Am I the Only One

"Am I the Only One" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Dierks Bentley. It was released in March 2011 as the sixteenth single release of his career and the first from his 2012 album Home. The song reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in September 2011.

"Am I the Only One"
Single by Dierks Bentley
from the album Home
ReleasedMarch 21, 2011 (2011-03-21)
Recorded2011
Genre
Length3:11
LabelCapitol Nashville
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Dierks Bentley singles chronology
"Draw Me a Map"
(2010)		 "Am I the Only One"
(2011)		 "Home"
(2011)

Background and writing

Bentley told Billboard that, following his bluegrass album Up on the Ridge, he wanted to "be back on [radio] and I wanted my fans to hear our stuff. I wanted to come back with a song that was fun for fans and fun for country radio and fun for us to play every night."[1] He co-wrote the song with Jon Randall, who produced Up on the Ridge, and Jim Beavers, who co-wrote Bentley's "Sideways". (Beavers' brother, Brett Beavers, produced all of Bentley's other albums.) Jim Beavers suggested the lyric "Am I the only one who wants to have fun tonight?", and the other two finished the song.[2]

Content

"Am I the Only One" is an up-tempo about a man who wants to party, but finds that his friends have other interests. In the chorus, the narrator asks, "Am I the only one who wants to have fun tonight?"[3] The first verse includes the names of some of Bentley's actual friends.[2]

This song is set in the key of A major and uses a basic three-chord structure. The first verse is A-E-A-E-A, while the second verse, which has a slightly different meter, uses A-E-A-D-E-A. The chorus uses the pattern A-D-E-A-D-E-A.[2]

Critical reception

Matt Bjorke of Roughstock rated the single four stars out of five, calling it a "light-hearted party anthem" and thought that its sound recalled Bentley's debut single, "What Was I Thinkin'".[4] Kevin John Coyne of Country Universe gave it a B- grade, saying that he enjoys the "boozy lethargy, especially in Bentley’s performance– it’s like he really doesn’t give a damn about anything so long as he gets his party on." He states that compared to his single, "Up on the Ridge", the song falls a little less flat.[5] In 2017, Billboard contributor Chuck Dauphin put "Am I the Only One" at number nine on his top 10 list of Bentley's best songs.[6]

Music video

The music video was directed by Deaton Flanigen and premiered in April 2011. His band members have acting roles in the music video. An NHL version of the music video was released and directed by Ryan Silver.

Chart performance
Chart (2011) Peak
position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[7] 65
US Billboard Hot 100[8] 39
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[9] 1

Year-end charts
Chart (2011) Position
US Country Songs (Billboard)[10] 6

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[11] Gold 40,000^
United States (RIAA)[12] Gold 500,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

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References
  1. Graff, Gary (April 25, 2011). "Dierks Bentley Recording 'My Kind of Country Music' for New Album". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 9, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  2. Conaway, Alanna (September 19, 2011). "Story Behind the Song: Not the Only One". Country Weekly. 18 (38): 16–17. ISSN 1074-3235.
  3. Wilkening, Matthew (March 21, 2011). "Dierks Bentley "Am I the Only One" — Song Spotlight". Taste of Country. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  4. Bjorke, Matt (March 22, 2011). "Dierks Bentley — "Am I the Only One"". Roughstock. Archived from the original on January 20, 2012. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  5. Coyne, Kevin John (July 12, 2011). "Summer Single Reviews Round-Up: Luke Bryan, Jake Owen, Jerrod Niemann, Zac Brown Band, Dierks Bentley". Country Universe. Retrieved July 19, 2011.
  6. Dauphin, Chuck (July 14, 2017). "Dierks Bentley's 10 Best Songs: Critic's Picks". Billboard. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  7. "Dierks Bentley Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
  8. "Dierks Bentley Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  9. "Dierks Bentley Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  10. "Best of 2011: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2011. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  11. "Canadian single certifications – Dierks Bentley – Am I the Only One". Music Canada. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  12. "American single certifications – Dierks Bentley – Am I the Only One". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 10, 2014. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
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