[4] Additionally, Falk deemed it the perfect accompaniment to "What Makes You Beautiful" and selected it as his favourite "out of the three tracks [that I have on the Up All Night album]".

[5] Syco Music described the song as an "epic pop smash-in-waiting, featuring soaring vocal harmonies, powerhouse guitar riffs and an anthemic chorus that refuses to leave your head.

[8] In addition, "One Thing" was released as the second US single from Up All Night; Columbia Records sent it to contemporary hit radio (CHR) playlists on 22 May 2012.

[13] The lyrical content regards the protagonist's infatuation with a significant other, while the lead vocals are predominantly sung by members Harry Styles and Liam Payne.

[11][12][14][18] Due to its resemblance to the aforementioned Backstreet Boys number, PopMatters's Zachary Houle suggested that there could occur "a pretty compelling case to launch a plagiarism lawsuit", concluding: "Homage or theft?

[12] Billboard correspondent Jason Lipshutz hailed "One Thing" as "perfectly executed pop rock" and opined that it "could own radio for months".

[11] Cosmopolitan's Sophie Goddard lauded "One Thing" as an "upbeat, catchy, hit-in-waiting," and Entertainment Weekly writer Adam Markovitz commended it as "irresistibly bouncy".

[19][20] "One Thing" peaked at number six on the Irish Singles Chart in the week ending 16 February 2012, becoming the band's third top ten appearance in Ireland.

[24] Due to strong digital downloads from its parent album, "One Thing" debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 90 on 21 March 2012, and had sold 300,000 copies in the US by 21 May 2012.

[26][27] On 21 September 2012, "One Thing" was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA),[28] and as of November 2013, the song had sold 1,486,000 copies in the US.

[33] "One Thing" peaked at number three in its tenth charting week, becoming One Direction's highest-peaking single in the country at the time and their second top ten hit.

[35] The single has been certified quadruple platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), indicating shipments of 280,000 copies.

[40] Alex Hughes of The Huffington Post commented that the music video has an effortless element of happiness, proclaiming: "if you fail to crack a smile, there is a 100 percent chance that you are the devil.

"[42] One Direction performed "One Thing" live for the first time at Capital FM's Jingle Bell Ball on 4 December 2011, at The O2 Arena.

[44] In the United States, One Direction performed the song along with "More than This" and "What Makes You Beautiful" for the first time on The Today Show at the Rockefeller Center on 12 March 2012.