The 1

"The 1" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, for her eighth studio album, Folklore, released on July 24, 2020 by Republic Records. As the opening track of the album, the song was written by Swift and Aaron Dessner, with production from the latter. "The 1" is a bouncy, minimal and electronic song with slow danceability, written from the perspective of a friend of Swift. In the song, the narrator describes their newborn positive approach to life and past romance, in a sad but humorous tone, using one-liners.

"The 1"
Song by Taylor Swift
from the album Folklore
ReleasedJuly 24, 2020 (2020-07-24)
Recorded2020
Studio
  • Kitty Committee Studio (Los Angeles)
Genre
Length3:30
LabelRepublic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Aaron Dessner
Lyric video
"The 1" on YouTube

Upon release, "The 1" received positive reviews from music critics. It debuted at number one on the United States Spotify chart with 4.175 million streams, becoming the biggest song debut by a female artist in the platform's history, and debuted at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, constituting Swift's record-extending 28 top-10 hits and 18 top-10 debuts in the US. The song reached top-tier positions in several countries worldwide, debuting inside the top-five in Australia, Malaysia and Singapore, and the top-ten in Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Background

In a Vulture interview, Aaron Dessner revealed that "The 1" was the first song Swift had written for Folklore. Swift went through the files that Dessner had sent to her and wrote the song to one of the compositions, in a couple of hours in the middle of the night. Dessner worked on the music for the voice memo Swift sent back, tracked her vocals, and sent it to Bryce Dessner in France, who added the orchestration to the song. Swift described the song as "bookends" to Folklore, along with "Hoax", the final track on the album.[1]

Composition and lyrics

"The 1" has been described as a slowed down, danceable track, with Vox's Allegra Frank calling it a "gray-skied stroll through [Swift's] day-to-day".[2] The song has a "trickling" piano instrumentation, that is driven by a bouncy arrangement of minimal percussion, electronic accents and orchestrations. Lyrically, written from the perspective of a friend, "The 1" sees the narrator describe their optimistic headspace, reminiscing positively on a past love, confessing that they wishes they could have been soulmates, with an underlying sense of humor juxtaposed against the sadness.[3][2][4][1] The song is written in the key of C major and has a fast tempo of 140 beats per minute.[5]

Critical reception

"The 1" received positive reviews from critics. The track opens with the lyrics "I'm doin' good, I'm on some new shit". Consequence of Sound's Katie Moulton noted this as an example of "a transgression against 'radio-' and 'family-friendly'" that Swift expresses on Folklore.[6] Laura Snapes of The Guardian described the song as "a bouncy reminiscence of a lost lover from [Swift's] 'roaring twenties'".[4] Writing for The Line of Best Fit, Eloise Bulmer stated that its titular line offers a glimpse into the "witty and unlucky-in-love Swift".[7] Jody Rosen of the Los Angeles Times called the song a "stoic look back at a fizzled romance", driven by ringing piano chords and sprightly beats.[8] Roisin O'Connor of The Independent praised the track for its lyrics characterized by one-liners.[9]

Commercial performance

In the United States, upon the release of Folklore, "The 1" debuted at number one on the US Spotify chart with 4.175 million streams, becoming the biggest song debut by a female artist in the platform's history.[10] "The 1" debuted at number four on the Billboard Hot 100, increasing Swift's total of top-10 hits to 28 and top-10 debuts to eighteen, accompanied by "Cardigan" at number one and "Exile" at number six in the same week. This made Swift the first ever act in history to debut two songs in the top four and three songs in the top six, simultaneously.[11]

"The 1" reached number number four in Australia, number five in Malaysia and Singapore, and number seven in Canada, Ireland and New Zealand. Debuting at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart,[12] it gave Swift her sixteenth top-10 single in the country.[13]

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[14]

  • Taylor Swift – vocals, songwriter
  • Aaron Dessner – producer, songwriter, recording engineer, acoustic guitar, drum programming, electric guitar, mellotron, piano, synth bass, synthesizer
  • Kyle Resnick – engineer
  • Jonathan Low – recording engineer, mixer
  • Jason Treuting – percussion
  • Thomas Bartlett – synthesizer
  • Yuki Numata Resnick – viola, violin
  • Laura Sisk – vocal engineer
  • Randy Merrill – mastering engineer

Charts
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[15] 4
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[16] 7
Ireland (IRMA)[17] 7
Malaysia (RIM)[18] 5
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[19] 99
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[20] 7
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[21] 36
Singapore (RIAS)[22] 5
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 92
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[24] 10
US Billboard Hot 100[25] 4
US Rolling Stone Top 100[26] 2

Release history
Release dates and formats for "The 1"
Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various July 24, 2020
Republic [27]
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See also

References
  1. Gerber, Brady (July 27, 2020). "The Story Behind Every Song on Taylor Swift's folklore". Vulture. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  2. Frank, Allegra (July 24, 2020). "The 6 songs that explain Taylor Swift's new album, Folklore". Vox. Archived from the original on July 25, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  3. Mylrea, Hannah (July 24, 2020). "Taylor Swift – 'Folklore' review: pop superstar undergoes an extraordinary indie-folk makeover". NME. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  4. Snapes, Laura (July 24, 2020). "Taylor Swift: Folklore review – bombastic pop makes way for emotional acuity". The Guardian. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  5. "Key & BPM for the 1 by Taylor Swift". TuneBat. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  6. Moulton, Katie (July 24, 2020). "Taylor Swift's folklore Dismantles Her Own Self-Mythologizing: Review". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  7. Bulmer, Eloise (July 24, 2020). "Folklore finds Taylor Swift elegantly evoking amid a perfectly minimalist sound". The Line of Best Fit. Archived from the original on July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  8. Rosen, Jody (July 24, 2020). "Review: Taylor Swift's radically intimate 'Folklore' is the perfect quar album". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  9. O'Connor, Roisin (July 24, 2020). "Taylor Swift's eighth album Folklore is exquisite, piano-based poetry – review". The Independent. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  10. Rolli, Bryan (July 25, 2020). "Taylor Swift's 'Folklore' Smashes Spotify Records As It Heads for the Biggest Debut Of 2020". Forbes. Archived from the original on July 25, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  11. Trust, Gary (August 3, 2020). "Taylor Swift Debuts at No. 1 on Hot 100 With 'Cardigan,' Is 1st Artist to Open Atop Hot 100 & Billboard 200 in Same Week". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  12. "Joel Corry & MNEK hold on to Number 1 with Head & Heart". www.officialcharts.com. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  13. Brandle, Lars (July 28, 2020). "Taylor Swift Set to Land Three 'Folklore' Tracks in U.K. Top 10". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 27, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  14. "Folklore by Taylor Swift". Tidal. Archived from the original on July 25, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  15. "Australian-charts.com – Taylor Swift – The 1". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  16. "Taylor Swift Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  17. "Official Irish Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  18. "Top 20 Most Streamed International & Domestic Singles in Malaysia". Recording Industry Association of Malaysia. Recording Industry Association of Malaysia. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  19. "Dutchcharts.nl – Taylor Swift – The 1" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  20. "Charts.nz – Taylor Swift – The 1". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  21. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  22. "RIAS International Top Charts Week 31". Recording Industry Association (Singapore). Archived from the original on August 5, 2020.
  23. "Swisscharts.com – Taylor Swift – The 1". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  24. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  25. "Taylor Swift Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  26. "Top 100 Songs, July 24, 2020 - July 30, 2020". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  27. Strauss, Matthew (July 24, 2020). "Taylor Swift Releases New Album folklore: Listen and Read the Full Credits". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
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