"One Step at a Time" is the third and final single from American pop/R&B singer

Jordin Sparks Jordin Sparks (born December 22, 1989) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame in 2007 after winning the American Idol (season 6), sixth season of ''American Idol'' at age 17, becoming the youngest winner in the series' history. He ...

from her self-titled debut album. Written by

Robbie Nevil Robert S. Nevil (born October 2, 1958) is an American pop singer, songwriter, record producer, and guitarist who had five ''Billboard'' top 40 hits including his songs " C'est la Vie" (#2, 1986), "Dominoes" (#14, 1987), and " Wot's It to Ya" (#1 ...

Lauren Evans Lauren Evans (born February 3, 1983) is an American singer and platinum-selling songwriter. She is an ASCAP Award Winner and has written hit singles for Alexandra Burke, Monrose, Jordin Sparks, and Camila. Early life Evans grew up in San Bern ...

Jonas Jeberg Jonas Jeberg (born January 28, 1975), is a Danish songwriter and music producer residing in Los Angeles. He has written and produced hit songs including Panic! at the Disco's "High Hopes (Panic! at the Disco song), High Hopes", Selena Gomez's "Fe ...

and

Mich Hansen Mich Hedin Hansen (born 9 April 1968), known professionally as Cutfather, is a Danish music producer, songwriter, remixer and DJ based in Copenhagen. Cutfather has a studio in Njalsgade, Copenhagen. Career Cutfather is perhaps best known for his ...

the song was released in the U.S. on June 10, 2008. Sparks performed the song on the season finale of the seventh season of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

''. When the song reached number seventeen on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (Week Ending August 27, 2008), Sparks became the first and so far only ''American Idol'' contestant ever to have their first four singles all crack the Top 20 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song peaked at number three on the

Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/contemporary hit radio, CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played o ...

airplay chart. The song served as Sparks' third UK single and digitally released on January 26. It surpassed the success of previous single "

Tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing processes ...

" as it was A-Listed on Radio 1's playlist on January 14, 2009. On February 1, 2009, the song reached a peak of number sixteen on the UK Singles Chart despite no physical release. The single also reached number two in New Zealand, number eleven in Canada, and number twelve in Australia.

Background and composition

The lyrics for the song were written by

and

with Jordin Sparks in mind, as the writers were familiar with her appearance on ''American Idol'' and how "she auditioned in Los Angeles but didn't make it to Hollywood Week and had the courage to audition again." When writing the song, they imagined "her heels walking on the sidewalk" and eventually the song "told Jordin's story and my story and everybody's story who pursues music", according to Evans. "One Step at a Time" was written by Robbie Nevil, Lauren Evans, Jonas Jeberg, and

Cutfather Mich Hedin Hansen (born 9 April 1968), known professionally as Cutfather, is a Danish music producer, songwriter, remixer and DJ based in Copenhagen. Cutfather has a studio in Njalsgade, Copenhagen. Career Cutfather is perhaps best known for his ...

, while production was handled by Jeberg and Cutfather. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Almo Music Corporation, the song is performed in the key of

D-flat major D-flat major is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B and C. Its key signature has five flats. The D-flat major scale is: Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in w ...

with a tempo of 102 beats per minute. The song follows a chord progression of Em–D– Bm– A, and Sparks' vocals span two octaves, from A₃ to A₅.

Critical reception

The song received favorable reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

. In his review of the single, Chuck Taylor at ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' stated that "One Step at a Time" was "a beautifully blended, soulful number percolating with optimism". ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'', on its website, encouraged readers to download the song, as they had a "sudden epiphany that Jordin Sparks has put out three good songs in a row".

Promotion

Sparks performed this song on the season 7 finale of ''

'', ''

Live with Regis and Kelly ''Live with Kelly and Mark'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American Broadcast syndication, syndicated breakfast television, morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show ...

'', ''

So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has ...

'', '' Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular'', ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...

'', and ''

Canadian Idol ''Canadian Idol'' is a Canadian reality television competition show which aired on CTV, based on the British show '' Pop Idol''. The show was a competition to find the most talented young singer in Canada, and was hosted by Ben Mulroney. Jon Do ...

''. "One Step At A Time" was also used in advertisements for the USA TV series, '' The Starter Wife'', starring

Debra Messing Debra Lynn Messing (born August 15, 1968) is an American actress. After graduating from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Messing starred in the television series ''Ned and Stacey'' on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox (1995–1997) an ...

Chart performance

The song debuted at number 79 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and peaked at number seventeen, giving Sparks her fourth consecutive Hot 100 top twenty hit. This makes Sparks the only ''American Idol'' contestant to have her first four singles reach the top twenty of the Hot 100. The song's current digital sales in the U.S. stand at around 1,300,000.Barnes, Ken

''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

''. September 9, 2008. Retrieved September 9, 2008. On the ''Billboard''

Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009. It ranked songs based on airplay on Mainstream Top 40 radio stations, singles ...

, it became her third consecutive top ten and second top five hit, reaching number five. It also became Sparks' third consecutive top twenty hit on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...

where it has peaked at number eleven. In Australia, "One Step at a Time" debuted at a promising number 78 and eventually peaked at number twelve. In New Zealand the song debuted at number 27 and peaked at number two, becoming Sparks' second consecutive top five hit there. The song was certified Gold in New Zealand on November 30, 2008, selling over 7,500 copies. On January 11, 2009, the song entered the UK Singles Chart at number 56 on downloads alone and eventually peaked at number sixteen.

Music video

The music video for "One Step at a Time" was filmed the weekend of May 4, 2008 in Los Angeles, with renowned director

Ray Kay Reinert K. Olsen (born 10 July 1978), known professionally as Ray Kay, is a Norwegian director and photographer who is currently based in Los Angeles. He is a music video and advertising director. Ray Kay mostly directs music videos and has wo ...

. The official music video was added on the popular video sharing site YouTube via Sparks' official channel on May 28, 2008, but was quickly removed then added back on June 5, 2008. The official video later made its official debut on Amazon.com on June 9, 2008. After the premiere, the music video was available for purchase on the

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

Music Store. The video made its television premiere on Canada's

MuchMusic Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...

on June 18, 2008. The video revolves around Sparks in a green and white dress and green heels taking a tour around the city as other people are going through different moments. Different scenarios play out including a guy picking up his date for prom, a teenager (

Corbin Bleu Corbin Bleu Reivers ( ; born February 21, 1989) is an American actor and singer. He began acting professionally in the late 1990s before rising to prominence in the late 2000s for his leading role as Chad Danforth in the ''High School Musica ...

) teaching his little brother to skateboard, two teenagers painting a park bench, a boy and a girl selling lemonade, a young woman at her first day of college, and a group of teenagers taking care of a garden. Throughout the video, the camera pans to Sparks' as well as the other subject's feet (basically keeping with the song's title). At the end, Sparks flashes her palm at the camera, the words, "I ♥ you WENDY" visible, apparently written in marker. Wendy was a family friend who died of

melanoma Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer; it develops from the melanin-producing cells known as melanocytes. It typically occurs in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye (uveal melanoma). In very rare case ...

. Her younger brother, PJ, also makes an appearance in the video.

Track listing

#"One Step at a Time" (Main Version) – 3:25 #"One Step at a Time" (Grayson Remix) – 4:38 #"One Step at a Time" ( Nevin's Radio Mix) – 3:22 #"One Step at a Time" (Rizzo Funk Generation Club Mix) – 6:47 #"One Step at a Time" (Tonal Remix) – 4:44

Personnel

Songwriting A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

–

*Production – Jonas Jeberg,

, Robbie Nevil *

Recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, re ...

, keyboards and

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

– Jonas Jeberg *Vocal recording – Robbie Nevil * Vocal engineering – Adam Kagen *Assistant vocal engineering – Eric Rennaker *Backing vocals – Lauren Evans *Percussion – Mich Hansen * Mixing –

Manny Marroquin Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is a Guatemalan-American record mixing engineer. He has been credited on albums for high-profile pop, R&B, hip hop and rock acts. He has worked with artists including Rihanna, Kanye West, Katy Perry ...

*Assistant mixing – Jared Robbins Source:

Charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2007 songs 2008 singles Jordin Sparks songs Music videos directed by Ray Kay Songs written by Robbie Nevil Songs written by Cutfather Songs written by Lauren Evans Songs written by Jonas Jeberg Jive Records singles Song recordings produced by Cutfather