One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)

"One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)" is a cover recorded by English-Irish boy band One Direction, released as the 2013 Comic Relief charity single on 17 February 2013. It is a medley of Blondie's "One Way or Another" and The Undertones' "Teenage Kicks", both originally released in 1978. The song was produced by Julian Bunetta and John Ryan.

"One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)"
Single by One Direction
Released	17 February 2013
Recorded	2012
Genre	Pop rock[1]
Length	2:37
Label	Syco
Songwriter(s)	Deborah Harry Nigel Harrison John O'Neill
Producer(s)	Julian Bunetta John Ryan
One Direction singles chronology
"Kiss You" (2013) "One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)" (2013) "Best Song Ever" (2013)
Music video
"One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)" on YouTube

"One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, making it One Direction's third UK number one. It was nominated for Best British Single at the 2014 Brit Awards.

Background and response

Ahead of its release, an early version of the song leaked online to the dismay of One Direction and Syco Music. A spokesperson told The Daily Mirror, "It is very disappointing that the song has been leaked and we are currently investigating the matter."[2]

The single received mixed reviews from music critics. Robert Copsey of Digital Spy said "the cheeky lyrics, bouncy pop-rock melody and singalong chorus feel like an obvious but reassuringly safe option for this year's official Comic Relief single", concluding that it was "predictable but [...] undeniably fun".[1] About.com critic Bill Lamb called the single a "strong performance", assessing, "The layering of the 'Na Na Na Na' bridge from 'One Way Or Another' with the chorus, "I wanna hold you wanna hold you tight, get teenage kicks right through the night" is truly inspiring." However, Lamb also noted that "lyrically, 'One Way Or Another' is nearly a song about the finer points of stalking, and that can be just a bit creepy coming from young males."[3]

Jessica Sager of PopCrush summarised it as "catchy, fun and ... sounds exactly what you'd expect when One Direction cover Blondie." Sager additionally praised Louis Tomlinson's vocals as sounding "phenomenal" in his solo.[4] Writing for MTV, Jenna Rubenstein assessed: "1D's version sticks mainly to the original's vibe, mixing in sugary-sweet pop production with Blondie's punk rock sensibilities."[5]

Writing for The Observer, Kitty Empire was scathing, describing the medley as "execrable".[6] When the single reached number 1 in the Irish Singles Chart, RTÉ described the news as "shocking", noting the single as "just a bit ho hum".[7] The Belfast Telegraph was equally critical, blasting the cover as a "travesty" that had been "re-worked into a sanitised Comic Relief single", which were "scrappy shadows of the originals".[8][9]

PopMatters gave it the No.1 spot on its "Best Mainstream Pop Singles Of 2013" list, calling it "the most inspired, fun track of the year".[10]

The song was later included in the Japanese Edition of the band's third studio album, Midnight Memories as 19th track.[11]

Commercial performance

It entered at number one on the UK Singles Chart on 24 February 2013, shifting 113,000 copies in its first week—the second highest first-week UK sales for any song in 2013 at the time.[12] It marks their third chart-topper and seventh top ten hit in the United Kingdom.[13] As of March 2013, the song has sold 292,000 copies in the UK.[14]

Music video

The music video for "One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)" was shot in Ghana, Tokyo, New York City, and London, including at 10 Downing Street, featuring a cameo from then British Prime Minister David Cameron.[15] The clip was released on 20 February 2013.[16]

Live performances

One Direction debuted the song live during the 2013 Brit Awards on 20 February 2013.[17] The group also performed the song live during the Comic Relief telethon on 15 March 2013.[18]

Track listing

• Digital download[19]

1. "One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)" – 2:37
2. "One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)" (Sharoque Remix) – 3:07
3. "One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)" (Instrumental) – 2:37

• Digital download (Live version)[20]

1. "One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)" (Live from the BRITs) – 3:20

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2013) Peak position scope="row" Australia (ARIA)[21] 3 scope="row" Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[22] 12 scope="row" Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[23] 5 scope="row" Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[24] 12 scope="row" Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[25] 9 scope="row" Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100)[26] 2 scope="row" Denmark (Tracklisten)[27] 1 scope="row" France (SNEP)[28] 17 scope="row" Germany (Official German Charts)[29] 22 Greece Digital Songs (Billboard)[30] 2 scope="row" Hungary (Single Top 40)[31] 6 scope="row" Ireland (IRMA)[32] 1 scope="row" Israel (Media Forest)[33] 8 scope="row" Italy (FIMI)[34] 9 Japan (Oricon)[35] 15 scope="row" Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[36] 8 scope="row" Netherlands (Single Top 100)[37] 1 scope="row" New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[38] 3 scope="row" Norway (VG-lista)[39] 12 scope="row" Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[40] 1 scope="row" Poland (Dance Top 50)[41] 34 Poland (Video Chart)[42] 1 Romania (Airplay 100)[43] 80 Russia Airplay (Tophit)[44] 79 scope="row" Scotland (OCC)[45] 1 scope="row" Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[46] 14 scope="row" Spain (PROMUSICAE)[47] 4 scope="row" Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[48] 28 scope="row" Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[49] 7 scope="row" UK Singles (OCC)[50] 1 scope="row" US Billboard Hot 100[51] 13

Year-end charts Chart (2013) Position Australia (ARIA)[52] 54 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[53] 26 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[54] 66 Denmark (Tracklisten)[55] 43 France (SNEP)[56] 149 Ireland (IRMA)[57] 19 Italy (FIMI)[58] 98 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[59] 42 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[60] 61 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[61] 24

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[62]	Platinum	70,000^^
Belgium (BEA)[63]	Gold	15,000^*
Canada (Music Canada)[64]	Platinum	80,000^^
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[65]	Gold	15,000^^
Italy (FIMI)[66]	Gold	15,000^*
Mexico (AMPROFON)[67]	Platinum	60,000^*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[68]	Gold	7,500^*
Norway (IFPI Norway)[69]	Platinum	10,000^*
United Kingdom (BPI)[70]	Platinum	600,000
United States (RIAA)[71]	Gold	500,000^*
Venezuela (APFV)[72]	2× Platinum	20,000^^
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
United States	17 February 2013[73]	Digital download	Sony Music Entertainment
United Kingdom	17 February 2013[74]
	18 February 2013[75]	CD single
	20 February 2013[20]	Digital download (Live Version)
Japan	3 April 2013[76]	Maxi single

References

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10. The Best Mainstream Pop Singles of 2013 | PopMatters
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76. 「ワン・ウェイ・オア・アナザー（ティーンエイジ・キックス）」 Ｏｎｅ Ｄｉｒｅｃｔｉｏｎ│オリコン芸能人事典-ORICON STYLE