“No One”
Single by Alicia Keys from the album As I Am
Released	September 11, 2007
Format	CD single, 12" single, digital download
Recorded	2007
Genre	R&B, soul
Length	4:10 (Album Version) 4:06 (Radio Edit)
Label	J
Writer(s)	Alicia Keys, Kerry Brothers, Jr., George D. Harry
Producer	Alicia Keys, Kerry "Krucial" Brothers, Dirty Harry
Certification	4× platinum (Media Traffic) 2× platinum (RIAA) Gold (IFPI – Belgium, Germany, Sweden) Platinum (ARIA)
Alicia Keys singles chronology
"Every Little Bit Hurts" (2005) "No One" (2007) "Like You'll Never See Me Again" (2007)
As I Am track listing
"Superwoman" (3) "No One" (4) "Like You'll Never See Me Again" (5)
Audio sample
file info · help

"No One" is an R&B–soul song written and produced by American singer-songwriter Alicia Keys and American songwriter-producers Kerry Brothers, Jr. and George D. Harry for Keys' third studio album, As I Am (2007). Released as the album's lead single in September 2007, this is overall Keys' most successful song worldwide to date.

Song information and release

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."^[1]

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, 2007. Remixes of the song with Lil' Kim, Cassidy, Damian Marley, Junior Reid, Beenie Man, Barbee, and Kanye West exist.

"No One" won Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song at the 2008 Grammy Awards on February 10, 2008. During the ceremony, Keys performed the song in a duet with John Mayer.

It ranked at number three on the recap of "The 10 Best Songs of 2007" by Entertainment Weekly.^[2]

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 the week of 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" the first charting week of 2008. The song initially debuted at number fifteen on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles 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.^[3] 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. It is Keys' first solo single to reach number one on the Hot 100 since her debut single "Fallin'" (2001) 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 an impressive fourteen straight weeks, 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.

"No One" was a massive success in Europe, becoming Keys' first chart-topper on the Euro 200 chart as well as topping the singles chart in Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Hungary, Croatia, Bulgaria, and Cyprus, while charting inside the top five in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Malta, Sweden, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania, and Slovenia and the top ten in the United Kingdom (where the single became Keys' first solo top ten hit since "Fallin'," peaking at number six), Ireland, Denmark, and Norway. 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.

In the week between October 22 and 25, "No One" gained 14.3% in radio airplay and audience impressions which marks the single at number one.^[4] As I Am was also at number one this week. The song became Keys' first song to top the United World Chart, interrupted by "Apologize"'s run at the top position for two weeks and eventually being pushed back at number two by the same song which rebounded to the top for eight consecutive weeks. It has thus far made 8,665,000 points on the United World Chart, making it the world's sixth highest-selling single of the 2000s.^[5]

Music video

Keys in the music video for "No One."

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 sinced 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 number twenty-two on VH1's "Top 40 Videos of 2007."^[6]

The video for "No One" consists of four scenarios: 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 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 scenario, and with Keys lying on a chair in the same room shown at the very beginning of the video.

As of June 2008, the official video alone has had over sixty-one million views on YouTube, and eventually peaked at number six on the website's rank of all-time most viewed videos as well as number four on the rank of all-time most viewed videos in the music category.^[7]

Track listing

CD single

1. "No One" (Album Version)
2. "No One" (Curtis Lynch Reggae Remix)
3. "Superwoman" (Live)
4. "No One" (Video)

Two-track single

1. "No One" (Album Version)
2. "No One" (Curtis Lynch Reggae Remix)

Japanese promo CD single

1. "No One" (Curtis Lynch Reggae Remix)
2. "No One" (Reggae Remix featuring Damian Marley)

Personnel

Charts

References