One Thing (Finger Eleven song)
| "One Thing" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Finger Eleven | ||||
| from the album Finger Eleven | ||||
| Released | September 2003 | |||
| Format | CD | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, acoustic rock | |||
| Length |
4:39 (album version) 3:32 (radio edit) | |||
| Label | Wind-up | |||
| Writer(s) | Scott Anderson, James Black, | |||
| Producer(s) | Johnny K | |||
| Finger Eleven singles chronology | ||||
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"One Thing" is a song by Canadian rock band Finger Eleven and the second single from their self-titled album. Released in September 2003, it won the 2004 MuchMusic Video Award for Best Video. It was written by Scott Anderson and James Black.
The band had thought their single "Stay in Shadow" would become a popular hit, but strong success fell on "One Thing" instead, although the track didn't find wide mainstream attention until several months after its 2003 release. "One Thing" reached #16 in the US and had exposure on TV series such as Smallville, Scrubs, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Third Watch. It was used on WWE's June 25, 2007, edition of RAW during a tribute video featuring Chris Benoit, who had been found dead along with his wife and son at their home shortly before the show started (unbeknownst to WWE, Benoit had murdered his wife and son, then killed himself). This song hit #5 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart being their highest-charting single there and stayed there for 26 weeks only behind Paralyzer that hit #1 on the chart and staying on the chart for 52 weeks being one of the longest running songs on the chart. The song was the most successful on the Adult Top 40 peaking at the top at #2 failing to reaching #1 being held off by Maroon 5's She Will Be Loved which had more airplay and sales, it also did well on other charts peaking #11 on Contemporary Hit Radio and found moderate success at #23 on the Adult Contemporary chart, the only Finger Eleven song to chart there.
Music video
The award-winning music video features black-and-white footage of the band in a surreal nocturnal environment featuring a beach with a checkered pattern shore. A massive hourglass is seen on the checkered floor as well as band members perched on tall stands and leafless trees. Other imagery includes a crow, a woman standing over thousands of candles along a building floor, a symphony orchestra conductor conducting an empty orchestra, and a musical box with a spinning, lifelike ballerina. The "One Thing" video is featured on WWE's Cheating Death, Stealing Life: The Eddie Guerrero Story and Hard Knocks: The Chris Benoit Story DVDs as an extra.
Chart positions
| Chart (2003–2004) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 16 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | 23 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks | 38 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks | 5 |
| U.S. Billboard Mainstream Top 40 | 11 |