Someone like You (Adele song)
"Someone like You" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Adele. She and Dan Wilson wrote and produced the track for her second studio album, 21 (2011). XL Recordings released the song as the second single from the album on 24 January 2011 (the same day the album was released) in the United Kingdom and on 9 August 2011 in the United States. Accompanied only by a piano in the song (played by co-writer Wilson), Adele sings about the end of the relationship with her ex-partner.
"Someone like You"
"Someone like You" received universal critical acclaim, with reviewers choosing it as a highlight of 21 and praised the lyrics, its simple sound and Adele's vocal performance. It became a global success, topping the charts in nineteen countries and reaching the top 10 in various other regions. Following a universally acclaimed performance of the song at the 31st Brit Awards, it became Adele's first number-one single in the UK and stayed atop the chart for five weeks, and was the best-selling single of the year in the region. It also became Adele's second number one in the US, making her the first British female solo artist in history to have two Billboard Hot 100 number ones from the same album. In July 2011, it became the first single of the decade to be certified 6× Platinum in both the UK and US.
An accompanying music video for the song was directed by Jake Nava and filmed in Paris, France, showing Adele walking alone through the streets. Critics praised the video for being simple and perfect for the sound of the song. She added "Someone Like You" to the set list of her second tour Adele Live. The song has been covered by various artists, including the cast of the series Glee.
In 2012, "Someone like You" was voted the third-most favourite number-one single of the last 60 years in the UK.[1] "Someone like You" appeared on many year-end lists about the best songs of 2011, and was the inaugural recipient of the Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance, at the 54th ceremony in 2012. The song also received a nomination for the Brit Award for British Single at the 32nd ceremony and also several other nominations. As of 2024, "Someone like You" is the fourth best-selling single of the 21st century and is the 36th-best-selling single in the history of the UK Singles Chart.[2][3]
Critical reception[edit]
Upon release, the song received widespread acclaim from music critics, with many citing it as the highlight of 21. In a track-by-track review for 21, Joanne Dorken of MTV UK noted the track's placement at the end of the album saying, "It maybe a cliché, but Adele has saved the best until last with this heartfelt and enchanting piano ballad. ... It's sad but beautiful and displays Adele at her best – marking the perfect end to what has been in our eyes, a faultless album."[15] Will Dean of The Guardian claimed the song was the album's "highlight", characterizing it as "gorgeous".[25] That was somehow echoed by Slant Magazine's Matthew Cole who also called the song "gorgeous".[26] NME's Parkin Chris also marked the song as a highlight, describing it as "surprisingly weighty" and comparing it favorably to the work of American Country blues singer Karen Dalton.[27]
Tom Breihan of Pitchfork Media selected "Someone like You" as a song of the day, claiming it served as a reaffirmation of popular music: "Sometimes, pop music can still break your heart."[16] Writing for BBC Online, Ian Wade noted that the "final track Someone Like You, just voice and piano, is an actual thing of beauty, placing the listener in one of those moments where you feel you're in the presence of a future standard."[28] Bill Lamb of About.com wrote that "the piano melody is gorgeous and combined with Adele's heartfelt reading of her words, the effect is highly emotional. You can imagine it being both honked through by talent show contestants and transcended by veterans alike."[29] Lamb went to write that the song is one of the "top songs of 2011" and that "romantic pain has rarely been so utterly beautiful."[29] Jer Fairall of PopMatters called the song as "absolute magic" and praised Adele's performance by saying, "Though it is unquestionably her finest vocal showcase to date, it is less remarkable for its more powerful moments than for the small ones where her voice dips, with rueful melancholy on the line 'I heard that your dreams came true' or cracks on the 'I beg' in the chorus, like she's startled at the revelation of her own vulnerability."[24] He further called her vocal performance of the song "stunning" and "finally worthy of her talents".[24]
Writing for the website No Ripcord, Gary McGinley said that the song "has an aching beauty and the hallmarks of a modern standard."[30] He further added that it "sounds poised to soundtrack atmospheric TV trailers over the coming months."[30] A writer of URB magazine called "Someone like You" "a heart-wrencher made all the more real by reeling phrasing and bare-voiced pleading, 'I wish nothing but the best for you, too.'"[31] John Murphy of MusicOMH categorized "Someone like You" and "Turning Tables" as "the two best songs on the album."[17] He concluded that the song was "desperately sad and utterly, utterly gorgeous."[17] Bary Walters of Spin wrote that on "the piano-led finale, she vows, 'I'll find someone like you,' as if that's progress. It's a statement that's utterly WTF and yet true to the cyclical nature of psychological damage."[32] Sputnikmusic's Joseph Viney called the song "an ode to stalking with a perverse attitude that lies underneath the fragile composition, looks set to become the soundtrack to a million messy break-ups."[33] Allison Stewart of The Washington Post put the song on her list "Recommended tracks".[34]
The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop annual critics' poll of the best songs of 2011 ranked "Someone like You" at number nine; Adele's previous single "Rolling in the Deep" topped the same critics' poll. In 2019, Stereogum,[35] Rolling Stone,[36] and Pitchfork[37] ranked the song as the 39th, 64th, and 71st best song of the 2010s, respectively. Parade and American Songwriter both ranked the song number six on their lists of Adele's greatest songs.[38][39]
Commercial performance[edit]
"Someone like You" achieved international commercial success, topping the record charts in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as reaching the top ten in many other countries. The song debuted at number 36 on the UK Singles Chart in late-January 2011 due to strong digital downloads from 21. Following a live performance of the song at the 2011 BRIT Awards, it climbed 46 places from the previous week to number one, beating Lady Gaga's single "Born This Way" (2011), although it was at number 18 on the mid-week chart update.[40] While "Someone like You" was at number one on the chart, Adele's previous single, "Rolling in the Deep" was placed at number four.[40] With that achievement, Adele has become the first living artist since The Beatles in 1964 who simultaneously had two top five hits in both the charts (21 and 19 were also in the top five on the UK Albums Chart).[40][41][42] It stayed atop the chart for four consecutive weeks before slipping to number two on 26 March.[43] Following a performance on Comic Relief, the song returned to number one for a fifth week.[44] It has been certified 6× Platinum by the BPI, denoting sales and streams of 3,600,000 units.[45] On 5 July 2011, it was announced that the song had sold 1 million copies in the UK, becoming the first single of the decade to reach the threshold and the sixteenth song released in the 21st century to do so.[46][47] It became the biggest selling single of 2011 in the United Kingdom, selling over 1,240,000 copies. By June 2015, UK sales stood at 1,570,000 copies, making "Someone like You" the second best-selling single of the 2010s and the third-best-seller of the 21st century.[2] As of November 2015, the song has sold 1,584,000 copies in the UK.[48]
In Finland, "Someone like You" debuted at number 14 in October 2011 and rose to number one in its 12th week in early 2012—the week when Adele had three simultaneous top-ten songs ("Rolling in the Deep" at number two and "Set Fire to the Rain" at number seven).[49][50] In France, despite not having been certified, "Someone like You" has sold 350,800 copies and became one of the best-selling singles in the country.[51] The song debuted at number 47 on the Australian Singles Chart.[52] "Someone like You" remained at the top position of the chart for seven consecutive weeks[52] and it was certified 4× Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).[53] It has also peaked at number one in New Zealand for five weeks, ending an 11-week run at number one for "Party Rock Anthem".[54]
The single sold 51,000 copies its first week in the US, debuting at number 65.[55] The single re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 97 on the week ending 30 July 2011.[56] Upon its radio release in the United States, and a surge in popularity following her performance at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, "Someone like You" climbed 18 positions to number one from number 19, and became her second consecutive number-one single on the Hot 100 and making Adele the first ever British female singer to spawn two consecutive number-one singles from the same album.[57][58] After the performance, "Someone like You" moved from number 11 to number one on the Digital Songs chart with 275,000 downloads sold (191% increase), according to Nielsen SoundScan.[42][57] On Radio Songs, the track moved from number 42 to number 19 with 46 million all-format audience impressions (59% increase), according to Nielsen BDS.[57] The song made Hot 100 history by achieving the biggest jump to number 1 in the chart's 53-year history that was not spurred by the release of a single.[59] "Someone like You" became the first strictly voice-and-piano ballad to top the Billboard Hot 100.[60] The song also became the first "unquestionably slow song" to top the Hot 100 chart since Rihanna's song, "Take a Bow" (2008).[61] It topped the chart for 1 week and then slipped from number 1 to number 2 being replaced by Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera's "Moves Like Jagger".[62] A few days after the release of its video, on 6 October 2011, the song returned to number one and spent more 4 weeks at the top,[63] where it was later replaced by "We Found Love" by Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris. With "Rolling in the Deep" spending 7 weeks at number one on the Hot 100 and "Someone like You" spending 5 weeks, Adele is the first female solo artist to log 12 weeks at No. 1 in a calendar year with two strictly solo recordings. Beyoncé, Monica and Mariah Carey also did it (in 2003, 1998 and 1995, respectively), if collaborations are included.[64] As of April 2015, it has sold 6 million downloads in the United States alone.[65]
Cover versions[edit]
Charlie Puth first gained notice for his cover of "Someone like You", sung as a duet with fellow Berklee student Emily Luther, and uploaded to YouTube in September 2011.[127] Ellen DeGeneres saw this video and invited Puth to appear twice on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and she signed Puth to eleveneleven, her record label. This was the start of Puth's fame.[128]
Amber Riley, Naya Rivera and Heather Morris sang a mash-up of "Someone like You" and Adele's other song "Rumour Has It" (2011) during Glee's episode "Mash Off" which aired on 15 November.[129][130] However, the cover was posted online on 10 November.[131] Jenna Mullins of E! Online praised the cover, saying that it will "knock your socks right off"[132] and a writer for OK! described it as "AMAZE-ing".[133] Erica Futterman of Rolling Stone noted that the cover was "one of the greatest things the show has done [so far]."[134] Similarly, Billboard's Raye Votta commented that the cover was "arguably the best performance 'Glee' has done since 'Don't Stop Believin''."[135] Their version of the song peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 while selling 160,000 digital downloads in its first week and became the fifth highest digital sales week by a Glee Cast single.[136][137] As of March 2015, it remains the ninth best-selling Glee Cast recording in the show's history, having sold 413,000 copies in the United States.[138] In Canada, the song made a "Hot Shot Debut" on the Canadian Hot 100 at number 12, selling 14,000 downloads.[139] The song peaked at No. 35 on the UK Singles Chart, the first Glee recording to make the UK top 40 since "I Feel Pretty / Unpretty".
Country musician David Nail recorded a cover of "Someone like You", which was posted on his YouTube account on 15 May 2012. The song is featured on Nail's three-track digital EP, 1979 which was released on 17 July 2012.[140] Nail's version debuted at number 57 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in September 2012, reaching as high as number 52.[141] Metalcore band Ice Nine Kills released a cover version in 2012. Andy Black and Juliet Simms released a cover version in 2017 for the Album Punk Goes Pop Vol.7 Dan Wilson recorded "Someone Like You" with the Kronos Quartet on his 2017 Re-Covered album of songs he wrote for or with other performers.
Credits are taken from 21 liner notes.[4]