Someone Like You

Lore & Background

The song emerged from Adele's exhaustion with the anger she felt while writing 'Rolling in the Deep' and 'Rumour Has It.' She described feeling emotionally drained by portraying her ex as bitter, realizing he remained the most important person in her life. She wrote the track to feel okay with their two-year relationship. The inspiration struck when she learned the man she thought she would marry was engaged to someone else. Sitting on the end of her bed while waiting for a bath to run, she began writing on an acoustic guitar, imagining herself at 40 finding him settled with a beautiful wife and kids while she remained alone. This specific fear drove the narrative of confronting his marriage. The song epitomizes the defunct relationship central to the album 21, serving as a lyrical opposite to 'Rolling in the Deep' by shifting from anger to acceptance.

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 on a sparse production that was recorded immediately after being written, described as 'really old school.' Wilson noted they aimed for maximum personal detail rather than an open-ended application. The recording featured Wilson on piano, Philip Allen engineering, Tom Elmhirst and Dan Parry mixing, and Tom Coyne mastering. Musically, the song is a slow ballad at 67.5 beats per minute in A major with three chord progressions. Adele's vocals span from F♯3 to E5, moving into a 'near-shrieked whisper' during the chorus before rebounding into a fuller state. The lyrics recount hearing that her ex has settled down and married, using lines like 'Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead.' This narrative of finding solace in an empowering mantra was praised by critics for its tangible storytelling.

Reader's Guide

Listeners should expect a minimalist experience accompanied only by a looping piano line. The song follows a slow tempo of 67.5 beats per minute and is written in the key of A major. It opens with Adele softly singing about hearing her ex is married, contrasting sharply with the aggression of 'Rolling in the Deep.' The vocal performance requires navigating a range from F♯3 to E5, characterized by nuanced shifts into whispers that critics found spine-tingling. Lyrically, it guides the listener through the stages of grief: shock at hearing news of his marriage, reflection on what could have been, and finally, a wish for his happiness while accepting personal solitude. The track was added to the set list of her second tour, Adele Live, where its simplicity allowed the vocal delivery to carry the emotional weight without backing instrumentation.

Did You Know?

• The song was recorded at Harmony Studios in West Hollywood with co-writer Dan Wilson playing the piano.
• It became Adele's first number-one single in the UK, staying atop the chart for five weeks after her performance at the 31st Brit Awards.
• In July 2011, it was the first single of the decade to be certified 6x Platinum in both the UK and US.
• As of October 2025, the song has 2.4 billion streams on Spotify, making it Adele's most-streamed song on the platform.
• The official music video was uploaded to YouTube on 30 September 2011 and filmed in Paris, France.