One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)

## *Midnight Memories* Chronology

**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 February 17, 2013.

It is a medley of Blondie's "One Way or Another" (1979) and The Undertones' "Teenage Kicks" (1978). The song was produced by Julian Bunetta and John Ryan.

The song was later included in the Japanese edition of the band's third studio album, *Midnight Memories*.

## Background

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."

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

## Lyrics

**[Harry]**

One way or another, I’m gonna find ya

I’m gonna getcha, getcha, getcha, getcha

One way or another, I’m gonna win ya

I’m gonna getcha, getcha, getcha, getcha

**[Zayn]**

One way or another, I’m gonna see ya

I’m gonna meet ya, meet ya, meet ya, meet ya

One day, maybe next week

I’m gonna meet ya, I’m gonna meet ya, I’ll meet ya

**[Niall]**

I will drive past your house

And if the lights are all down

I’ll see who’s around

**[Louis]**

Let's go!

**[Liam]**

One way or another, I’m gonna find ya

I’m gonna getcha, getcha, getcha, getcha

One way or another, I’m gonna win ya

I’ll getcha, I’ll getcha

**[Louis]**

One way or another, I’m gonna see ya

I’m gonna meet ya, meet ya, meet ya, meet ya

One day, maybe next week

I’m gonna meet ya, I’ll meet ya, I'll meet ya

**[Zayn]**

And if the lights are all out

I’ll follow your bus downtown

See who’s hanging out

**[All]**

1-2-3-4!

Na na, na na, na na, na na na

Na na, na na, na na, na na na

**[Louis]**

I wanna hold you, wanna hold you tight

I wanna hold you, wanna hold you tight

I wanna hold you, wanna hold you tight

Yeah, teenage kicks right through the night

**[Harry]**

Come on!

I wanna hold you, wanna hold you tight

I wanna hold you, wanna hold you tight (Oh yeah!)

I wanna hold you, wanna hold you tight

Yeah, teenage kicks right through the night

One way or another, I’m gonna see ya

I gonna meet ya, meet ya, meet ya, meet ya

One day or another, I’m gonna win ya

I'm gonna getcha, getcha, getcha, getcha

**[Liam]**

One way or another, I’m gonna see ya

I gonna meet ya, meet ya, meet ya, meet ya

One day or another, I’m gonna win ya

I'm gonna getcha, getcha, getcha, getcha

**[Harry]**

One way or another, I’m gonna see ya

I gonna meet ya, meet ya, meet ya, meet ya

One way or another, I’m gonna win ya

I'm gonna getcha, getcha, getcha, getcha

One way or another

## Music Video

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

### Background

**One Way Or Another** is One Direction's seventh music video. It was filmed while the band was on tour and visiting Africa. It was filmed primarily by One Direction, who gave the money raised from sales to Comic Relief.

 **Length**
 **Director**
 **VEVO views**

## 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. It marks their third chart-topper and seventh top ten hit in the United Kingdom. As of March 2013, the song had sold 292,000 copies in the UK.

## Reception

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". 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."

Writing for The Observer, Kitty Empire was scathing, describing the medley as "execrable". 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". 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".

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".

## References

1. ↑ One Direction single leak to be investigated by Simon Cowell's Syco
2. ↑ One Direction: 'One Way Or Another (Teenage Kicks)' - Single review
3. ↑ One Direction – review
4. ↑ Shock as One Direction hit No 1
5. ↑ One Direction's Teenage Kicks Travesty at Brits