"The One" is a song recorded, written, and produced by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira for her first English-language studio album, Laundry Service. The track was released as the album's fourth single in 2003 in many European countries, but not in the United States. Epic Records wanted to release "The One" in the United States, but due to the failure of Shakira's previous single "Objection (Tango)" and that it was doing below average, Epic scrapped those plans. However, in the U.S. "The One" was able to make the TRL countdown, and it peaked at number three. In other countries, it became a modest hit.

"The One" was written by Shakira and composed by Shakira and Glen Ballard. This song is about Shakira's lonely love, and her expression and thanks for the love that has been given to her. Though the song itself was an extremely popular song, and many people were "touched" by it, it did not fare well chart-wise. Shakira has never performed this live at any shows except for her 2002–2003 Tour of the Mongoose, when the single was released around the time. The primary version used for radio airplay was the Glen's Radio Mix, which has a new intro and a complete different musical arrangement than the original Album Version.

Because "Objection (Tango)" did not fare very well, peaking at number fifty-five on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, Epic Records scraped off the plans of releasing "The One" in the U.S. However, it was released in most parts of Europe as well as other countries such as Australia. It did moderately well in European countries, such as France where it reached number fifteen. In Australia it peaked at number sixteen, where it stayed around that spot until it finally dropped off the chart.

The music video for "The One" has a basic plot. Shakira is walking through a city, wearing a red jacket, where she sees all the people with their lovers loving and hugging each other, while she is alone. She therefore walks through the rain, hoping to find someone who will love her forever. While she walks through the rain, she sees an old couple, a mother with her child, a police attacking a man with an old woman watching, needing someone to help him and he mimes "you're the one I need", while on the contrary she is alone. The music video ends with her, drenched by the rain, singing while facing up to the sky.

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