"The One" is a song written by British musician Elton John and lyricist Bernie Taupin, performed by John. It is the title track and first single released in May 1992 by The Rocket Record Company from John's twenty-third album of the same name (1992). On bonus footage for the DVD release of his concert Live in Barcelona, John states that he felt an intense connection to Taupin'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 until he walks along the beach".

Reception "The One" reached No. 9 on the US Billboard Hot 100, No. 1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, and No. 10 on the UK singles chart. 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 at the 1993 Grammy Awards.

Music video The music video for "The One" was directed by Russell Mulcahy. 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. After playing the song with the band in 2000 at Madison Square Garden during his One Night Only concerts, John permanently put it as a solo performance on his subsequent concert tours during the 2000s and 2010s.

Accolades Grammy Awards

|style="width:35px; text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|1993 || 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 Bernie Taupin Music by Elton John Engineered by David Nicholas Artwork by Gianni Versace Photography by Patrick Demarchelier Produced by Chris Thomas

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1992–1993)PeakpositionDenmark (IFPI) 5Estonia (Eesti Top 20)4Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) 5Europe (European Hit Radio) 1Italy (Musica e dischi) 4Portugal (AFP) 1UK Airplay (Music Week) 3US Cash Box Top 100 7

Year-end charts Chart (1992)PositionBelgium (Ultratop) 42Brazil (Crowley) 1Canada Top Singles (RPM) 9Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM) 5Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) 26Europe (European Hit Radio) 4Germany (Media Control) 91Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) 34UK Singles (OCC) 89UK Airplay (Music Week) 45US Billboard Hot 100 43US Adult Contemporary (Billboard) 4

Release history RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)United Kingdom25 May 1992Rocket1 June 1992CD2 Mislabelled as a 12-inch single on source.AustraliaJapan15 June 1992Mini-CD

References