Maybe I should jump on the whole Throwback Thursday thing.
One of my favorite things to write about is old music, specifically music from the 2000-2009 era when things were just the best . What better way to keep that era of music alive then to bring it back up from time to time. Considering that is is the ‘Laffy Taffy’ era its bound to be overlooked.
#NeverForgetTheClassics
So if you had ears in 2005 then you have to remember the Amerie smash ‘1 Thing’.
The song took the radio by storm becoming Amerie’s first number 1 hit on the R&B charts. It also was thrown onto the Hitch soundtrack, further exposing it to the public. To date the song serves as Amerie’s shining musical moment and one of the best songs of the 2000’s.
‘1 Thing’ is pretty much the step-sister of Beyonce’s ‘Crazy in Love’. Both songs are horn driven anthems that kick in full force. ‘Crazy in Love’ is still one of the best singles ever, so that’s why ‘1 Thing’ is the step-sister. Still great, but not the original.
Amerie took a lot of notes from ‘Crazy’ because the same things that worked for Beyonce worked for her. In ‘Crazy’ there was the ‘Uh-Oh’ sections, in ‘1 Thing’ we have the ‘Na Na Na Na Na Oh’ keeping us company. By no means am I saying that Amerie jacked Beyonce’s style, but there’s definitely some influence going on here.
The song was produced by Rich Harrison, who also produced ‘Crazy in Love’ *Further Proof*. Harrison is easily one of my top 5 producers and ‘1 Thing’ is the perfect example why. In an era where synths were ruling the airwaves, Harrison was able to get big band back on the radio. There are so many musical layers to ‘1 Thing’ that it’s impossible to catch them all on first listen. Once you get past the horns, you start to hear the plethora of instruments Harrison used.
It’s always evident when an artist write the music their singing. ‘1 Thing’ and Amerie flow together flawlessly. She sounds so natural on the track. Her voice is on the weaker side, but she knows her strengths enough to mask that.
‘1 Thing’ is just a smash in every sense of the word. Can we pause and talk about that breakdown?
Just perfect.
The drums. The “oh-oh-oh’s”. The talking. Grade A Breakdown.
The song screams hit and it was. Peaking at number 8 on the Hot 100, ‘1 Thing’ was able to make enough of an impact that it made Rolling Stone’s best songs of the 2000’s list at number 22.
Chances are that you probably forgot about ‘1 Thing’. To be honest, I did too until I heard it this past weekend. This is why we need to keep the memory of the 2000’s alive. Don’t let the classics sleep on you. It’s the one thing we have to do.
*See what I did there*
Theezy Knows Best 