No One (Alicia Keys song)

Background and release

"No One" was written and produced by Alicia Keys, Kerry Brothers, Jr., and George M. Harry. Keys told MTV News Canada that the song "is really talking about the way that in relationships, the way that so many things are around you all the time to try to distract you. And even though people may talk and say whatever they may want to say, but then no one can get in the way of this." Keys said that it was a song that "just wrote itself". It was one of the last songs written for the album.

The song was first heard in August 2007 after Keys included a clip of the song in a newsletter on her official website and fan club. It was released officially on September 10, 2007, and its radio premiere was on Atlanta's WVEE on August 29. Keys performed a medley of "No One" with George Michael's "Freedom! '90" at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards on September 9. Remixes of the song featuring Lil' Kim, Damian Marley, Junior Reid, Beenie Man, Barbee, and Kanye West exist. The official remix has a different but similar beat from the original version and features rapper Cassidy; it was produced by Swizz Beatz.

Critical reception

"No One" received critical acclaim upon release. Popjustice viewed the song as "one of her best singles to date and possibly one of the eight best ballads of 2007". Billboard wrote that "No One" "shows the soulful chanteuse acting her age, in the best possible way" and that Keys "hold[s] back on the mastery of vocal craft to let cool, crisp production lead" adding that it "heralds her youth, while maintaining Keys' lockdown on penetrating hooks and soul-sopped production with a buoyancy that makes it a blast to sing along with." According to The Star-Ledger "No One" is a song in which "Keys attempts to offer uplift through cliches".

Digital Spy gave the song four stars out of five and described it as "simplistic yet beautiful, fluttering, piano-tinkling ballad", the lyrics of which "expose Keys' vulnerability and current loved-up status". David Mead of Paste commented that the song "showcases a new depth and width to the tone of her voice, which seems to get closer to that of Aretha Franklin with each album." The Washington Post stated that "No One" is one of the "gems" of the album, that "recalls a Bob Marley groove". Daily Star wrote that the song is a "lovechild" of the Black Eyed Peas' single "Where Is the Love?" and Whitney Houston's single "My Love Is Your Love".

Chart performances

With only one full day of airplay, "No One" debuted at number sixty-five on the U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart on the issue dated September 8, 2007. Seven weeks later, it reached the top position for ten weeks—becoming Keys' fifth number-one single on the chart—before being knocked out by her own song "Like You'll Never See Me Again" during the first charting week of 2008. The song initially debuted at number fifteen on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles for the week of September 15, 2007, and managed to jump to the Billboard Hot 100 at number seventy-one the following week without the benefit of download sales. The following week, it rose to number fifteen because of digital downloads, and reached the top spot the charting week of December 1, 2007, staying atop for five weeks, preventing Timbaland and OneRepublic's hit "Apologize" from reaching the summit. In the week between October 22–25, 2007, "No One" gained 14.3% in radio airplay and audience impressions which marks the single at number one. It is Keys' first solo single to reach number one on the Hot 100 since her debut single 2001's "Fallin'" and her third single, to date, to top the chart. The song's success marked Keys' return to the top twenty of the Billboard Hot 100 in three years; her last appearance occurred with the number-twenty entry "Karma". Furthermore, "No One" went on to top eleven other Billboard charts: the Hot 100 Airplay (for fourteen weeks in a row, the longest run atop the chart since Mariah Carey's 2005 hit "We Belong Together" spent sixteen weeks at number one), the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, the Hot Adult R&B Airplay, the Pop 100, the Pop 100 Airplay, the Top 40 Mainstream, the Rhythmic Top 40, the Hot Digital Songs, the Hot Digital Tracks, the Hot RingMasters, and the Hot Videoclip Tracks. The song was ultimately ranked number three on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 2008 and number six on the Billboard Hot 100 decade-end chart. It has sold 4,000,000 copies in the US as of June 2014.

"No One" was a massive success in Europe, peaking at number two on the composite European Hot 100 Singles as well as reaching the top position in Hungary and Switzerland, while charting inside the top five in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Slovakia, and the top ten in Denmark, Ireland, Spain, Norway, and the United Kingdom (where the single became Keys' first solo top ten hit since "Fallin'", peaking at number six and selling over 200,000 copies). "No One" has re-entered the UK Singles Chart twice since its official release, both times due television exposure (firstly after being performed by an auditionee on Britain's Got Talent and secondly after Keys herself performed it within a medley on The X Factor). In May 2009 it re-entered at number fifty-four and in December 2009 it re-entered at number fifty-one. In total "No One" has spent twenty-nine weeks inside the UK top one hundred singles, making it her longest-charting single in the UK at that point. It also charted highly in Oceania, spending three consecutive weeks at number three in Australia and six non-consecutive weeks at number two in New Zealand.

Rankings

"No One" was ranked at number 42 on The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs and number 14 on the Top Billboard Hot 100 R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. In 2009 the song was placed at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 decade-end chart. The song was also ranked at number three on the recap of "The 10 Best Songs of 2007" by Entertainment Weekly, while it was voted number twenty-three on The Village Voice's 2007 Pazz & Jop critics' poll (tied with Modest Mouse's "Dashboard", R. Kelly's "I'm a Flirt" (Remix) featuring T.I. and T-Pain, and Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend").

Popjustice placed it at 47 on their list of "The Greatest Singles of 2007". "No One" was also the most listened song on U.S. radio of 2008 with 3.08 billion listeners. In November 2012, Complex placed it at number one on their list of "The 25 Best Alicia Keys Songs", commenting that the "production was supreme, her vocals were at their strongest, and beyond technical merit".

In November 2012, The Grio ranked it at number four on their list of "Alicia Keys’ 15 Greatest Songs". BET included the song at number two on its list of the "The 25 Best Alicia Keys Songs", because "Alicia's soaring, power-packed alto contrast[s] beautifully with the soft piano cascades to create an undeniable anthem". PopCrush placed it at number two on its list of "Top 10 Alicia Keys Songs"

Music video

The song's music video, directed by Justin Francis, premiered on BET on September 24, 2007; it debuted on 106 and Park at number ten the following day, and has since peaked at number one. It premiered on Yahoo! Music on September 25 at number five and peaked at number one, and it premiered on Total Request Live on October 4 and peaked at number one. It debuted on VH1's VSpot Top 20 Countdown at number three, peaking at number one. The video was ranked at number twenty-two on VH1's "Top 40 Videos of 2007" and at number two on BET's "Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2007".

The video for "No One" consists of four settings: the first one shows Keys lying on a chair in an empty room; the second one is a musical instrument-decorated room in which Keys sings accompanied by a Roland Jupiter-8 keyboard; in the third one Keys is initially alone, playing the piano on a rainy street, and she later finds herself surrounded with dozens of people; in the fourth and final one Keys is in a blue-lit nightclub. The video ends with a gear divided into four fractions, each one featuring a previously shown setting, and with Keys lying on the chair in the same room shown at the very beginning of the video.

In media

"No One" was used in the theatrical trailer for the 2008 romantic comedy film 27 Dresses, as well as in the Ugly Betty episode "Burning Questions", originally aired on May 1, 2008.

Personnel