An apparent delay in reporting kept Kanye West’s sudden new release “Only One” off the iTunes all-genre single sales chart for a sizable chunk of New Year’s Day.
That changed midway through the afternoon, when the new track stormed into the top five of the iTunes chart.
The emotional track, which features Paul McCartney, currently holds the #3 position on the single sales chart. Only Mark Ronson’s #1 “Uptown Funk” and Taylor Swift’s #2 “Blank Space” are selling at faster paces.
“In early 2014, Paul McCartney and Kanye West first began working together in a small bungalow in Los Angeles. The process that would result in “Only One” began with a simple brainstorming session between the two: With McCartney improvising on the keyboards and Kanye vocally sketching and shaping ideas in a stream-of-consciousness riff,” says a Def Jam Recordings press release.
“When they played back the recording afterward, something remarkable happened. Kanye sat there with his family, holding his daughter North on his lap, and listened to his vocals, singing, “Hello, my only one . . . ” And in that moment, not only could he not recall having sung those words, but he realized that perhaps the words had never really come from him.”
Kanye instead believes “my mom was singing to me, and through me to my daughter.”
Set to appear on West’s forthcoming studio album, “Only One” is the first of several collaborations with McCartney. Audio and lyrics are available on the official Kanye West site.
