Recorded 2011 Length 3:11 | Genre Country
country rap Label Capitol Nashville | |
Released March 21, 2011 (2011-03-21) Format CD single
digital download | ||
"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 album Home. The song reached number-one on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in September 2011.
Contents
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." 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.
Content
The song is an uptempo 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?" The first verse includes the names of some of Bentley's actual friends.
Written in the key of A major, the song 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.
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'". Kevin John Coyne, reviewing the song for Country Universe, gave it a B- rating, 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.
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.