The American mix was produced by Sam Ward and has an R&B feel with slight alterations; additional remixes were created by DJ Junior Vasquez.

Directed by Marcus Nispel, it depicts Cher singing the song from within a television set; she also delivered performances on a handful of occasions throughout 1996.

[1] By the early 1990s, however, her movie career came to a halt: having turned down films such as The War of the Roses (1989) and Thelma & Louise (1991), and suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome complicated by pneumonia, she was reduced to "infomercial queen", something that deeply embarrassed her.

As part of her comeback, she starred and directed one of the segments of HBO's If These Walls Could Talk (1996), and began working on her twenty-first studio album, It's a Man's World.

[4] One of the songs on the album, "One by One", was co-written by Cher and the Real People member Anthony Griffiths, and recorded at London's Elephant Studios.

[4] According to Reprise Records executive Craig Kostich, the lyrics talk about "accepting and loving each other and overcoming problems one by one", and display Cher's "serious, politically conscious" side.

[6][8] In the refrain, she sings We're gonna love one another till morning comes/Seek the sweet salvation for what we've done/Give up resisting one by one, as "chugging" rock guitars play in the background.

Produced by Sam Ward, it was requested by Reprise Records, as they felt it would "bode well with the R&B phenomenon" that was "sweeping" the United States in the mid 1990s.

[10] This version features "crisp jeep rhythms and cushiony synths" beneath the refrain, while Cher's falsetto vocals are "stretched" to give the song a more R&B feel.

[13] Prior to its release, Billboard reported that the Junior Vazquez remix was receiving "major play" at nightclubs, and had been picked by WKTU radio station.

[19] In 2005, the Junior Vasquez Club Vocal Mix of "One by One" was included on the final Los Angeles concert of Cher's Living Proof: The Farewell Tour.

AllMusic's Jose F. Promis deemed it "irresistible", and although he praised the American remixes, he concluded that the original version is "decidedly superior".

[23][24] PopMatters' Peter Piatkowski highlighted the "insanely catchy chorus", further comparing the original version of song to the work of Tina Turner; he also praised the "slinky" American R&B mix.

[31] In Canada, the single debuted at the 97th position of RPM's 100 Hit Tracks chart on the week of June 19, 1996;[32] a month later, it peaked at number 22.