"I'm the Only One" is a song by American singer-songwriter

Melissa Etheridge Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist. Her eponymous debut album was released in 1988 and became an underground success. It peaked at No. 22 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and its lead ...

from her fourth studio album, '' Yes I Am'' (1993). It was released as the first single in September 1993, reaching number 12 in Canada and number 26 in the Netherlands. In the United States, it was slow to gain momentum, but after the success of "

Come to My Window "Come to My Window" is a song by American singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge, released as the second single from her fourth studio album, '' Yes I Am'' (1993). This was the first song to become a hit after Etheridge publicly announced that she w ...

", it was re-released, peaking at number eight on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number one on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart in January 1995. It remains Etheridge's biggest hit on either chart.

Content

Like many songs on her first album, ''

'', "I'm the Only One" deals with non-monogamous relationships. In the verses, the singer tells how much she suffers because her partner desires someone else. In the chorus, the singer reminds her partner that even if her partner is in a new relationship, that the singer will always be the only one who really loves them with passion.

Music video

The music video for "I'm the Only One" was directed by David Hogan, marking their first collaboration on a video. Hogan, who became friends with Etheridge, later helmed several other of her videos, including "

Your Little Secret ''Your Little Secret'' is the fifth album by singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge, released in 1995. It was her most successful album on the ''Billboard'' 200, where it peaked at number six. The album also contained three singles, " Your Little ...

" in 1995 and " I Want to Be in Love" in 2001. It largely shows Etheridge performing at a club (including several close-up shots of her face) as well as same-sex couples making out to her sensual music.

Track listings

All songs were written by Melissa Etheridge. US cassette single # "I'm the Only One" (album version) – 4:54 # "

Maggie May "Maggie May" is a song co-written by singer Rod Stewart and Martin Quittenton, and performed by Rod Stewart on his album ''Every Picture Tells a Story'', released in 1971. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked the song number 130 on its list of T ...

" (live) – 6:18 US maxi-single # "I'm the Only One" (album version) – 4:54 # "Maggie May" (live) – 6:18 # "Ain't It Heavy" (live) – 4:13 # "I'm the Only One" (live) – 5:26 UK 7-inch vinyl :A. "I'm the Only One" (edit) – 4:15 :B. "I'm the Only One" (live) – 5:30 UK CD single # "I'm the Only One" (edit) – 4:15 # " Bring Me Some Water" – 4:22 # "I'm the Only One" (live) – 5:30 # "Yes I Am" (live) – 5:02 Dutch CD single # "I'm the Only One" (edit) – 4:15 # "I'm the Only One" (live) – 5:30 # "Yes I Am" (live) – 5:02

Credits and personnel

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

and

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

by Melissa Etheridge *

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

and

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

by Mauricio Fritz Lewak *

Electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

Waddy Wachtel Robert "Waddy" Wachtel (born May 24, 1947) is an American musician, composer and record producer, most notable for his guitar work. Wachtel has worked as session musician for other artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Nicks, Kim Carnes, Randy N ...

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

Scott Thurston Scott Troy Thurston (born January 10, 1952) is an American guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, and session musician. He was a member of the Stooges, and of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, in which he sang harmony vocals and played guitar, bass, k ...

* Bass by

Pino Palladino Giuseppe Henry "Pino" Palladino (born 17 October 1957) is a Welsh musician, songwriter, and record producer. A prolific session bassist, he has played bass for acts such as The Who, the John Mayer Trio, Nine Inch Nails, Gary Numan, Jeff Beck ...

Engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

–

Hugh Padgham Hugh Charles Padgham (born 15 February 1955) is an English record producer and audio engineer. He has won four Grammy Awards, for Producer of the Year and Album of the Year for 1985, Record of the Year for 1990, and Engineer of the Year for 1 ...

* Assistant engineers – Greg Goldman, John Aguto, Mike Baumgartner * Mixed by Hugh Padgham * Mastered by

Bob Ludwig Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Qu ...

at Gateway Mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

Covers

The song has been covered many times on ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

''. In the Top 4 of season one, it was covered by

Nikki McKibbin Katherine Nicole McKibbin (September 28, 1978 – November 1, 2020) was an American rock music singer-songwriter who finished third in the debut season of the reality television series ''American Idol''. Before ''American Idol'', McKibbin appeare ...

on 80's/90's week. In the Top 10 of season four, the song was covered by

Nadia Turner Nadia Turner (born January 11, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and radio/television personality, best known as the eighth place finalist on the fourth season of ''American Idol.'' Career Pre-''American Idol'' Turner was a for ...

on 90's week. In the Top 16 of season five,

Kellie Pickler Kellie Dawn Pickler (born June 28, 1986) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and television personality. Pickler gained fame as a contestant on the fifth season of ''American Idol'' and finished in sixth place. In 2006, she signed ...

covered it, before advancing to the Top 12. In season ten,

Lauren Alaina Lauren Alaina Kristine Suddeth (born November 8, 1994) is an American singer and songwriter from Rossville, Georgia. She was the runner-up on the tenth season of ''American Idol.'' Her debut studio album, ''Wildflower,'' was released on Octobe ...

covered the song on Top 12 week, when the contestants were to choose one song from the year they were born. On the first season of ''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

'',

Beverly McClellan Beverly McClellan (July 6, 1969 – October 30, 2018) was an American singer and a contestant in the first season of the American TV series ''The Voice'', reaching the final four. At age four, McClellan started playing the piano and later lea ...

covered the song on the 7th episode, the first week of live rounds. In November 2011,

Mark Salling Mark Wayne Salling (; August 17, 1982 – January 30, 2018) was an American actor and musician known for his role as Noah "Puck" Puckerman on the television series ''Glee''. Salling studied at the Los Angeles College of Music before work ...

covered the song in '' Glee's'' episode "

I Kissed a Girl "I Kissed a Girl" is the debut single of American singer Katy Perry from her second studio album, ''One of the Boys'' (2008). It was released on April 28, 2008, by Capitol Records as the lead single from the record. Perry co-wrote the song with ...

References

* Melissa Etheridge – ''Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled'' – Bonus DVD

External links

musicmoz.org
{{Authority control 1993 singles 1993 songs Island Records singles Melissa Etheridge songs Music videos directed by David Hogan Song recordings produced by Hugh Padgham Songs written by Melissa Etheridge