One Of The Girls
by The Weeknd (featuring Jennie)

Album: The Idol, Vol. 1 (2023)
Charted: 21 51
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "One Of The Girls" is a collaboration between The Weeknd, Jennie of the K-pop group BlackPink, and Lily-Rose Depp. The trio joined forces to create the song specifically for the HBO series The Idol. The show revolves around a pop star named Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp), who gets entangled in a controversial relationship with the enigmatic self-help guru and cult leader, Tedros, portrayed by Abel Tesfaye (aka The Weeknd).

    Jennie appears in The Idol as one of Depp's backup dancers, Dyanne. "One Of The Girls" is part of episode 4, titled "Stars Belong to the World."
  • "One of the Girls" is a down-tempo, introspective track that delves into themes of control and intense desire. The song aligns with the dark storyline of the show. Depp's harrowing lyrics like "Hands on my neck while you push it up," directly allude to the show's portrayal of explicit scenes involving choking. The Weeknd's addition to the track further intensifies the atmosphere, as he evocatively sings, "Force me and choke me 'til I pass out."
  • The Weeknd co-wrote and co-produced the song with Mike Dean (Kanye West, Jay-Z, Beyoncé). Dean's work has earned him several Grammy wins including Best Rap album for Kanye's Late Registration, Graduation and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy records. He first worked with The Weeknd on the Canadian star's 2015 album Beauty Behind the Madness, and his single "Where You Belong" for the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack. Like The Idol, Fifty Shades of Grey delves into themes of sadomasochism and power dynamics in relationships.

    Dean appears in the "Stars Belong to the World" episode when he's invited to help Jocelyn produce her "Fill the Void" song.
  • Sage Skolfield assists The Weeknd and Dean on the production side, while additional songwriting credits go to a Lily-Rose Depp, indie-pop artist Ramsey, and Sam Levinson, co-creator of The Idol.
  • The Weeknd first previewed the song in his Instagram Live on April 10, 2023, under the title "One of the Girls (Tough Love)." Exactly a month later, Jennie shared a snippet of the unreleased track during a DJ set at the launch of her capsule collection for Calvin Klein in South Korea.
  • "One of the Girls" features on The Idol Episode 4 (Music from the HBO Original Series), an EP featuring music from the "Stars Belong to the World" episode, released on June 23, 2023.
  • For Jennie, the track is her first non-BlackPink song since her 2018 solo debut single "Solo."
  • In the months following its release, "One Of The Girls" steadily gained traction on social media platforms, particularly TikTok, where the Jennie-sung segments of the song became a highly used soundtrack for a variety of videos. Riding this wave of popularity, on December 8, 2023, the trio released four additional mixes of the song: sped-up, slowed, instrumental and a cappella versions. The track debuted on the Hot 100 at #100 on December 30, 2023.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie Combination

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie CombinationSong Writing

In 1986, a Stephen King novella was made into a movie, with a classic song serving as title, soundtrack and tone.

Modern A Cappella with Peder Karlsson of The Real Group

Modern A Cappella with Peder Karlsson of The Real GroupSong Writing

The leader of the Modern A Cappella movement talks about the genre.

Jeff Trott

Jeff TrottSongwriter Interviews

Sheryl Crow's longtime songwriting partner/guitarist Jeff Trott reveals the stories behind many of the singer's hits, and what its like to be a producer for Leighton Meester and Max Gomez.

Michael Schenker

Michael SchenkerSongwriter Interviews

The Scorpions and UFO guitarist is also a very prolific songwriter - he explains how he writes with his various groups, and why he was so keen to get out of Germany and into England.

Loudon Wainwright III

Loudon Wainwright IIISongwriter Interviews

"Dead Skunk" became a stinker for Loudon when he felt pressure to make another hit - his latest songs deal with mortality, his son Rufus, and picking up poop.

Little Big Town

Little Big TownSongwriter Interviews

"When seeds that you sow grow by the wicked moon/Be sure your sins will find you out/Your past will hunt you down and turn to tell on you."