"One" is a song from the musical A Chorus Line .
Director Michael Bennett explained his view regarding the song's inception and placement within the show: [1]
I want the audience to walk out of the theatre saying, 'Those kids shouldn't be in a chorus!' And I want people in the audience to go to other shows and think about what's really gone into making that chorus . . . It fades with them kicking. That's it. That's the end of the show. There are no bows. I don't believe in bows, just the fade out. That's what a dancer's life is.
CityBeat described the song as "the show’s greatest emotional wallop". [2] The Davis Enterprise dubbed it the show's "signature tune". [3]
In 1976, the Brady family performed the song in the pilot episode of The Brady Bunch Variety Hour .
On Sesame Street , it was covered by 10 Muppet numbers in a chorus line.
The Simpsons parodied the song in the episode "Treehouse of Horror V".
Catherine Zeta-Jones performed the song, with modified lyrics, in dedication to her husband Michael Douglas during the 2009 AFI Lifetime Achievement Award Ceremony.