"The One" is a song by American singer Mary J. Blige featuring Canadian rapper

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...

. Written alongside

Ester Dean Esther Renay Dean (born April 15, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, music producer and actress. Dean has also written songs for many artists, with numerous Top 10 hits, including No. 1 hits for Rihanna and Katy Perry, earning the name " ...

and producer

Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins Rodney Roy Jerkins (born July 29, 1977), also known by his stage name Darkchild, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has collaborated with a broad range of popular artists. Jerkins has won multiple Grammy Awards. Among hi ...

, it was released on July 21, 2009 as the lead single from her ninth studio album ''

Stronger with Each Tear ''Stronger with Each Tear'' is the ninth studio album from American R&B and soul singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige. The album was released in the US on December 21, 2009, under Blige's own imprint, Matriarch Records. Internationally it was rele ...

''. The song marked Blige's 5th entry on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart, on which it reached number 32. Blige's sum extended her lead for most charted titles among women in the 1990s and 2000s.

Background

"The One" is an energetic uptempo lasting three minutes and twenty-nine seconds, written by Blige in collaboration with

and

, and produced by producer

. Blige described the song "the most successful of my career, I loved working with Drake, I am very passionate about hip hop, R&B and to dance. This song will not disappoint you, even my future album." Blige told radio host

Angie Martinez Angela Martinez (born January 9, 1971) is an American radio personality, rapper, singer, and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice of New York" during her two-decade tenure at New York City station HOT 97 (WQHT), she left that position in 2014 to jo ...

on her New York radio show that the song introduces the world to the concept of "Crazy Mary", who uses

auto tune Auto-Tune (or autotune) is an audio processor introduced in 1996 by American company Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a proprietary device to measure and alter pitch in vocal and instrumental music recording and performances. Auto-T ...

. She explained: "It was for effect. I wanted 'Crazy Mary' to get her shine on. She couldn't get her shine with my regular voice. I used the effect. I used it as a telephone effect or reverb." Blige announced on June 27, 2009 that the official release for the single would not be until August 4. Despite her comments, the song was released on

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on July 21 for download.

Music video

Blige filmed the accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

for "The One" with director

Anthony Mandler Anthony Mandler (born April 18, 1973) is an American film director, music video director, television commercial director and photographer. As a music video director, his most notable and frequent collaborator is Rihanna. The two have worked on s ...

in August 2009, back-to-back with the video for her other single, "Stronger". Drake still appeared on the set for the video, despite reinjuring his ACL on stage during the

America's Most Wanted Tour Young Money Entertainment is an American record label founded by rapper Lil Wayne. Young Money's president is Lil Wayne's lifelong friend and fellow rapper Mack Maine. The label was an imprint of Cash Money Records and is distributed by Repub ...

just days before. The final video was released on August 28, 2009. It depicts Blige in different scenes with neon lights in most of them, Drake is shown rapping alone and in front of Blige. A success on

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

's ''

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rate ...

'', it battled for the number one spot daily. Its success on BET led it to place on the network's ''Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2009'' countdown at number 35.

Critical reception

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the musi ...

s Michael Menachem said that on the song, Blige joins "Auto-Tune nation" and that "The R&B siren sings a warped vocal that enhances the song's vibe of controlled chaos. Drake, who has his own hip-hop/R&B hit "Best I Ever Had," adds a punch of confidence that matches the intensity of Blige's snappy lyrics. Producer Rodney Jerkins, who has been churning out hits since the '90s, provides a forceful rhythmic structure for Blige in the form of a constant pulse underlying his pounding beats. Whether she's demanding exclusivity from her man or touting drama-free single life, Blige always sounds strong".

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:One, The 2009 singles Drake (musician) songs Mary J. Blige songs Music videos directed by Anthony Mandler Song recordings produced by Rodney Jerkins Songs written by Mary J. Blige Songs written by Ester Dean Songs written by Rodney Jerkins Songs written by Drake (musician) 2009 songs Geffen Records singles