The One (album)

For the song, see The One (song).

## ***The One***Studio album by Sean Kennedy

* Standard
* Deluxe

## Singles

1. "Goodbye"
December 20, 2019
2. "All the Time"
January 24, 2020
3. "Could You"
February 21, 2020

***The One*** is the sophomore studio album by American singer-songwriter Sean Kennedy. Following the release of his debut record, *Tell Me*, Kennedy wanted to take his second album rollout more seriously, and signed a six month PR campaign with Gramophone Media. The album was independently released on March 13, 2020. *The One* was proceeded by three singles, "Goodbye", "All the Time" and "Could You".

The record is a loosely-based concept album, centered around falling in love as a teenager. The tracks follow a chronological story about falling in love with a friend and trying to overcome it. The album was recorded in Kennedy's home studio, alongside longtime friend Evan Volkman and his brother, Noah Volkman. Sean was the sole writer on the record, and of the 15 tracks on the deluxe edition, was the sole producer of 14 songs. *The One* saw Kennedy leaning further into synth-pop, and straying from the singer-songwriter genre of his first album. When asked how he would compare the record to his debut, Sean said:

> Fans can expect a change in pace from my last record, I think this album is a lot more upbeat. The writing process was a lot of back-and-forth, I wanted to make sure I was portraying what I wanted to say correctly.
>
>

## Background and Release

Speaking about the formation of the album in his documentary, Sean stated:

> I don't think I necessarily had a clear idea of when I wanted to release *The One*. It was just that I was so excited to share what I was working on, and by the end of 2019, I was wrapping the album up. The first thing I told myself, though, was if I want this to be a successful record, I need to get it professionally mixed and mastered. And I need to do press, and music videos, and that's what I had to do in order for an album to be successful. I also wanted to do a professional photoshoot for the record.
>
>

Sean began teasing a second album as early as June 2019 (three months after the release of his debut album). In the months that followed, Kennedy tweeted a picture of himself in the studio, with the hashtag "#SK2" and announced that he had some songs getting mastered. On the one year anniversary of his debut single, Sean tweeted lyrics to the then-unknown song, "It Sucks". Two days later, he debuted two new songs, "All the Time" and "Goodbye", at *Tell Me: Live*.

On November 25, 2019, Sean announced he would be releasing one more song before the end of the decade. On December 20, "Goodbye" was released as the album's first promo single. The song was a mid tempo ballad, reminiscent of Sean's earlier work, with a piano lead and warm synths.

On January 10, 2020, Sean announced that the official lead single from his upcoming second album would be released on January 24. "All the Time" strayed away from the singer-songwriter elements of Sean's previous record, and *imPRESSED* described the track as sweet and lighthearted. *GIGsoup* noted that, "While [Sean's] lyrics describe himself as bashful, the music is just the opposite as it creates a flirty and vivacious tone throughout the track." Kennedy stated that the song's themes would continue throughout his second record.

Following "All the Time", Kennedy posted an album trailer for *The One*, and announced that his second album would be released on March 13, 2020. Additionally, he announced that its final single, "Could You", would be released on February 21, 2020. Sean said that the track was one of the first songs he had written for the album, as well as one of the first love songs he'd ever written. *The One* was released on March 13, 2020, and Sean stated that it follows him "learning some pretty important lessons".

After the release of the record, Kennedy had planned to take a hiatus. However, following the COVID-19 pandemic, Sean began to work on his third record. In that time, he reworked two tracks that previously did not make the record, "I Still Love Her" and "New York City", and released them on the expanded edition of the album on September 18, 2020.

## Music and Lyrics

The standard edition of *The One* includes 13 tracks; the deluxe edition includes 5 additional tracks—two brand-new songs and three voice memos. The album is primary focused around synthesizers, guitars, pianos and programmed drums.

*The One* opens with an 8 second clip of Kennedy explaining that his friends claimed the record was, "his best yet". Sean spoke the intro to his parents before playing the album for the first time, and, "thought it was a really cool idea if [he] could say the same thing to everyone who listened to the record." The album's lead single, "All the Time" is a mid-tempo dance-pop song that features heavy synths and percussion. "Pleasant Surprise" is layered with pads and guitars as Kennedy sings about falling in love for the first time. The album's third single, "Could You" is about Sean wondering if his feelings are reciprocated. The title track is a bubblegum pop song with a catchy acoustic guitar loop.

"It Sucks" opens with an electric piano and builds with processed vocal melodies. "Love Triangle" is an alt-pop track that finds Kennedy singing about a love interest of his own love interest. "Three O'clock" is an alt-rock track. "Time of My Life" is a piano ballad about wishing the best for an ex. The album's first promo single "Goodbye" opens with a simple piano melody before exploding with drums, synths and electric guitars.

"Ocean" is a hip-hop-influenced electronica track about falling back in love. "Slowly" is a down-tempo ballad infused with a vocoder and processed background vocals. The standard edition's closing track, "The End" is an electro-pop song in which Kennedy rejoyces in finally moving on. "I Still Love Her", the first of two bonus tracks on the deluxe edition, expresses Kennedy's regret in being with a girl with whom he's not interested in. The album's final song, "New York City" is a last attempt at striking up conversation with a love interest.

## Title and Artwork

Kennedy named the record *The One* after noticing the phrase's appearance in several different songs. Kennedy added that the title encapsuates "...the ups and downs of falling in love, but in those downs, finding the importance of self-love. However, the bright side is coming to the realization that at 16, I’m going to fall in love many more times." The artwork for the standard edition shows Sean sitting in front of a window inside a train station. He's wearing a dark blue hoodie with a heavy plaid jacket and looking directly at the camera. A colorful blue sky illuminates the background. The title is written in a thin, all-caps font that sits just behind Kennedy's head. Sean's name is written above in cursive. The album's deluxe edition features an alternate photograph of Sean with a slightly different color grading and pose.

### Photoshoot

The photoshoot for *The One* took place on November 2, 2019. It was shot by Adam Brett Schnee. On February 7, 2020, Sean shared the album cover and track list on social media. Footage from the shoot was featured in the album trailer and the Spotify canvas for "Could You". Additionally, a montage of the shoot was featured in the *Where I Am* documentary.

* Look 1
* Look 2

### Packaging

Standard Edition artworkTrack List
(Standard Edition)Disc
(Standard Edition)Deluxe Edition artworkTrack List
(Deluxe Edition)Disc
(Deluxe Edition)
### Digital Booklet

Standard Edition
1/12
Deluxe Edition
1/14
## Singles

"Goodbye" was announced on November 22, 2019. Three days later, a teaser clip was posted on Sean's social medias. The song became available for preorder on November 29, and was officially released on December 20 as a promotional single. The song's music video premiered 10 months later, on October 18, 2020.

The album's official lead single, "All the Time" was first teased on Sean's Instagram story in August 2019. On January 5, 2020, a video of a clock was posted to Sean's social medias. On January 10, the song was officially announced and made available for preorder. It was officially released on January 24, 2020, marking the second collaboration between Kennedy and Evan Volkman. The song's music video premiered on April 17, 2020.

The album's final single, "Could You" was announced alongside the album on February 7, 2020. Preorder for the song included an extended album trailer, including footage from the then-unreleased music videos for "Goodbye" and "All the Time". It was officially released on February 21, alongside premiering on Vents Magazine.

"**Goodbye**""**All the Time**""**Could You**"
## Tour

On May 15, 2021, Kennedy appeared on 100.7 WHUD. When asked if he had to cancel live shows from the pandemic, Sean shared that live shows were something he hoped he could get into more. On June 18, 2021, Sean spoke to his local newspaper about his then-recently released album. Talking about the pandemic and live shows, Kennedy stated:

> “A lot of the plans I had for [*The One*] unfortunately didn’t come to fruition...I definitely wanted to get into live performances, and that didn’t happen.
>
>

Songs from the album were performed both during *Tell Me: Live* and *What's Left Unsaid: Live*.

## Personnel

### Musicians

* Sean Kennedy – acoustic guitar, bass guitar, drums, electric guitar, keyboards, organ, percussion, piano, strings programming, synthesizer
* Evan Volkman – drums, keyboards, percussion, synthesizer (Track 2)
* Noah Volkman – drums, keyboards, percussion, synthesizer (Track 2)

### Production

* Roman Erafficci - engineer, mixing, mastering
* Sean Kennedy – engineer, mastering, mixing, production, programming
* Evan Volkman – engineer, production, programming (Track 2)
* Noah Volkman – engineer, production, programming (Track 2)

### Visuals and Design

* Sean Kennedy – creative director, graphic design
* Adam Brett Schnee - photography

### Singers

* Sean Kennedy – lead vocals, background vocals

## Scrapped Tracks

Upon its release, Kennedy revealed that he had written 50 songs for his second record. Little information is known about the tracks that remain unreleased. Some songs written during *The One* were scrapped from the album and later reworked for Kennedy's third studio album, *What's Left Unsaid*.

* Cross Your Mind
* Regret

## References

1. ↑ Interview with Pen's Eye View.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Where I Am".
3. ↑ Sean on Twitter: It’s only been three months....
4. ↑ Sean on Twitter: #SK2.
5. ↑ Sean on Twitter: I have some songs getting mastered today....
6. ↑ Sean on Twitter: It Sucks Lyrics.
7. ↑ Live at Somers High School.
8. ↑ GOODBYE IS OUT NOW.
9. ↑ Preorder 11/29.
10. ↑ All the Time out January 24.
11. ↑ We've Been Impressed.
12. ↑ SEAN KENNEDY’S TEASER SINGLE “ALL THE TIME”.
13. ↑ Sean Kennedy Releases His Second Album [Q&A.].
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 my second album The One IS OUT MARCH 13TH.
15. ↑ WITH HIS SECOND RELEASE ‘COULD YOU’ OUT RIGHT NOW.
16. ↑ Sean on Instagram: The One out now.
17. ↑ Sean's Verified Genius Commentary.
18. ↑ New Artist Alert: Sean Kennedy’s Second Album, The One, drops..
19. ↑ "Could You" on Spotify.
20. ↑ WHUD Hudson Valley Artist Spotlight: Sean Kennedy.
21. ↑ Somers Junior Releases Third Album (June 17, 2021).
22. ↑ Interview with Sean Kennedy.
23. ↑ Sean's "WLU" Story Highlight.