Rolling in the Deep

"Rolling in the Deep"
Single by Adele
from the album 21
B-side"If It Hadn't Been for Love"
Released29 November 2010 (2010-11-29)
Recorded2010
StudioEastcote (London, England)
Genre
Length3:48
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Paul Epworth
Adele singles chronology
"Water and a Flame"
(2009) 		"Rolling in the Deep"
(2010) 		"Someone like You"
(2011)
Music video
"Rolling in the Deep" on YouTube

"Rolling in the Deep" is a song by English singer-songwriter Adele from her second studio album, 21 (2011). It is the lead single and opening track on the album. The song was written by Adele and Paul Epworth. The singer herself describes it as a "dark blues-y gospel disco tune".[1] In 2011, it was reportedly the biggest crossover hit in the United States since 1985; "Rolling in the Deep" gained radio airplay from many different radio formats.[2] It was released on 29 November 2010 as the lead single from 21 in digital download format. The lyrics describe the emotions of a scorned lover. The song's official MV uploaded to YouTube on 30 November 2010 has accumulated over 2.58 billion views and 13 million "Likes" as of 19 October 2024, similar to that of Adele's another hit Someone Like You released 10 months later,[3] which Adele considered as having changed her life.[4]

"Rolling in the Deep" received widespread critical acclaim with praise drawn towards the song's production, its lyrics, and Adele's vocal performance. It represented a commercial breakthrough for Adele, propelling her to global superstardom. The song topped the charts in twelve countries and reached the top 10 in over twenty territories. It was Adele's first number-one song in the United States, reaching the top spot on many Billboard charts, including the Billboard Hot 100 where it was number one for seven weeks. By February 2012, "Rolling in the Deep" had sold over 8.7 million copies in the United States, making it the best-selling digital song by a female artist in the US,[5] the second-best-selling digital song in the US and Adele's best-selling single outside her native country, topping her previous best-selling "Chasing Pavements". Worldwide, it was the fifth-best-selling digital single of 2011 with sales of 8.2 million copies.[6] As of 2019, with sales of over 20.6 million copies worldwide, "Rolling in the Deep" is one of the best-selling digital singles of all-time.[7][8][9] The song spent 65 weeks on the chart, making the song at that time the fourth-most weeks spent on the chart, tying the place with Jewel with her double single "Foolish Games"/"You Were Meant for Me".

Its music video received a leading seven nominations at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, including for Video of the Year, and won three other awards: Best Editing, Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction.[10][11] "Rolling in the Deep" was also the Billboard Year End Hot 100 Number One Single of 2011. At the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, it won awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Short Form Music Video.[12][13] Various critics and music publications ranked it as the best song of the year on their end-of-year lists with Rolling Stone ranking it at No. 8 spot on its list of "The 100 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century".[14] In 2021, the song was ranked at number 82 on the list of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[15]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Adele was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Trust, Gary (14 July 2011). "Adele's 'Rolling in the Deep' Is The Biggest Crossover Song of Past 25 Years". Billboard. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  3. ^ Adele (30 September 2011). "Adele - Someone Like You (Official Music Video)". YouTube. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  4. ^ "Adele Reveals The 1 Song That "Changed Her Life"". Bustle. 14 August 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  5. ^ Grein, Paul (18 April 2012). "Week Ending April 15, 2012. Songs: Gotye Beats Bieber | Chart Watch (NEW) – Yahoo! Music". Music.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 28 May 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  6. ^ "IFPI DIGITAL MUSIC REPORT 2012 – KEY FACTS AND FIGURES" (PDF). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  7. ^ "The Nielsen Company & Billboard's 2012 Music Industry Report". Nielsen Company. Business Wire. 4 January 2013. Archived from the original on 12 January 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  8. ^ Rhian, Jones (8 May 2012). "Will Young's Evergreen named best selling single of the 21st century". Music Week. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  9. ^ "Online download – 2012 Year End Chart". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. To view sales from 2011, select "2011 년" and then "101–200". Archived from the original on 10 June 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  10. ^ Gallo, Phil (20 July 2011). "Katy Perry, Adele, Kanye West Lead 2011 MTV VMA Nominees". Billboard. Los Angeles: Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  11. ^ "2011 MTV Video Music Awards Winners". MTV. MTV Networks. 28 August 2011. Archived from the original on 22 June 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
  12. ^ Greenwald, David; Schneider, Marc (30 November 2011). "The Grammys: Adele, Kanye West Lead Nominations". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. p. 2. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  13. ^ "54th Annual Grammy Awards". Grammy.com. National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 18 June 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  14. ^ Greenwald, David; Schneider, Marc (30 November 2011). "The 100 Greatest Songs of the Century − So Far". Rolling Stone. p. 2. Archived from the original on 9 March 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  15. ^ "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 15 December 2021. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2022.