1 Thing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| “1 Thing” | ||
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| Single by Amerie from the album Hitch soundtrack and Touch |
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| Released | May 23, 2005 | |
| Format | CD single, 12" maxi single, digital download | |
| Recorded | Night Flight Recording Studios (Fort Washington, Maryland) Sony Music Studios (New York City, New York) |
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| Genre | R&B, funk, go-go | |
| Length | 3:58 | |
| Label | Columbia | |
| Writer(s) | Amerie Rogers, Rich Harrison, Stanley Walden | |
| Producer | Rich Harrison | |
| Certification | Platinum (RIAA) | |
| Amerie singles chronology | ||
| "Paradise" (2003) |
"1 Thing" (2005) |
"Touch" (2005) |
| Alternate cover | ||
CD 2 cover
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| Audio sample | ||
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"1 Thing" is an R&B/funk/go-go song written by American singer-songwriter Amerie and Rich Harrison, and recorded by Amerie. The first single from Amerie's second studio album, Touch (2005), and the only single from the soundtrack to the 2005 romantic comedy film Hitch,[1] "1 Thing" peaked at number eight in the United States and number four in the United Kingdom, becoming Amerie's first top ten single and her biggest hit to date, also peaking at number one on the U.S. R&B singles chart. The single was certified platinum (200,000+ copies) by the RIAA and earned Amerie a Grammy Award nomination for "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance" at the 2006 Grammy Awards. "1 Thing" was certified gold by the RIAA for selling 500,000 in ringtones. A remix of the song features rapper Eve.
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[edit] 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 Oh! Calcutta!, "Oh, Calcutta!", written by Samuel Walden. Built around The Meters' funky beat-driven percussion, "1 Thing" finds Amerie lamenting on 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 from 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."[1] 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."[2]
Despite being based on a Meters sample, the song belies a strong go-go influence. Amerie has said, "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."[3]
[edit] History
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 Meters and that "New Orleans music is very close to [that of] D.C. Go-Go, very percussive and chant-oriented. And Ziggy, he's crazy."[2] He processed the way the breakdown could be "flipped", added a bongo drum, a cowbell, and a ride cymbal, and sent it to Amerie. According to Harrison, they wrote and finished the song in two to three hours.[2]
Amerie's manager, Len Nicholson, felt the song was "the single" to release.[1] When executives at Amerie's label, Columbia/Sony Urban Music, heard "1 Thing", they felt that the song's choruses needed to be "bigger" and that it was missing other necessary elements.[2] Harrison and Amerie returned to the studio several times to rework the track, but each time they submitted a new version to the label, they were told it was unfinished; in Amerie's words, "People just weren't getting it".[2] Harrison stepped in to vouch for the song; he had produced a similar-sounding hit, "Crazy in Love", for Beyoncé the year before, and hoped he could convince Sony to release the song based on the success of "Crazy in Love".[citation needed] Columbia was unconvinced and refused to release the single.
Later in 2004, six months after recording "1 Thing", Amerie and Harrison leaked it to U.S. radio stations in an attempt to get it released officially.[2][4] The response from DJs and listeners was positive, and it consequently garnered much airplay across the country. Columbia Records attempted to suppress the song because it was an unofficial release, and because Jennifer Lopez (another artist on the label) had expressed interest in recording the song for her own album, Rebirth.[4] Radio stations refused to retract the song from their playlists, and Columbia eventually began promoting "1 Thing" as a single, making it a last-minute addition to the Hitch soundtrack.[2] Lopez settled on another Harrison-produced, funk-infused track, the Usher outtake "Get Right".[4]
[edit] Video, remixes, 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.[1] It focuses on her dance routines, featuring her as a Go-Go dancer in various setups, intercut with footage from the film Hitch.
The song's only official remix[5] features guest vocals from rapper Eve, and an alternate version of the music video was created for it. Amerie that said 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."[6] A second remix features Fabolous, a third features B.G., and little-known Torontonian producer Satya Rock arranged an extended underground remix to feature E-40, Method Man, Lyrics Born, One Be Lo, Dres, Joe Budden, Talib Kweli, Beanie Sigel, Edan, and MF DOOM. 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.[7][5]
Lauryn Hill sampled "1 Thing" during the second and last part of "Doo Wop (That Thing)" during live performances. Girls Aloud mixed the song into performances of one of their biggest hits, "Love Machine", during their 2006 Chemistry Tour. Foo Fighters member Dave Grohl showed the video for "1 Thing" during 24 Hours of Foo, during a segment in which each member of the band presented one song that they considered their "guilty pleasure". The band Elbow covered the song in a comedic fashion on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge.
"1 Thing" was used in the PlayStation 2 karaoke game SingStar R&B.
[edit] Track listings
- CD 1
- "1 Thing" (Radio Edit) – 4:02
- "1 Thing" (Remix featuring Eve) – 3:34
- CD 2
- "1 Thing" (Radio Edit) – 4:02
- "1 Thing" (Remix featuring B.G.) – 4:13
- "Talkin' to Me" (Mark Ronson Sunshine Remix - No Loop) – 4:49
- "1 Thing" (Instrumental) – 3:59
- "1 Thing" (Video) – 4:01
[edit] Charts
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| Preceded by "Hate It or Love It" by The Game featuring 50 Cent |
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks number-one single April 30, 2005 |
Succeeded by "Slow Down" by Bobby Valentino |
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Hall, Rashaun. "Amerie Growing Up But Keeping Her Clothes On, Thank You". MTV News. February 3, 2005.
- ^ a b c d e f g Weiner, Jonah. "Miss Thing". Blender. June 2005.
- ^ Crosley, Hillary. Amerie Touches Up Her Go-Go Skills On New Record. MTV.com, April 26, 2005. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
- ^ a b c Shipley, Al. "Amerie - Touch". Stylus. May 13, 2005.
- ^ a b Reid, Shaheem and Bland, Bridget. "Amerie Shoots Down Goody-Goody Image, Says 'I'm Not A Prude'". MTV News. April 3, 2005.
- ^ Reid, Shaheem. "Amerie: Hands-On Personal Touch". MTV News. May 9, 2005.
- ^ "Mixtape Monday". MTV News. March 21, 2005.
- ^ Amerie > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2008-01-11.
- ^ Amerie - 1 Thing - Music Charts. αCharts.us. Retrieved on 2008-01-11.
- ^ European Hot 100 Singles. Billboard. Retrieved on 2008-01-11.
- ^ Euro 200 archives. APC-stats. Retrieved on 2008-01-11.
- ^ Amerie 1 Thing. Top40-Charts.com. Retrieved on 2008-11-01.
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