"One Word" is a song by British singer
Kelly Osbourne
Kelly Michelle Lee Osbourne (born 27 October 1984) is an English television personality, singer, actress, model, and fashion designer. The daughter of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, she appeared on the reality show ''The Osbournes'' (2002–2005) w ...
, released as the first and only single from her second studio album, ''
Sleeping in the Nothing
''Sleeping in the Nothing'' is the second and most recent studio album by Kelly Osbourne, released in 2005. Unlike the pop punk sound of her first album, ''Sleeping in the Nothing'' features Osbourne singing to '80s-inspired electro beats. For th ...
'' (2005), in May 2005. Unlike the pop-punk sound Osbourne sported in the past, "One Word" is a synthpop song that showed Osbourne embracing dance music. To date it is Osbourne's last single release.
Critical reception
"One Word" received positive reviews from music critics, even some of Osbourne's harshest critics. On the track, ''Billboard'' said "she glides through the space-age number like she's the princess of the new wave dancefloor." Similarly, Malinda Lo said the track "eases you in with a spacey, synthesized intro" and "makes use of computer assistance in the best possible way". Brian Hiatt with ''Rolling Stone'' remarked, "Turns out her affectless vocals are better suited to...
Eurythmics
Eurythmics were a British pop duo consisting of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart. They were both previously in The Tourists, a band which broke up in 1980. The duo released their first studio album, '' In the Garden'', in 1981 to little succ ...
-biting synth-pop." While the single was not successful on the
US Billboard Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming i ...
, it was highly successful on the US dance charts where it reached number 1 on three US dance charts. It was consistently played at nightclubs across the nation, due to a remix by acclaimed DJ Chris Cox.
''
Slant
Slant can refer to:
Bias
*Bias or other non-objectivity in journalism, politics, academia or other fields
Technical
* Slant range, in telecommunications, the line-of-sight distance between two points which are not at the same level
* Slant d ...
'' ranked it as the fourth best single of 2005.
Chart performance
On 15 May 2005, "One Word" debuted and peaked at number 9 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
becoming Osbourne's third top 10 hit in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. A week later, it dropped to number 16 and the week after, it fell to number 21. Then on 11 June it fell nine places to number 30 and then eleven places to number 41. The following week, it dropped to number 62 and the song made its last appearance on the chart on 2 July at number 98, lasting 7 weeks on the chart. In the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, "One Word" failed to chart on the
US Billboard Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming i ...
but peaked at number 21 on
Bubbling Under Hot 100
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...
chart, a continuation of the Billboard Hot 100.
Music video
The music video to "One Word" was filmed in early 2005 and was directed by Chris Applebaum. The video, which is filmed in black and white and is based on several themes and scenes from the 1965 French cult sci-fi movie ''
Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution
''Alphaville: une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution'' (''Alphaville: A Strange Adventure of Lemmy Caution'') is a 1965 French New Wave science fiction neo-noir film directed by Jean-Luc Godard. It stars Eddie Constantine, Anna Karina, Howard Ve ...
'' (''Alphaville: Strange Adventure of Lemmy Caution'', mostly known simply as ''Alphaville'') by
Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as Franà ...
.
The video begins with Osbourne sitting in the back of a black
taxi
A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...
with two men sitting in front of her as it rains outside. She then opens a book onto a page with a picture of a man and on the other page is words handwritten in French. The two men then walk into a building followed by Osbourne and they enter a room where Osbourne sings to two microphone speakers. While she's doing this, scientific shapes start appearing on a black screen with subtitles below which reads "What is the privilege of the dead?, To die... no more". After this, she, along with the two men, walk down a spiral staircase and then she enters an elevator with a woman inside. Kelly then notices that the woman has the code 37164 tattooed on her neck and as she and the men exit the elevator, she takes out her camera necklace and takes a picture of the woman. She then walks down the corridor singing the chorus while sliding her hands on the walls. After this, she and the men enter a room and the two men sit in front of a table with a woman standing on it with a scientist positioning her. Osbourne is shown taking notes of what is happening but as she's doing this, it is shown that a picture is above her but it's the same picture of the man that was shown in her book at the beginning of the video. She then gets her camera necklace out again and takes a picture of the scientist positioning the woman. She and the two men enter another room where three women who are dressed in swimsuits are shown placing roses on three men. A
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
is then shown flying around the room but while this is happening, one of the men exhales a cloud of smoke. Kelly and the two men then walk out of the room and enter another room where an audience of men are scoring a woman who is modelling and posing for them. Towards the end of the video, Osbourne is shown laying on a bed, but she pulls out a ball from under her sleeve with the number 1 marked on it. She then rolls it over to the woman modelling for the men and she bends over to pick it up. The model goes over to a man and sits on his lap to distract him. While he's not looking, she places the ball into a hole which causes a series of television screens to display random numbers. After this, Kelly and the two men leave the building and get back in the taxi. As they are driving, she looks out the back window and sees that the street lights they drive past the turn off as the screen fades to black.
Controversy
Similarities were noted between "One Word" and the 1980s song "
Fade to Grey" by the band
Visage. The resulting copyright issues were settled out of court after Osbourne's writing team agreed to give Visage a share of the royalties.
Track listing
*
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
EP
# "One Word" (Chris Cox Remix) – 7:56
# "One Word" – 4:03
# "One Word" (Favela Funk Remix) – 4:16
# "One Word" (Instrumental) – 4:05
# "Sound of the Crowd" (Human League cover) – 3:55
*CD single
# "One Word" (Chris Cox Club Remix) – 7:57
# "One Word" (album version) – 4:03
# "One Word" (Favela Funk Remix) – 4:16
# "One Word" (album instrumental) – 4:05
# "Sound of the Crowd" (Human League cover) – 3:55
*One Word Pt. 1
# "One Word" (radio edit)
# "One Word" (Chris Cox's Radio Edit)
*One Word Pt. 2
# "One Word" (album version) – 4:03
# "Sound of the Crowd" – 3:55
# "One Word" (Chris Cox's Club Remix) – 7:57
# "One Word" (music video)
Charts
References
{{Kelly Osbourne
2005 songs
2005 singles
Kelly Osbourne songs
Music videos directed by Chris Applebaum
Black-and-white music videos
Songs written by Linda Perry