"Am I the Only One" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American country music

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 singer Dierks Bentley

Dierks Bentley

Dierks Bentley is an American country music artist who has been signed to Capitol Records Nashville since 2003. That year, he released his self-titled debut album. Both it and its follow-up, 2005's Modern Day Drifter, are certified platinum in the United States. A third album, 2006's Long Trip...

. It is the sixteenth single release of his career, and the first from an upcoming sixth studio album for Capitol Records

Capitol Records

Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...

. The song reached number-one on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in September 2011.

Background and writing

Bentley told Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

that, following his bluegrass

Bluegrass music

Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...

 album Up on the Ridge

Up on the Ridge

Upon its release, Up on the Ridge received generally positive reviews from most music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 80, based on 7 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable...

, 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

Jon Randall

Jon Randall Stewart is an American country music artist. Signed to RCA Records in 1995, he debuted that year with the album What You Don't Know. A second album for RCA, 1996's Great Day to Be Alive, was recorded but never released...

, who produced Up on the Ridge, and Jim Beavers

Jim Beavers

-Life and career:Jim Beavers grew up in Texas. His educational background includes a BBA from Baylor University and an MBA from Vanderbilt University. Beavers moved to Nashville, TN in 1991 to pursue a career on the business side of music...

, who co-wrote Bentley's "Sideways". (Beavers' brother, Brett Beavers

Brett Beavers

Brett Beavers, born in Waco, Texas, is an American country music songwriter and producer and the co-author of the book Something Worth Leaving Behind.-Background:...

, 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

A major

A major is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps.Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor...

, 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'

What Was I Thinkin'

"What Was I Thinkin" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Dierks Bentley. Released in April 2003 as the first single from his self-titled debut album, the song became his first Number One hit on the U.S...

". 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

Up on the Ridge (song)

"Up on the Ridge" is a song recorded by American country music artist Dierks Bentley. It was released to radio on April 12, 2010, and serves as the lead-off single to his fifth studio album, also titled Up on the Ridge.-Content:...

", 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.

Chart performance

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Chart (2011)	Peak position