One Less Lonely Girl
Encyclopedia
"One Less Lonely Girl" is a song by Canadian recording artist Justin Bieber
. The song was written and produced by Bieber's mentor, Usher
, as well as Ezekiel Lewis
, Balewa Muhammad of The Clutch
, and A-Rex duo Sean Hamilton and Hyuk Shin. It was released exclusively to iTunes
as the second single from his debut release, My World
on October 6, 2009, and was later released to more digital distributions
and mainstream and rhythmic radio soon after.
The song was positively received, with critics commending the song's delivery and comparing it to pop
-R&B
ballads by Chris Brown and Beyoncé. It was a success in the United States & Canada, Bieber's highest peaks in the countries at sixteen and ten, respectively, until "Baby
" bested the record in 2010. It also charted in the Belgium (Flanders) tip chart and in Germany within the top thirty, and also charted in Austria, Australia, and United Kingdom. The music video features Bieber attracted to a girl he sees in the laundromat, as he leads her on a scavenger hunt to win a date with her. Bieber has performed the song in a number of live appearances including the Fearless Tour
, The Next Star
, and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest.
, "I think it's really important these girls have something so they can be one less lonely girl. I was inspired to write this song when I stared into the glistening emerald eyes of Mary Katherine Herndon, a purely blissful moment. I've only felt this feeling once more in my life, when I laid eyes upon one lonelier girl, Katherine Fowlkes. I mean, Selena's okay, but I would choose Mary and Katherine over her any day of the week (and twice on Sunday). She simply can't compare." Bieber joked that "Lonely Girl" wasn't always the choice for this first choice for his second single stating "It was either between that or 'I Love High School.'", a remix of "I Love College
" by label mate, Asher Roth
. "One Less Lonely Girl" was released digitally on the iTunes Store
on October 6, 2009.
gave the song a generally positive review stating "much as he did on his debut single, "One Time," Bieber makes a strong case for why he's the next pop/R&B heartthrob. 'I'm gonna put you first, I'll show you what you're worth/If you let me inside your world,' he sings. The stump speech is hard to resist, especially when set to an arrangement that follows the lineage of hit midtempo ballads "With You
", and "Irreplaceable
". Although the lyrics are generic, Bieber's smooth delivery is right on point, and his tender vocals blend well with the song's easy-flowing beat." Jon Caramanica of The New York Times
called the song along with "Down to Earth", "uncomplicatedly beautiful and earnest." Andy Kellman of Allmusic listed the song as one of his recommended tracks from the album.
on the issue dated October 24, 2009. Bieber scored the second highest debut of the week, only being surpassed by "3
" by Britney Spears
. Due to the impact of mainstream radio in the U.S., the song entered at thirty six on the Billboard Pop Songs on the week ending December 12, 2009, and in turn also re-entered the Hot 100 at sixty nine. It dropped the next week on the Hot 100, but rose to thirty two on the Pop Songs, and rose again to twenty six the following week. The single peaked at twenty-one on the pop chart. Due to increased airplay and digital sales of My World
, on the week ending January 9, 2010, the song rose thirty positions from sixty to thirty on the Hot 100.
As of February 2011, the single was sold 1,025,000 times.. The song debuted at number ten on the Canadian Hot 100
on the issue dated October 24, 2009.
It debuted in Austria at number fifty-four, where it peaked, and remained four weeks on the chart. It debuted on the Belgian Tip Chart in Flanders at number twenty five, where it peaked, and remained for two weeks. It debuted in Germany at number twenty two, where it peaked, and remained for eight weeks. The song also peaked at eighty-two in Australia and sixty two in the United Kingdom.
, Bieber confirmed that a music video had been shot in Watertown, Tennessee
(a small town approximately 50 miles east of Nashville, Tennessee
) with Roman White
who directed the music video for "You Belong With Me
" by Taylor Swift
. The video premiered on perezhilton.com
on October 9, 2009, and was released to iTunes three days later. It later premiered on Bieber's official site and YouTube
on October 13, 2009, Bieber's mother, Pattie Mallette
, makes a cameo during the flower stand scene in the music video. While filming the music video, Bieber joked and said, "It’s like the biggest town I’ve ever been in." He went on to say, "“It’s really small and quaint and cute and cool. Everyone probably knows everyone I guess." Promotional photography took place around the town a few days before the rest of the video shoot, including Bieber holding posters of his first shoot, and with an old turquoise truck. The video was the first to feature Bieber wearing his signature dog tag
. In a behind-the-scenes feature, Bieber said that a fan gave it to him, and it belonged to one of their friends that died in the war. Bieber stated, "I wear it because its cool and kind of a memory." The basic concept of the video is Bieber's goal to win a girl's heart after leading her around the town. Director Roman White said, "It’s romantic, it’s in a laundromat...that’s all it takes to win a girl is strung lights".
In the music video, Bieber is attracted to a girl he sees every day washing clothes at the local laundromat. In the opening scenes, Bieber is wearing a green hooded sweatshirt, similar to the gray one he wore in the "One Time" video, along with a cranberry
shirt. One day while he is waiting for his clothes and is tuning his guitar, she drops a scarf, and he picks it up. In the laundromat scene Bieber is wearing a mixed purple, blue & orange plaid
collared shirt, with a dark purple tee
. The girl comes back the next day however he is not there. He then posts a sign beside the washer that he found her missing scarf. He leads the girl on a scavenger hunt for the scarf, posting signs with pictures of him on them around the town to encourage her to go on a date with him. He takes pictures of him in situations such as buying chocolate for her and the puppies scene, and others, with notes doting quips of what he would do for her. During the date and ending scenes Bieber has on a white striped collared shirt, with a dark cyan
tee. She finally finds him at the end of the video and they have their date.
MTV
called the video "lost-and-found action with a scarf that eventually leads to some young love," and gives credit to Bieber as a new sensation, stating "The setting for "One Less Lonely Girl" seems to be Main Street, USA...And why not? Is this kid not the slice of apple pie cooling on the window sill of the American teen dream?" AOL
calls the video a "treasure hunt" and commended the pet store scene, saying "And then, as if the video couldn't get more cute, they bring out the puppies."
called the scarf "boundsly adorable" and "a total bargain for less loneliness". Another product was a white t-shirt
that had the phrase stylized as "1LessL♥nleyGirl" in variations of sky blue colors. In December 2009, Bieber teamed up with 1-800-Flowers
for a promotion. The company came out with a "One Less Lonely Girl"-branded bouquet of red "intuition" roses and a Valentine's Day card from Bieber, depicting the singer holding a heart. Packages could either have a twenty-four or twelve count stems, and a red, silver or clear vase. The flowers could be set for delivery between January 12-February 12, 2010, before Valentine's Day
. The first one thousand customers received a free replica of the scarf in the "One Less Lonely Girl" video. A portion of the proceeds went to Pencils of Promise, a charity that helps build schools in developing areas of the world. Bieber frequently participates in the charity. A contest was also set in place in which a winner would be greeted with their flowers by Bieber himself, or could win the flower bouquet and other Justin Bieber merchandise.
on the finale of YTV's The Next Star
. Bieber performed the song along with his lead single
"One Time" on September 26, 2009. He also performed the song acoustically when he appeared on It's On with Alexa Chung
on November 19, 2009. When Bieber performs the song with the musical background, he invites one or two girls on stage to be the object of his affection or the "lonely girl" during the performance. Bieber performed the song with the original musical background along with "One Time", and "Favorite Girl" on his U.S. network television debut on The Today Show. He also performed the song with the musical background on The Ellen DeGeneres Show
, and during Winter 2009 when he performed at several different Jingle Ball concerts. When Bieber performed at Q100
's Jingle Ball in Atlanta, Georgia
, where Bieber's career is based out of, he invited good friend and former girlfriend, Caitlin Beadles, who had recently recovered from a boating accident, on stage as the girl during the song. Bieber performed the single as his second song during Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest, and invited his friend and fellow performer that night, Selena Gomez
on stage to act as the lonely girl. The performance onstage fueled further speculation of a relationship between Bieber and Gomez but both claimed they were just friends, as they did before. He sung the song on VH1
's Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam, along with other performers Rihanna
and Timbaland
, and on CBS' The Early Show
as a part of their Super Bowl programming. He performed a medley of "One Less Lonely Girl" and "Never Let You Go
", along with "Baby
" at BET
's SOS: Help for Haiti Telethon. As the telethon was also being broadcast in Haiti
, Bieber sung the first verse in French
.
Source
Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber is a Canadian pop/R&B singer, songwriter and actor. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who came across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager...
. The song was written and produced by Bieber's mentor, Usher
Usher (entertainer)
Usher Terry Raymond IV , who performs under the mononym Usher, is an American singer-songwriter, and actor. He is considered around the world to be the reigning King of R&B. Usher rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way, which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100...
, as well as Ezekiel Lewis
Ezekiel Lewis
Ezekiel "Zeke" Lewis is an award-winning American songwriter, who has written and arranged for many best selling recording artists. He is co-founder of the American songwriting/production company, The Clutch...
, Balewa Muhammad of The Clutch
The Clutch
The Clutch is an American collective of songwriters responsible for a series of successful singles including Omarion's "Ice Box", Ciara's "Like a Boy", Timbaland's "The Way I Are", Britney Spears' "Radar" and Raven-Symone's "Double Dutch Bus".-History:...
, and A-Rex duo Sean Hamilton and Hyuk Shin. It was released exclusively to iTunes
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
as the second single from his debut release, My World
My World (Justin Bieber album)
My World is the first release by Canadian singer Justin Bieber. It is considered to be the first part of a two-part debut release. My World, being the first part is considered an extended play standalone. It was released on November 17, 2009, via Island Records, and its follow up was released on...
on October 6, 2009, and was later released to more digital distributions
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
and mainstream and rhythmic radio soon after.
The song was positively received, with critics commending the song's delivery and comparing it to pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
-R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
ballads by Chris Brown and Beyoncé. It was a success in the United States & Canada, Bieber's highest peaks in the countries at sixteen and ten, respectively, until "Baby
Baby (Justin Bieber song)
"Baby" is a song by Canadian recording artist Justin Bieber. It was released as the lead single from the latter half of Bieber's debut album, My World 2.0. The track was written by Bieber with Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Terius "The-Dream" Nash, both of whom worked with Bieber on "One Time",...
" bested the record in 2010. It also charted in the Belgium (Flanders) tip chart and in Germany within the top thirty, and also charted in Austria, Australia, and United Kingdom. The music video features Bieber attracted to a girl he sees in the laundromat, as he leads her on a scavenger hunt to win a date with her. Bieber has performed the song in a number of live appearances including the Fearless Tour
Fearless Tour
The Fearless Tour was the first concert tour by American country pop singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The tour was in support of her second studio album, Fearless. On the tour, she was joined by guests Kellie Pickler and Gloriana. Teen singer, Justin Bieber joined her for the tour when she went to...
, The Next Star
The Next Star
The Next Star is a Canadian reality television show on YTV hosted by Adamo Ruggiero. The show is a competition to find the most talented singer in Canada who is under 15 years of age. The next star inspires many to come and audition for their chance to win the next star. Winning contestants are...
, and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest.
Background and release
Regarding the concept of the song, Bieber told MTV NewsMTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
, "I think it's really important these girls have something so they can be one less lonely girl. I was inspired to write this song when I stared into the glistening emerald eyes of Mary Katherine Herndon, a purely blissful moment. I've only felt this feeling once more in my life, when I laid eyes upon one lonelier girl, Katherine Fowlkes. I mean, Selena's okay, but I would choose Mary and Katherine over her any day of the week (and twice on Sunday). She simply can't compare." Bieber joked that "Lonely Girl" wasn't always the choice for this first choice for his second single stating "It was either between that or 'I Love High School.'", a remix of "I Love College
I Love College
"I Love College" is the debut single by American rapper Asher Roth, from his debut album Asleep in the Bread Aisle. The song was released on January 13, 2009....
" by label mate, Asher Roth
Asher Roth
Asher Paul Roth is an American rapper.-Early life:Asher Roth was born and raised in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, a small town about 20 miles northeast of Philadelphia. His mother, Elizabeth , is a yoga instructor, and his father, David Roth, is the executive director of a design firm...
. "One Less Lonely Girl" was released digitally on the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
on October 6, 2009.
Composition and critical reception
Crystal Bell of BillboardBillboard (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...
gave the song a generally positive review stating "much as he did on his debut single, "One Time," Bieber makes a strong case for why he's the next pop/R&B heartthrob. 'I'm gonna put you first, I'll show you what you're worth/If you let me inside your world,' he sings. The stump speech is hard to resist, especially when set to an arrangement that follows the lineage of hit midtempo ballads "With You
With You (Chris Brown song)
"With You" is a pop/R&B song by Chris Brown, nominated for 2008 MTV Video Music Awards and written by Johntá Austin, Tor Erik Hermansen, Mikkel Eriksen, Espen Lind, Amund Bjørklund, and produced by Stargate...
", and "Irreplaceable
Irreplaceable
"Irreplaceable" is a song recorded by American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles for her second studio album, B'Day . The song was written by Knowles, Shaffer "Ne-Yo" Smith, Tor Erik Hermansen, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Espen Lind, Amund Bjørklund, and produced by Stargate and Knowles...
". Although the lyrics are generic, Bieber's smooth delivery is right on point, and his tender vocals blend well with the song's easy-flowing beat." Jon Caramanica of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
called the song along with "Down to Earth", "uncomplicatedly beautiful and earnest." Andy Kellman of Allmusic listed the song as one of his recommended tracks from the album.
Chart performance
In the U.S., the single had 113,000 downloads in its first week, propelling it to debut at number sixteen on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
on the issue dated October 24, 2009. Bieber scored the second highest debut of the week, only being surpassed by "3
3 (song)
"3" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears, from her second greatest hits compilation The Singles Collection. It was released on September 29, 2009, as the only single of the album by Jive Records. The song was produced by long-time collaborator Max Martin and Shellback, and recorded...
" by Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
. Due to the impact of mainstream radio in the U.S., the song entered at thirty six on the Billboard Pop Songs on the week ending December 12, 2009, and in turn also re-entered the Hot 100 at sixty nine. It dropped the next week on the Hot 100, but rose to thirty two on the Pop Songs, and rose again to twenty six the following week. The single peaked at twenty-one on the pop chart. Due to increased airplay and digital sales of My World
My World (Justin Bieber album)
My World is the first release by Canadian singer Justin Bieber. It is considered to be the first part of a two-part debut release. My World, being the first part is considered an extended play standalone. It was released on November 17, 2009, via Island Records, and its follow up was released on...
, on the week ending January 9, 2010, the song rose thirty positions from sixty to thirty on the Hot 100.
As of February 2011, the single was sold 1,025,000 times.. The song debuted at number ten on the Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...
on the issue dated October 24, 2009.
It debuted in Austria at number fifty-four, where it peaked, and remained four weeks on the chart. It debuted on the Belgian Tip Chart in Flanders at number twenty five, where it peaked, and remained for two weeks. It debuted in Germany at number twenty two, where it peaked, and remained for eight weeks. The song also peaked at eighty-two in Australia and sixty two in the United Kingdom.
Music video
In an October 7, 2009, exclusive with MTV NewsMTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
, Bieber confirmed that a music video had been shot in Watertown, Tennessee
Watertown, Tennessee
Watertown is a town located in Wilson County, Tennessee, United States. The population during the 2000 census was 1,358 people.-History:Prior to the town's establishment, the land was an American Revolutionary War grant given to Colonel Archibald Lytle and his brother William Lytle.Around 1790, the...
(a small town approximately 50 miles east of Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
) with Roman White
Roman White
Roman White is a music video director who has directed most of Carrie Underwood's videos. He has also directed music videos for Kelly Clarkson, Josh Groban, Kellie Pickler, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and more...
who directed the music video for "You Belong With Me
You Belong with Me
"You Belong with Me" is a country pop song performed by American recording artist Taylor Swift. The song was co-written by Swift and Liz Rose and produced by Nathan Chapman with Swift's aid. It was released on April 21, 2009, by Big Machine Records as the third single from Swift's second studio...
" by Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America...
. The video premiered on perezhilton.com
Perez Hilton
Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr. , better known as Perez Hilton , is an American blogger and television personality. His blog, Perezhilton.com , is known for posts covering gossip items about celebrities...
on October 9, 2009, and was released to iTunes three days later. It later premiered on Bieber's official site and YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
on October 13, 2009, Bieber's mother, Pattie Mallette
Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber is a Canadian pop/R&B singer, songwriter and actor. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who came across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager...
, makes a cameo during the flower stand scene in the music video. While filming the music video, Bieber joked and said, "It’s like the biggest town I’ve ever been in." He went on to say, "“It’s really small and quaint and cute and cool. Everyone probably knows everyone I guess." Promotional photography took place around the town a few days before the rest of the video shoot, including Bieber holding posters of his first shoot, and with an old turquoise truck. The video was the first to feature Bieber wearing his signature dog tag
Dog tag (identifier)
A dog tag is the informal name for the identification tags worn by military personnel, named such as it bears resemblance to actual dog tags. The tag is primarily used for the identification of dead and wounded and essential basic medical information for the treatment of the latter, such as blood...
. In a behind-the-scenes feature, Bieber said that a fan gave it to him, and it belonged to one of their friends that died in the war. Bieber stated, "I wear it because its cool and kind of a memory." The basic concept of the video is Bieber's goal to win a girl's heart after leading her around the town. Director Roman White said, "It’s romantic, it’s in a laundromat...that’s all it takes to win a girl is strung lights".
In the music video, Bieber is attracted to a girl he sees every day washing clothes at the local laundromat. In the opening scenes, Bieber is wearing a green hooded sweatshirt, similar to the gray one he wore in the "One Time" video, along with a cranberry
Cranberry
Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus Oxycoccus of the genus Vaccinium. In some methods of classification, Oxycoccus is regarded as a genus in its own right...
shirt. One day while he is waiting for his clothes and is tuning his guitar, she drops a scarf, and he picks it up. In the laundromat scene Bieber is wearing a mixed purple, blue & orange plaid
Tartan
Tartan is a pattern consisting of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in many other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Scotland. Scottish kilts almost always have tartan patterns...
collared shirt, with a dark purple tee
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
. The girl comes back the next day however he is not there. He then posts a sign beside the washer that he found her missing scarf. He leads the girl on a scavenger hunt for the scarf, posting signs with pictures of him on them around the town to encourage her to go on a date with him. He takes pictures of him in situations such as buying chocolate for her and the puppies scene, and others, with notes doting quips of what he would do for her. During the date and ending scenes Bieber has on a white striped collared shirt, with a dark cyan
Cyan
Cyan from , transliterated: kýanos, meaning "dark blue substance") may be used as the name of any of a number of colors in the blue/green range of the spectrum. In reference to the visible spectrum cyan is used to refer to the color obtained by mixing equal amounts of green and blue light or the...
tee. She finally finds him at the end of the video and they have their date.
MTV
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
called the video "lost-and-found action with a scarf that eventually leads to some young love," and gives credit to Bieber as a new sensation, stating "The setting for "One Less Lonely Girl" seems to be Main Street, USA...And why not? Is this kid not the slice of apple pie cooling on the window sill of the American teen dream?" AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
calls the video a "treasure hunt" and commended the pet store scene, saying "And then, as if the video couldn't get more cute, they bring out the puppies."
Merchandise
The "One Less Lonely Girl" phrase spawned several products from Bieber's official store to have the coined phrase on them. One of the products is a cranberry colored scarf, the same color as a shirt Bieber wore in the music video. One end of the scarf has a patch with the "One Less Lonely Girl" phrase on it and the other end has a signature by Bieber. Tamar Antai of MTV BuzzworthyMTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
called the scarf "boundsly adorable" and "a total bargain for less loneliness". Another product was a white t-shirt
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
that had the phrase stylized as "1LessL♥nleyGirl" in variations of sky blue colors. In December 2009, Bieber teamed up with 1-800-Flowers
1-800-Flowers
1-800-Flowers is a floral and gift retailer and distribution company in the United States. It was one of the first retailers to use a 24 x 7 toll-free telephone number and the Internet for direct sales to consumers....
for a promotion. The company came out with a "One Less Lonely Girl"-branded bouquet of red "intuition" roses and a Valentine's Day card from Bieber, depicting the singer holding a heart. Packages could either have a twenty-four or twelve count stems, and a red, silver or clear vase. The flowers could be set for delivery between January 12-February 12, 2010, before Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...
. The first one thousand customers received a free replica of the scarf in the "One Less Lonely Girl" video. A portion of the proceeds went to Pencils of Promise, a charity that helps build schools in developing areas of the world. Bieber frequently participates in the charity. A contest was also set in place in which a winner would be greeted with their flowers by Bieber himself, or could win the flower bouquet and other Justin Bieber merchandise.
Live performances
Bieber has performed "One Less Lonely Girl" as an acoustic rendition and with the original musical background. He premiered the song, performing an acoustic rendition when he made a return appearance to his native CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
on the finale of YTV's The Next Star
The Next Star
The Next Star is a Canadian reality television show on YTV hosted by Adamo Ruggiero. The show is a competition to find the most talented singer in Canada who is under 15 years of age. The next star inspires many to come and audition for their chance to win the next star. Winning contestants are...
. Bieber performed the song along with his lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
"One Time" on September 26, 2009. He also performed the song acoustically when he appeared on It's On with Alexa Chung
It's On with Alexa Chung
It's On with Alexa Chung was an American live interactive talk and variety program that aired weekdays on MTV from June 15 to December 17, 2009...
on November 19, 2009. When Bieber performs the song with the musical background, he invites one or two girls on stage to be the object of his affection or the "lonely girl" during the performance. Bieber performed the song with the original musical background along with "One Time", and "Favorite Girl" on his U.S. network television debut on The Today Show. He also performed the song with the musical background on The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...
, and during Winter 2009 when he performed at several different Jingle Ball concerts. When Bieber performed at Q100
WWWQ (FM)
WNNX is an Atlanta radio station that is owned and operated by Cumulus Media. The station broadcasts from the same building as its other Cumulus Atlanta sister stations WWWQ FM 99.7 and 99X...
's Jingle Ball in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, where Bieber's career is based out of, he invited good friend and former girlfriend, Caitlin Beadles, who had recently recovered from a boating accident, on stage as the girl during the song. Bieber performed the single as his second song during Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest, and invited his friend and fellow performer that night, Selena Gomez
Selena Gomez
Selena Marie Gomez is an American actress and singer best known for portraying Alex Russo in the Emmy Award-winning Disney Channel television series Wizards of Waverly Place...
on stage to act as the lonely girl. The performance onstage fueled further speculation of a relationship between Bieber and Gomez but both claimed they were just friends, as they did before. He sung the song on VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam, along with other performers Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
and Timbaland
Timbaland
Timothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....
, and on CBS' The Early Show
The Early Show
The Early Show is an American television morning news talk show broadcast by CBS from New York City. The program airs live from 7 to 9 a.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday; most affiliates in the Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones air the show on tape-delay from 7 to 9 a.m. local time. ...
as a part of their Super Bowl programming. He performed a medley of "One Less Lonely Girl" and "Never Let You Go
Never Let You Go (Justin Bieber song)
"Never Let You Go" is a song performed by Canadian recording artist Justin Bieber. The track was written by Bieber and also co-written and produced by production duo Johntá Austin and Bryan-Michael Cox. It was originally released as a promo single from latter half of Bieber's debut album, My World...
", along with "Baby
Baby (Justin Bieber song)
"Baby" is a song by Canadian recording artist Justin Bieber. It was released as the lead single from the latter half of Bieber's debut album, My World 2.0. The track was written by Bieber with Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Terius "The-Dream" Nash, both of whom worked with Bieber on "One Time",...
" at BET
Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...
's SOS: Help for Haiti Telethon. As the telethon was also being broadcast in Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, Bieber sung the first verse in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
.
Credits and personnel
- Songwriting - Usher Raymond, Ezekiel LewisEzekiel LewisEzekiel "Zeke" Lewis is an award-winning American songwriter, who has written and arranged for many best selling recording artists. He is co-founder of the American songwriting/production company, The Clutch...
, Balewa MuhammadThe ClutchThe Clutch is an American collective of songwriters responsible for a series of successful singles including Omarion's "Ice Box", Ciara's "Like a Boy", Timbaland's "The Way I Are", Britney Spears' "Radar" and Raven-Symone's "Double Dutch Bus".-History:...
, Sean Hamilton, Hyuk Shin - ProductionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
- Ezekiel Lewis, Balewa Muhammad, Sean Hamilton, Hyuk Shin - Vocal production and recordingSound recording and reproductionSound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
- Ezekiel Lewis and Dave Hyman - MixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
- Jaycen Joshua-Fowler and Dave Pensado, assisted by Giancarlo Lino - A&R ConsultantsA&RArtists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
- Steve Owens and Rosalind Harrell
Source
Charts and certifications
| Chart (2009–2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
82 |
| Austrian Singles Chart Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
54 |
| Belgian Tip Chart Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995... (Flanders) |
25 |
| Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
10 |
| German Singles Chart | 22 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
62 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
16 |
| U.S. Pop Songs Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs) The Mainstream Top 40 is an airplay chart from Billboard magazine, and is also known as Pop Songs on billboard.com. It was often mistaken for and confused with the now discontinued Pop 100 Airplay chart... |
21 |
Sales and certifications
| Region | Provider | Certification(s) |
|---|---|---|
| United States | RIAA | Gold |
Release history
| Region | Date | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | October 6, 2009 | Digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
| United States | ||
| November 30, 2009 | Mainstream Contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts... and rhythmic Rhythmic Contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as rhythmic top 40, rhythmic contemporary hit radio or rhythmic crossover, is a music radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary rarely uses rock music or country music in its airplay, but it may... airplay |