"Only One" is a song by American recording artist
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
, featuring English musician
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
. The song was released on December 31, 2014, and was the first song released by West after the release of his sixth studio album ''
Yeezus
''Yeezus'' is the sixth studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on June 18, 2013, through Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records. West gathered a number of artists and close collaborators for the production, ...
'' (2013).
The song was written by artists
Noah Goldstein
Noah Goldstein is an American record producer, composer, engineer, and mixer, and also works in A&R. He won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album for his work on Kanye West's ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'', and has been nominated for six others ...
,
Mike Dean, and
Kirby Lauryen. Produced by the former four, the song is a tribute to West's daughter, North, and is sung as a message to Kanye from the perspective of his late mother,
Donda West
Donda C. West ( Williams; July 12, 1949 – November 10, 2007) was an American professor and chair of Chicago State University's Department of English, Communications, Media and Theater. She was the mother of rapper Ye, better known as Kanye We ...
.
McCartney is featured on the track as a musician and can be heard on "faint" and electronically manipulated backing vocals, but does not sing any lead vocal part.
Background
The song was recorded over a two-day period in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
in September 2014 in which West and McCartney, alongside other artists, recorded upwards of nine songs.
The track was released on December 31, 2014, to the
iTunes Store
The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...
. The track features English musician and former member of
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
and
Wings
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expre ...
,
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
, and was the first of two rumored collaborations between the two artists, the other being a track called "Piss On Your Grave". "Only One" was the first of three McCartney–West collaborations to be released commercially, as the two would later appear on "
FourFiveSeconds
"FourFiveSeconds" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna, American rapper Kanye West, and English musician Paul McCartney. It was written and produced by McCartney, Kanye West, Mike Dean, Dave Longstreth and Noah Goldstein with additio ...
" alongside singer
Rihanna, released just twenty-four days after "Only One", as well as on West's "
All Day". "Only One" also features uncredited vocals from
Ty Dolla $ign
Tyrone William Griffin Jr. (born April 13, 1982), known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign (stylized as Ty Dolla $ign or Ty$), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He first gained major recognition in 2010 for his feature on Ameri ...
.
Kanye West is described in a press release as not being able to remember singing the words to "Only One" when he and McCartney were later reviewing the early 2014 sessions that generated the song. Later, West "realized that perhaps the words had never really come from him … he understood in that moment that his late mother, Dr. Donda West, who was also his mentor, confidante, and best friend, had spoken through him that day ... A message had been passed down through generations." In the song Kanye is singing from the perspective of his mother
Donda West
Donda C. West ( Williams; July 12, 1949 – November 10, 2007) was an American professor and chair of Chicago State University's Department of English, Communications, Media and Theater. She was the mother of rapper Ye, better known as Kanye We ...
, who died in 2007.
West's then-wife
Kim Kardashian
Kimberly Noel Kardashian (formerly West; born October 21, 1980) is an American socialite, media personality, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the s ...
tweeted upon the release of the track that it is her favorite track by West, saying, "People always ask me what my favorite Kanye song is and it's 'Only One'. Kanye feels like his mom sang thru him to our daughter."
Live performances
*
57th Annual Grammy Awards
The 57th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 8, 2015, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The show was broadcast live by CBS at 5:00 p.m. PST ( UTC−8). Rapper LL Cool J hosted the show for the fourth consecutive time ...
(February 8, 2015)
* ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
'' (February 15, 2015)
* ''
Skavlan'' (February 27, 2015)
* ''
The Jonathan Ross Show
''The Jonathan Ross Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by Jonathan Ross. It was first broadcast on ITV on 3 September 2011 and airs on Saturday evenings following the conclusion of Ross' BBC One chat show, ''Friday Night with Jonat ...
'' (March 15, 2015)
Personnel
*
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
- vocals
*
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
- electric piano, backing vocals
Music video
On the episode of ''
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was pro ...
'' which aired January 29, 2015, West revealed a preview of the music video for "Only One", directed by
Spike Jonze on his
iPhone. West tweeted a link to the full music video available to watch on his web site later the same day.
The video was shot in the minimalist style that West had been continuously using. It sees West walking through a soggy field with his daughter North, who was 18 months old at the time, and he is silhouetted by fog.
''
Pitchfork Media
''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog.
Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...
'' named "Only One" the sixth best music video of 2015.
Chart performance
"Only One" debuted at number 35 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 on the chart dated January 17, 2015. Its debut was mainly on the strength of digital download sales; it sold 125,000 copies during its first week, making it the week's tenth-best selling single. It also marked McCartney's first top 40 hit in the United States in over 25 years, when 1989's "
My Brave Face" had reached number 25.
[ Following three weeks on sale in the United States, "Only One" had sold 230,000 total copies. On 28 July 2015, the song was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.
The song also debuted at number 35 in 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 ...
on the chart dated January 10, 2015. On its second week on the chart, the song rose to number 28.
In New Zealand, the song debuted at number 8 on the New Zealand Singles Chart
The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Music ...
, marking West's first top ten single there since Jay-Z's 2009 single "Run This Town
"Run This Town" is a song by American rapper Jay-Z. The song also features Rihanna and Kanye West. It was released on July 24, 2009. It was written by the performing trio, with assistance from Ernest Wilson and Jeff Bhasker. Production of the ...
", and first top ten as a lead artist since 2008's " Heartless". It also marks Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
's first charting single there since his 1993 single " Hope of Deliverance" and first top ten single since 1983's "Say Say Say
"Say Say Say" is a song written and performed by English musician Paul McCartney and American musician Michael Jackson, released in October 1983 as the lead single to McCartney's 1983 album ''Pipes of Peace''. Produced by George Martin, the son ...
" with Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
See also
* List of UK R&B Singles Chart number ones of 2015
References
External links
*
Review of Only One
at ''The Beatles Bible''
{{Paul McCartney singles
2014 singles
2014 songs
Def Jam Recordings singles
Kanye West songs
Music videos directed by Spike Jonze
Paul McCartney songs
Roc-A-Fella Records singles
Song recordings produced by Kanye West
Songs written by Kanye West
Songs written by Paul McCartney
Soul ballads
Songs about parenthood
2010s ballads
Songs written by Kirby Lauryen