1 Thing

In 2004, when working on her second album Touch, Amerie enlisted the services of producer Rich Harrison, who had helped produce and write her first album All I Have. In May 2004, Harrison heard "Oh, Calcutta!" by the Meters for the first time and began working on the beat accompanying the ten-second back-and-forth breakdown between Meters drummer Ziggy Modeliste and guitarist Leo Nocentelli. Harrison said he loved the work of the Meters, especially Modeliste, commenting, "Ziggy, he's crazy."{{cite magazine | title=Miss Thing | author=Weiner, Jonah | magazine=Blender | issn=1534-0554|date=June 2005}} He processed the way the breakdown could be "flipped", added a bongo drum, a cowbell, and a ride cymbal, and sent it to Amerie. According to Harrison, they wrote and finished the song in two to three hours.

Amerie's manager and eventual husband, Len Nicholson, felt the song was "the single" to release. When executives at Amerie's label, Columbia/Sony Urban Music, heard "1 Thing", they felt that the song's choruses needed to be "bigger". They recommended that more music be added to the percussion-focused beat, but Harrison and Amerie replied that adding more to the beat would overpower the song.Ratcliffe, Fahiym. "Amerie: The Interview". Sun Reporter, volume 62, issue 19, page 4. May 12, 2005. Harrison and Amerie returned to the studio several times to rework the track. Each time they submitted a new version to the label, Columbia told them that the song sounded unfinished, but was unable to specify what should be changed. The label continued to refuse to release "1 Thing"; in Amerie's words, "People just weren't getting it".

Later in 2004, six months after recording "1 Thing", Amerie and Harrison leaked it to US radio stations in an attempt to get it released officially. The response from DJs and listeners was positive, and it consequently received airplay across the country. Columbia Records attempted to suppress the song because it was an unofficial release, and because Jennifer Lopez (another artist on the label) had expressed interest in recording the song for her own album, Rebirth.Shipley, Al. [http://www.stylusmagazine.com/review.php?ID=3014 "Amerie – Touch"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071204044225/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/review.php?ID=3014 |date=December 4, 2007 }}. Stylus Magazine. May 13, 2005. Radio stations refused to retract the song from their playlists, and Columbia eventually began promoting "1 Thing" as a single, making it a last-minute addition to the Hitch soundtrack. Lopez settled on another Harrison-produced, funk-infused track, the Usher outtake "Get Right". The song was officially serviced to American urban radio stations on January 18, 2005.{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/2000s/2005/RR-2005-01-14.pdf|title=Going for Adds|magazine=Radio & Records|issue=1589|page=21|date=January 14, 2005|access-date=May 21, 2021}}

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"1 Thing" was produced by Harrison and is built around a sample of the Meters' 1970 version of the theme song from the musical Oh! Calcutta!, "Oh, Calcutta!", written by Stanley Walden. Built around The Meters' funky beat-driven percussion, "1 Thing" finds Amerie lamenting an aspect of a relationship that keeps her satisfied. Even if other factors are less than positive, there is one thing that keeps her hooked ("It's this one thing that's got me trippin'"). Amerie said that the song was inspired by a conversation she had with Harrison "about relationships and how there's always one thing that keeps you attracted to someone. No matter what they do or how they act, there's that one undeniable thing that keeps you coming back."{{cite web |url= http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1496565/20050203/amerie.jhtml|title= Amerie Growing Up But Keeping Her Clothes On, Thank You|last= Hall|first= Rashaun|work= MTV News|date= February 3, 2005|access-date= September 9, 2023|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20050209115306/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1496565/20050203/amerie.jhtml|archive-date= February 9, 2005}} She told Blender that the "one thing" "could be bringing flowers, or something more ... physical. People think I'm just this good girl, but there are other sides they don't see."

Despite being based on a New Orleans funk sample, the song belies a strong go-go influence. Harrison likened the two based on their heavy use of percussion and chant. Amerie stated, "You don't hear go-go outside of D.C. ... I was like, 'We have to do it in an up-tempo way because when you hear it on the radio in D.C., it's fast.' ... So it's a fresh sound for everybody but people in the D.C./Maryland/Virginia area. They [already] know what it is."Crosley, Hillary. [https://web.archive.org/web/20050428034347/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1500747/20050425/amerie.jhtml Amerie Touches Up Her Go-Go Skills On New Record]. MTV.com, April 26, 2005. Retrieved February 17, 2008.

"1 Thing" received acclaim from music critics. In its review of Touch, Rolling Stone named the song "an early front-runner for song-of-the-summer status", also ranking it the number one single of 2005.Werde, Bill. [https://archive.today/20120910161554/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/7184849 "Touch : Amerie : Review"]. Rolling Stone. May 19, 2005. Retrieved August 29, 2008. Pitchfork stated that Harrison "knows something about horns, big glorious ascending heavenly anthemic horns" and "drums, huge sweaty riotous back-and-forth second-line old-school Clyde Stubblefield drums."{{cite web | url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/track_review/30306-1-thing | title=1 Thing | website=Pitchfork | access-date=June 8, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218024000/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/track_review/30306-1-thing | archive-date=December 18, 2008}} AllMusic described "1 Thing" as being "just as exciting" as "Oh, Calcutta!" for how it "[flails] all over the place with unbound joy".Kellman, Andy. [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r735221|pure_url=yes}} "Touch > Overview"]. AllMusic. Retrieved August 29, 2008.

The song received second place behind Kanye West and Jamie Foxx's "Gold Digger" on the 2005 Village Voice Pazz & Jop list, a survey of several hundred music critics conducted by Robert Christgau.[http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pjres05.php "The 2005 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll"]. The Village Voice. February 7, 2006. Retrieved August 29, 2008. Blender ranked "1 Thing" number 191 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born". It praised the song's "cascading drums...and Amerie's frantic, top-of-her-range vocals".{{cite magazine | title=The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born: 11-50 | magazine=Blender | issn=1534-0554|date=October 2005}} Calling it "a pretty fucking smart move to wrap perfect pop around a question that stays open all night", Pitchfork listed the song as the second best single of 2005, behind Antony and the Johnsons' "Hope There's Someone".{{cite web | url=http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/6221-top-50-singles-of-2005/5/ | title=Staff Lists: Top 50 Singles of 2005 | website=Pitchfork | date=December 30, 2005 | access-date=June 8, 2013}} The song was ranked 32nd on Pitchfork's top 500 songs of the 2000s,{{cite web |url=http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7692-the-top-500-tracks-of-the-2000s-50-21/2/ |title=The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s: 50-21 |last=Wolk |first=Douglas |date=August 20, 2009 |website=Pitchfork |access-date=November 3, 2014 |archive-date=July 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120712100102/http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7692-the-top-500-tracks-of-the-2000s-50-21/2/ |url-status=dead }} and the publication included "1 Thing" in its collection of The Pitchfork 500.{{cite book |editor1-last=Plagenhoef |editor1-first=Scott |editor2-last=Schreiber |editor2-first=Ryan |date=November 2008 |title=The Pitchfork 500 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |page=190 |isbn=978-1-4165-6202-3 |title-link=The Pitchfork 500 }} Christgau named it the 25th best song of the 2000s.{{cite web|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|date=December 24, 2009|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/list/rs00.php|title=Rolling Stone Ballot: The 00's Best Songs & Albums|publisher=Robert Christgau|access-date=February 17, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100102174101/http://robertchristgau.com/xg/list/rs00.php|archive-date=January 2, 2010|url-status = dead}} Björk also dubbed it the "Best! Song! Ever!"{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/01/arts/music/for-bjork-a-new-album-vulnicura-and-a-moma-show.html |title=Sometimes Heartbreak Takes a Hostage |website=The New York Times |date=January 30, 2015 |access-date=November 15, 2022 |first=Jon |last=Pareles |author-link=Jon Pareles}}

The song received a nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards, but lost to Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together".[https://web.archive.org/web/20060208034820/http://www.mtv.com/news/topics/g/grammy/2006/nominees/index.jhtml "48th Annual Grammy Awards"]. MTV News. Retrieved August 29, 2008.

In the United States, "1 Thing" debuted at the bottom of the Billboard Hot 100 on February 12, 2005. The song gradually climbed the chart over a 10-week period, peaking at number eight on the chart dated April 23, 2005, and exited the chart after a total of 20 weeks.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/amerie/chart-history/hsi/ |title=1 Thing Chart History (Hot 100) |magazine=Billboard |access-date=January 6, 2020}} Additionally, the single topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in on April 30, 2005, while reaching numbers 13 and 28 on the Rhythmic Top 40 and Pop 100 charts, respectively. The song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in October 2005 for digital sales and in June 2006 for ringtone sales.

In the United Kingdom, "1 Thing" debuted and peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart in late May 2005. It went on to spend 14 weeks on the chart and became the 38th best-selling single of 2005. In neighboring Ireland, the single debuted at number 10 on the Irish Singles Chart. It climbed to number six two weeks later, remaining on the chart for another nine weeks. "1 Thing" was successful in continental Europe, where it peaked at number 13 on the European Hot 100 Singles chart.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/278898/amerie/chart |title=Amerie's Chart History |access-date=January 11, 2008 |magazine=Billboard}} It reached the top 10 in Denmark, Finland, and Norway; the top 20 in Belgium and the Netherlands; and the top 40 in France, Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland. The song was also commercially successful in Oceania, reaching the top 20 in Australia and New Zealand.

The music video for "1 Thing", co-directed by Chris Robinson and Amerie, publicly revealed the singer's sexual side. It focuses on her dance routines, featuring her as a go-go dancer in various setups, intercut with footage from the film Hitch. Amerie approached Robinson with the video's concept in mind,DJ Vlad. Hot in Here. 2005. and the two collaborated again when directing the music video for the following single, "Touch".

Foo Fighters member Dave Grohl showed the video for "1 Thing" during 24 Hours of Foo, during a segment in which each member of the band presented one song that they considered their "guilty pleasure".{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}

American punk rock band T.S.O.L. released a cover of "1 Thing" as a 12-inch vinyl single in 2019. The band have attached a political theme to their version of the song.{{Cite web |last=Martin |first=Ryan |date=February 27, 2024 |title=T.S.O.L. – A-Side Graffiti |url=https://jammerzine.com/t-s-o-l-a-side-graffiti/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240413055712/https://jammerzine.com/t-s-o-l-a-side-graffiti/ |archive-date=April 13, 2024 |access-date=August 11, 2024 |website=Jammerzine}} Frontman Jack Grisham said:

I like go-go music and soul and anything that really moves. I first heard Amerie's "1 Thing" in 2005, when it was released. Fucking infectious man, the way that groove keeps rolling, and she's such a great vocalist. The lyrics were your basic relationship trip but then it hit me, this isn't just a song about some dude, these lyrics read like a song to a system or a government that'd been up to no good. When she sang, "memories keep ringing bells" I was thinking of the state of our union today, the turmoil in our society, and where we'd been before—I was musing on our involvement in the Middle East, Latin America, Vietnam. I was thinking about the dirty deeds that this nation had been up to and then she sang, "why don't you just admit it" and I realized that no one in power, not in this country, was ever gonna admit that we were wrong.{{Cite web |last=Edwards |first=Briony |date=November 28, 2018 |title=TSOL's cover of Amerie's 1 Thing is one of the weirdest things you'll hear today |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/tsols-cover-of-ameries-1-thing-is-one-of-the-weirdest-things-youll-hear-today |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220628211231/https://www.loudersound.com/features/tsols-cover-of-ameries-1-thing-is-one-of-the-weirdest-things-youll-hear-today |archive-date=June 28, 2022 |access-date=August 11, 2024 |website=Louder}}

American rapper Lauryn Hill sampled "1 Thing" during live performances, using the song during the second and last part of her single "Doo Wop (That Thing)".{{cite web |last=Reid |first=Shaheem |date=February 7, 2006 |title=Fugees Kick Off Grammy Week With Street-Party Concert |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1523879/20060207/fugees.jhtml |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060209040344/https://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1523879/20060207/fugees.jhtml |archivedate=February 9, 2006 |access-date=September 9, 2023 |work=MTV}} Likewise, British girl group Girls Aloud used the song as an interlude in performances of their 2004 single "Love Machine" during their Chemistry Tour in 2006.Girls Aloud. The Greatest Hits Live. Universal Music Group. November 13, 2006. Additionally, alternative rock band Elbow covered the song in a comedic fashion for an August 2005 performance on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge.{{Cite web |date=August 26, 2005 |title=BBC - Radio 1 - Jo Whiley |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/jowhiley/galleries/299/6/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070528121329/http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/jowhiley/galleries/299/6/ |archive-date=May 28, 2007 |access-date=August 11, 2024 |website=BBC}}

The song was played during the pole dancing scene in the 2010 film Somewhere,{{Cite book |last=Sickels |first=Robert C. |title=Sofia Coppola and Generation X (So Far) |date=August 15, 2024 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=9781793655851 |page=97}} and a gospel rendition of the song was included in the 2023 musical comedy Praise This.{{Cite web |last=Butler |first=Bethonie |date=April 8, 2023 |title='Praise This' isn't your grandma's gospel film — and that's the point |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2023/04/07/praise-this/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408205542/https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2023/04/07/praise-this/ |archive-date=April 8, 2023 |access-date=August 11, 2024 |work=The Washington Post}} It has also been placed in the soundtracks for many video games, notably Saints Row 2 and Grand Theft Auto V.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}

The song's only official remix features guest vocals from rapper Eve,{{Cite web |last=Reid |first=Shaheem |last2=Bland |first2=Bridget |date=May 4, 2005 |title=Amerie Shoots Down Goody-Goody Image, Says 'I'm Not A Prude' |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1499585/20050405/amerie.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050406222559/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1499585/20050405/amerie.jhtml |archive-date=April 6, 2005 |access-date=August 11, 2024 |website=MTV News}} and an alternate version of the music video was created for it. Amerie said that she chose Eve to appear on the remix because most other female R&B singers were accompanied by male rappers, and that Eve "epitomizes that whole independent fearless female doing her thing. She's fashionable and very much a woman even though she definitely has a lot of attitude, the strength that most would attribute to men. ... With '1 Thing' being such an aggressive track, it was perfect to see two females really doing it."{{Cite web |last=Reid |first=Shaheem |title=Amerie: Hands-On Personal Touch |url=http://www.mtv.com/bands/a/amerie/news_feature_050509/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209024625/http://www.mtv.com/bands/a/amerie/news_feature_050509/ |archive-date=February 9, 2012 |access-date=August 11, 2024 |website=MTV News}}

Unofficial remixes of "1 Thing" would later materialize, with rappers Fabolous and B.G. releasing versions of the song. DJ Siik would remix "1 Thing",{{Cite web |date=November 15, 2017 |title=SINGLE SERVINGS EP2: AMERIE'S "1 THING" (SIIK REMIX) |url=https://soul-sides.com/2017/11/single-servings-ep2-ameries-1-thing-siik-remix.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116185146/https://soul-sides.com/2017/11/single-servings-ep2-ameries-1-thing-siik-remix.html |archive-date=November 16, 2017 |access-date=2024-08-11 |website=Soul Sides}} using instrumentals by Japanese producer Nujabes. Stylus Magazine listed his remix seventh on its list of the top ten remixes of 2005, commenting that "it's enough to warrant a whole change of venue, from the sizzling pep of the dance floor to the silk luxury of the bedroom."{{Cite web |last=Cunningham |first=John M. |date=January 30, 2005 |title=Top 10 Remixes of 2005 |url=http://www.stylusmagazine.com/feature.php?ID=2064 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091001233022/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/feature.php?ID=2064 |archive-date=October 1, 2009 |access-date=August 11, 2024}} Most of these unofficial remixes were released on mixtapes and Amerie would later praise them, particularly those by Fabolous, B.G., and Juelz Santana.{{Cite web |last=Reid |first=Shaheem |last2=Dukes |first2=Rahman |last3=Calloway |first3=Sway |last4=Moss |first4=Corey |last5=Carroll |first5=Larry |last6=Bland |first6=Bridget |title=Mixtape Monday |url=http://www.mtv.com/bands/m/mixtape_monday/032105/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050321164701/http://www.mtv.com/bands/m/mixtape_monday/032105/ |archive-date=March 21, 2005 |access-date=August 11, 2024 |website=MTV News}}{{clear}}

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• UK and European CD single{{cite AV media notes|title=1 Thing - Amerie|year=2005|type=UK & European CD single liner notes|publisher=Columbia Records, Sony BMG|id=675940 1}}

1. "1 Thing" (radio edit) – 4:02
2. "1 Thing" (radio version featuring Eve) – 3:34

• UK and European enhanced maxi-single{{cite AV media notes|title=1 Thing -Amerie|year=2005|type=UK & European enhanced maxi-single liner notes|publisher=Columbia Records, Sony BMG|id=675940 2}}

1. "1 Thing" (radio edit) – 4:02
2. "1 Thing" (featuring B.G.) – 4:13
3. "Talkin' to Me" (Mark Ronson Sunshine remix – no loop) – 3:06
4. "1 Thing" (instrumental) – 3:59
5. "1 Thing" (video) – 4:01

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• US 12-inch single{{cite AV media notes|title=1 Thing - Amerie|year=2005|type=US 12-inch single sleeve|publisher=Columbia Records, Sony Urban Music|id=44 71958}}

:A1. "1 Thing" (album version) – 4:01

:A2. "1 Thing" (instrumental) – 3:59

:A3. "1 Thing" (a cappella) – 3:55

:B1. "1 Thing" (remix featuring Eve) – 4:13

:B2. "1 Thing" (remix featuring B.G.) – 4:13

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Credits adapted from the liner notes of Touch.{{cite AV media notes |title=Touch - Amerie|type=liner notes |publisher=Columbia Records |year=2005 |id=CK 90763}}

• Recorded at Sony Music, New York City, and Night Flight Studios, Fort Washington, Maryland
• Mixed at The Hit Factory, New York City
• Mastered at Sterling Sound, New York City
• Published by Mi Suk Publishing (ASCAP) controlled and administered by Universal Music Corp. (ASCAP)/EMI Blackwood Music, Inc. (BMI) {{abbr|obo|on behalf of}} itself and Dam Rich Music (BMI)/EMI U Catalog Inc. (ASCAP)

• Amerie – vocals
• Rich Harrison – production
• Jocelyn McElroy – background vocals
• Bram Tobey – recording assistance
• Tony Maserati – mixing
• Tom Coyne – mastering

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{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications and sales for "1 Thing"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Amerie|title=1 Thing|award=Platinum|type=single|relyear=2005|certyear=2022|date=October 21, 2022|id=12083-1795-1}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Amerie|title=1 Thing|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=2005|certyear=2005|date=October 27, 2005|access-date=June 1, 2013|refname="RIAA"}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|streaming=true}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Amerie}}

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{{Good article}}

Category:2004 songs

Category:2005 singles

Category:Amerie songs

Category:Columbia Records singles

Category:Eve (rapper) songs

Category:Music videos directed by Chris Robinson (director)

Category:Song recordings produced by Rich Harrison

Category:Songs written by Amerie

Category:Songs written by Rich Harrison