"The One That Got Away" is a song co-written and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist

Jake Owen Joshua Ryan Owen (born August 28, 1981), known professionally as Jake Owen, is an American country music singer, songwriter, and actor. Signed to RCA Nashville in 2006, he released his debut studio album, '' Startin' with Me'', that year. This ...

. It is the ninth single of his career, and was released in May 2012 as the third single from his album ''

Barefoot Blue Jean Night ''Barefoot Blue Jean Night'' is the third studio album by American country music artist Jake Owen. It was released on August 30, 2011 via RCA Records Nashville. The album's first single, "Barefoot Blue Jean Night," is the fastest-rising single o ...

''. Owen wrote the song with

Jimmy Ritchey Jimmy Ritchey is an American country music songwriter and record producer from Centralia, Washington. Ritchey got his start as a record producer after producing demos for Tommy Shane Steiner. Initially, Ritchey was not intended to produce Steiner' ...

and

Dallas Davidson Dallas Davidson is an American country music singer and songwriter from Albany, Georgia, who has written for artists such as Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, Cole Swindell, Jake Owen, Luke Bryan, Randy Houser, Lady Antebellum, and Billy Curringto ...

Content

"The One That Got Away" is a reminiscence of a former lover during the narrator's teenage years. According to co-writer

, Owen " started talking about how the girls would come in for the summer. All the local guys down there would make a little summer girlfriend, but then they would leave. They would go back wherever they came from." Davidson also said that he wanted the song to have a "

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the lat ...

-ish groove".

Critical reception

Billy Dukes of ''

Taste of Country Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...

'' gave it three-and-a-half stars out of five. He thought that the song's release was perfectly timed for summer, and said that "Owen is becoming more adept at selling the emotion in his music, but he’s not quite at the level of someone like

Keith Urban Keith Lionel Urban (born 26 October 1967) is an Australian-American musician, singer, guitarist and songwriter known for his work in country music. Recognized with four Grammy Awards, Urban also received fifteen Academy of Country Music Award ...

Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has recorded more than 20 albums and has produced more than 40 Top 10 singles on the US ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Hot Coun ...

." Kevin John Coyne of ''Country Universe'' gave the song a C grade. Opining " So, “The One that Got Away” is about a summer love that ends when the weather changes. It's an old story. It's been done on the beach. It's been done at the seaside carnival. It's been done on the farm. It's been done in the fields. It's gotta be done with cleverness. Or distinctiveness. Or sincerity. This fails on all counts, leaving us with a generic summer song that's as easily forgotten as the love that it documents."

Music video

The music video was directed by Mason Dixon and premiered in late June 2012.

Chart performance

"The One That Got Away" debuted at number 55 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of May 26, 2012. It also debuted at number 93 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week of August 25, 2012. It also debuted at number 97 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart for the week of November 3, 2012. The single reached number 1 on the

Country Airplay Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since January 20, 1990. This chart lists the 60 most-listened-to records played on 150 mainstream country radio stations across the country as monitored ...

chart.

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:One That Got Away, The 2012 singles Jake Owen songs Songs written by Jake Owen Songs written by Dallas Davidson RCA Records Nashville singles 2011 songs Song recordings produced by Joey Moi Songs written by Jimmy Ritchey