"The One" is the title track and first single released from English musician

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

's 1992 album of the same name. On bonus footage for the DVD release of his concert '' Live in Barcelona'', John states that he felt an intense connection to

Bernie Taupin Bernard John Taupin (born 22 May 1950) is an English songwriter, singer and visual artist. He is best known for his long-term collaboration with musician Elton John, a songwriting partnership that is one of the most successful in history. Tau ...

's lyrics for the song, in light of his personal circumstances around the time of making the album, in particular the line "for each man in his time is

Cain Cain ''Káïn''; ar, قابيل/قايين, Qābīl/Qāyīn is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He wa ...

until he walks along the beach".

Release and reception

"The One" reached No. 9 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, No. 1 on the ''Billboard''

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, and No. 10 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 ...

. In Canada, it reached No. 1 on the ''RPM'' 100 chart for two weeks and the ''RPM'' Adult Contemporary chart for five weeks. In Europe, it topped the Portuguese chart and reached the top 10 in seven other countries. It was nominated for

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award recognizing superior vocal performance by a male in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. It was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season. The award wen ...

at the

1993 Grammy Awards The 35th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 24, 1993 and recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. The nominations were announced on January 7, 1993. The evening's host was the American stand-up comedian Garry Shand ...

Music video

The music video was directed by

Russell Mulcahy Russell Mulcahy ( ; born 23 June 1953) is an Australian film director. Mulcahy's work is recognisable by the use of fast cuts, tracking shots and use of glowing lights, neo-noir lighting, windblown drapery, and fans. He directed music videos i ...

. It features John on a reflector and a mirror while singing it and several flags (similar to the "Healing Hands" video).

Live performances

John performed the song at the 1992 VMAs and the rest of his tours in the 1990s. He put this song permanently in his solo concert tours later on, as the year 2000 was the last time the song was performed with the band.

Accolades

Grammy Awards , - , style="width:35px; text-align:center;" rowspan="2",

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, , rowspan="2", "The One" , , Best Pop Vocal Performance – Male , , , -

Track listings

CD maxi # "The One" (edit) – 4:31 # "Suit of Wolves" – 5:38 # "Fat Boys and Ugly Girls" – 4:12 7-inch single # "The One" (edit) # "Suit of Wolves"

Personnel

* Lyrics by

* Music by Elton John * Engineered by David Nicholas * Artwork by

Gianni Versace Giovanni Maria "Gianni" Versace (; 2 December 1946 – 15 July 1997) was an Italian fashion designer, socialite and businessman. He was the founder of Versace, an international luxury-fashion house that produces accessories, fragrances, make-u ...

* Photography by

Patrick Demarchelier Patrick Demarchelier (; 21 August 1943 – 31 March 2022) was a French fashion photographer. Early life and education Born near Paris in 1943 to a modest family, Demarchelier spent his childhood in Le Havre, Normandy, with his mother and four ...

* Produced by Chris Thomas

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:One, The 1992 songs Elton John songs MCA Records singles Music videos directed by Russell Mulcahy Number-one singles in Portugal The Rocket Record Company singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by Chris Thomas (record producer) Songs with lyrics by Bernie Taupin Songs with music by Elton John