Someone Like You

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Lore & Background

The song emerged from a period of deep emotional exhaustion. Adele described writing it because she felt drained by portraying bitterness in tracks like "Rolling in the Deep," wanting instead to feel OK with her 18-month relationship. She began writing it on a piano after discovering her ex, whom she thought she would be with forever, was engaged to someone else. Sitting at the end of her bed while sick and waiting for a bath, she imagined being 40 years old finding him settled with a beautiful wife and kids while she remained alone. This fear drove the lyrics: "I heard that you're settled down... Guess she gave you things I couldn't give to you." The song was one of the last written for 21, epitomizing the album's lyrical content about a defunct relationship.

In Their Own Story

Adele took her rudimentary ideas to Harmony Studios in West Hollywood with Dan Wilson. They sat around a piano to test melodies and lyrics, deciding to keep production sparse and "old school." Wilson noted they aimed for personal specificity rather than open-ended application. Recorded with Philip Allen as engineer, the track features Adele's vocal range spanning from F♯3 to E5 over three chord progressions at 67.5 beats per minute in A major. Critics praised how her voice ascends into a "near-shrieked whisper" during the chorus before rebounding into a melancholy state. The video, directed by Jake Nava and filmed in Paris, shows Adele walking alone through the streets, a simple visual that critics felt perfectly matched the song's sound.

Reader's Guide

Lyrically, the track is the opposite of "Rolling in the Deep," moving from anger to wishing an ex well. It features the empowering mantra: "Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead." The song topped charts in nineteen countries and reached the top 10 globally. In July 2011, it became the first single of the decade certified 6× Platinum in both the UK and US, and Diamond in Canada. It won the inaugural Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 54th ceremony in 2012. As of October 2025, it holds 2.4 billion streams on Spotify, making it her most-streamed song. The video reached 2.3 billion views by September 2025. It was voted the third-favourite number-one single of the last 60 years in the UK and remains a top karaoke selection.

Did You Know?

• The song was written on the end of Adele's bed while she had a cold, waiting for her bath to run after finding out her ex was engaged.
• Dan Wilson played the only piano part heard in the entire recording.
• Contrary to some claims, it was not the best-selling single of the year in Ireland; that title belongs to 'Moves Like Jagger' by Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera.
• The music video was filmed in various Paris locations including landmarks and parks, not entirely on the streets.