Modeliste, commenting, "Ziggy, he's crazy."[1] He processed the way the breakdown could be "flipped", added a bongo drum, a cowbell, and a ride cymbal, and sent it to Amerie.[1] According to Harrison, they wrote and finished the song in two to three hours.[1]
Amerie's manager, Len Nicholson, felt the song was "the single" to release.[2] When executives at Amerie's label, Columbia/Sony Urban Music, heard "1 Thing", they felt that the song's choruses needed to be "bigger".[1] They recommended that more music be added to the percussion-focused beat, but Harrison and Amerie replied that adding more to the beat would overpower the song.[3] Harrison and Amerie returned to the studio several times to rework the track.[1] Each time they submitted a new version to the label, Columbia told them that the song sounded unfinished, but was unable to specify what should be changed.[1][3] The label continued to refuse to release "1 Thing"; in Amerie's words, "People just weren't getting it".[1]
Later in 2004, six months after recording "1 Thing", Amerie and Harrison leaked it to US radio stations in an attempt to get it released officially.
Theme and sound
"1 Thing" was produced by Harrison and is built around a sample of the Meters' 1970 version of the theme song from the musical Oh! Calcutta!, "Oh, Calcutta!", written by Stanley Walden. Built around The Meters' funky beat-driven percussion, "1 Thing" finds Amerie lamenting an aspect of a relationship that keeps her satisfied. Even if other factors are less than positive, there is one thing that keeps her hooked ("It's this one thing that's got me trippin'"). Amerie said that the inspiration for the song came from a conversation she had with Harrison "about relationships and how there's always one thing that keeps you attracted to someone. No matter what they do or how they act, there's that one undeniable thing that keeps you coming back."[2] She told Blender that the "one thing" "could be bringing flowers, or something more ... physical. People think I'm just this good girl, but there are other sides they don't see."[1]
Despite being based on a New Orleans funk sample, the song belies a strong go-go influence. Harrison likened the two based on their heavy use of percussion and chant.[1] Amerie stated, "You don't hear go-go outside of D.C. ... I was like, 'We have to do it in an up-tempo way because when you hear it on the radio in D.C., it's fast.' ... So it's a fresh sound for everybody but people in the D.C./Maryland/Virginia area. They [already] know what it is."[6]
Critical reception
"1 Thing" received acclaim from music critics. In its review of Touch, Rolling Stone named the song "an early front-runner for song-of-the-summer status," also ranking it the number one single of 2005.[7] Pitchfork stated that Harrison "knows something about horns, big glorious ascending heavenly anthemic horns" and "drums, huge sweaty riotous back-and-forth second-line old-school Clyde Stubblefield drums."[8] AllMusic described "1 Thing" as being "just as exciting" as "Oh, Calcutta!" for how it "[flails] all over the place with unbound joy".[9]
The song received second place behind
The song received a nomination for
Commercial performance
In the United States, "1 Thing" debuted at the bottom of the
In the United Kingdom, "1 Thing" debuted and peaked at number four on the
Music video, covers, and other uses
The music video for "1 Thing", directed by Chris Robinson and Amerie, revealed to the public the singer's sexual side.[2] It focuses on her dance routines, featuring her as a go-go dancer in various setups, intercut with footage from the film Hitch. Amerie co-directed the video with Chris Robinson after she approached him with the video's concept in mind.[28] The two collaborated again when directing the music video for the following single, "Touch".
"1 Thing" was played during the pole dancing scene in the film
Remixes
The song's only official remix features guest vocals from rapper Eve,[34] and an alternate version of the music video was created for it. Amerie said that she chose Eve to appear on the remix because most other female R&B singers were accompanied by male rappers, and that Eve "epitomizes that whole independent fearless female doing her thing. She's fashionable and very much a woman even though she definitely has a lot of attitude, the strength that most would attribute to men. ... With '1 Thing' being such an aggressive track, it was perfect to see two females really doing it."[35]
A second remix features Fabolous and a third features B.G. Siik remixed[36] "1 Thing" by using instrumentals from a song by Japanese producer Nujabes. Stylus Magazine listed Siik's remix seventh on its list of the top ten remixes of 2005 and commented that "it's enough to warrant a whole change of venue, from the sizzling pep of the dance floor to the silk luxury of the bedroom."[37] Most of the unofficial remixes were released on mixtapes, and Amerie said that she liked them all, particularly those by Fabolous, B.G., and Juelz Santana.[34][38]
Punk rock band T.S.O.L. released a cover of the song on a 12" record in 2019 and the song also appears on their 2024 album "A-Side Graffiti"
Track listings
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Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Touch.[42]
Recording and management
- Recorded at Sony Music, New York City, and Night Flight Studios, Fort Washington, Maryland
- Mixed at The Hit Factory, New York City
- Mastered at Sterling Sound, New York City
- Published by Mi Suk Publishing (ASCAP) controlled and administered by Universal Music Corp. (ASCAP)/EMI Blackwood Music, Inc. (BMI) obo itself and Dam Rich Music (BMI)/EMI U Catalog Inc. (ASCAP)
Personnel
- Amerie – vocals
- Rich Harrison – production
- Jocelyn McElroy – background vocals
- Bram Tobey – recording assistance
- Tony Maserati – mixing
- Tom Coyne – mastering
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI)[69] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
United States (RIAA)[22] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Release history
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
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United States | January 18, 2005 | Urban radio
|
Columbia | [5] |
March 8, 2005 | Digital download | [70] | ||
March 28, 2005 | Contemporary hit radio | [71] | ||
United Kingdom | May 12, 2005 | Digital download | [72] | |
May 23, 2005 |
|
[73] | ||
Australia | CD | [74] | ||
Denmark | May 30, 2005 | [75] |
References
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