"Rolling in the Deep" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Adele for her second studio album, 21. The song was written by Paul Epworth and Adele, who described it as a "dark blues-y gospel disco tune".^[1] It was first released on 29 November 2010 as the lead single off the album.^[2]

The song has been acclaimed by music critics. The single has peaked at number one in some countries in Europe, as well in Canada and the United States. As of August 2011, "Rolling in the Deep" had sold over 4.93 million copies in the United States,^[3] making it her best-selling single outside her home country, topping her previous best-selling "Chasing Pavements".

"Rolling in the Deep" has reached number one in eleven countries and top five in several other countries. The song has also become Adele's first number-one song in the U.S., reaching the top spot of four Billboard charts. "Rolling in the Deep" spent seven weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100, the longest-running number-one single of 2011 so far. In July, the video was nominated for seven MTV Video Music Awards nominations, making it the most nominated music video of the year.^[4] The video won three awards: Best Editing, Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction.^[5]

"Rolling in the Deep"

Adele used her highest notes to sing the chorus of the song.

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In an interview, she expressed her initial reservations prior to meeting with Epworth due to their divergent musical styles, but characterised their collaboration as "a match made in heaven."^[6] She also credited Epworth for her increased vocal confidence, stating, "He brought a lot out of me. He brought my voice out as well—there's notes that I hit in that song ["Rolling in the Deep"] that I never even knew I could hit."^[6] According to Bill Lamb in his review of the song for About.com, "Rolling in the Deep" features "martial beats, pounding piano keys and chanting backing singers".^[7] Adele's vocals have been described as having a "hint of Wanda Jackson's dirty-blues growl".^[8] According to Nadine Cheung from AOL Radio Blog the song is "sung from the perspective of a scorned lover, who is finally able to see the light, but despite regretful sentiments, reconciliation is not an option here."^[9] According to the sheet music published by EMI Music Publishing, "Rolling in the Deep" is written in the key of C minor, in common time with an approximate tempo of 104 beats per minute. The accompaniment uses open fifths instead of chords, in a progression of C₅–G₅–B♭₅–G₅–B♭₅. Adele's voice spans from B♭₃ to D₅,^[10] the highest note being sung using the head voice.

The song has received very positive reception for Adele's vocals, its lyrics, and instrumentation. The Sun called the song "an epic, foot-stomper of a pop anthem with thumping piano and a vocal you would expect from a veteran of 20 years on the road."^[11] Bill Lamb from About.com gave it a perfect score of 5, saying: "'Rolling In the Deep' [...] wastes no time in presenting the stunning bluesy authority of her voice. Less than five seconds in she begins proclaiming the rise of emotion that results in fantasies of revenge against a lover who has done her wrong. Hers is a voice that can raise chills up the spine, and, when she is in a mood like this, the sense of foreboding will rivet your attention."^[7] Jason Lipshutz of Billboard magazine complimented the song's "sweeping chorus" and felt that the song "places a similar emphasis on its refrain but its multilayered instrumentation gives the English singer's wail a previously unheard depth".^[12] Lipshutz also praised Adele's vocal performance by writing, "Adele's noticeable leap in vocal confidence highlights the track. She gracefully lingers on the last line of the verses and attacks the sorrowful chorus' first words, 'We could have had it all,' head on."^[12] Rolling Stone magazine's Barry Walters gave the song a positive review stating, "'Rolling in the Deep' finds the 22-year-old in bluesy gospel mode, sounding powerful but not particularly pop. Starting with a stroked acoustic guitar, this breakup-mourning track builds to a stomping, hand-clapping climax that affirms the British knack for rejiggering the sound of American roots music."^[13]

Upon its American release, "Rolling in the Deep" became Adele's second single to chart in the country. The song first debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number sixty-eight on 25 December 2010. Later on, it became her first ever single to top a Billboard chart when it reached number one on the Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks chart in March 2011,^[14] and became her first number one hit in the country when it topped the Billboard Hot 100 in May 2011.^[15] As a result, Adele became the first British singer to have topped both the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200 charts in the same week since Leona Lewis did the same back in 2008.^[16] In its 24th charting week, "Rolling In The Deep" stayed at number-one, making it the latest single at the top since Creed's "With Arms Wide Open" spent its only week on top in its thirty-first charting week ^[17] in November 2000. It stayed on top of the chart for seven straight weeks, the longest in 2011 so far. It has been certified 5x platinum, making it only the second song by a British female artist to reach this feat since Leona Lewis' Bleeding Love.^[18] It has sold over 5,000,000 digital copies as of September 2011; thus, she is the first female British artist to achieve such a feat.^[19] As of 26 July, "Rolling in the Deep" is the third best selling digital single across Europe with 1,26 million copies sold.^[20]

The music video for "Rolling in the Deep," directed by Sam Brown, was premiered on Channel 4 on 3 December 2010.^[21] The video begins with an abandoned house, where Adele is sitting in a chair singing. During the video, the scenes shows hundreds of glasses filled with water that vibrate to the beat of a drum, a mysterious person (played by Jennifer White, who also choreographed the sequence^[22]) dancing in a room with white flour and dust, the drummer playing the drums behind the stairs, china being thrown and breaking on the wall in front of the staircase, and a white model of a city which is set on fire by five bursting light bulbs at the end of the song.

On 20 July, the music video was nominated for seven MTV Video Music Awards, including Video of the Year, Best Female Video, Best Pop Video and Best Direction, and won three for Best Editing, Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction.^[5]

Adele performed the song several times. On 24 November 2010, the singer appeared on Dutch presenter Paul de Leeuw's Madiwodovrij Show to perform the song for the first time. She also performed it on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in the United States on 3 December 2010.^[23] The song was also performed in front of the Royal Family at the Royal Variety Performance, on 9 December 2010; the performance was broadcast 16 December 2010. On Alan Carr: Chatty Man in the United Kingdom on 17 January 2011. On 21 January 2011, Adele performed "Rolling in the Deep" in the finale of The Voice of Holland where she also performed "Make You Feel My Love" with finalist Kim de Boer. On 26 January 2011, she performed the song in the French television show Le Grand Journal. The song has also been featured in a television spot for the 2011 film I Am Number Four, in which it is also featured.^[24] As part of a promotional tour in North America for the album, Adele performed the song on Late Show with David Letterman on 21 February 2011, on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on 24 February 2011, on 1 March 2011 on MTV Live, and Dancing With The Stars on 10 May 2011.

The song has been used in season 3 episode 14 of 90210, season 8 episode 21 of One Tree Hill and in Gossip Girl season 4 finale. It was also featured in CBC's intro to Game 1 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals between the Vancouver Canucks and the Boston Bruins.^[25] On FOX's So You Think You Can Dance the song was played during Mitchell Kelly's solo performance in Season 8's Week 3 Results show, and on NBC's The Voice both Angela Wolff and finalist Vicci Martinez sang their own renditions of "Rolling in the Deep" as their audition songs. "Rolling in the Deep" was featured as the theme song in the sci-fi thriller I Am Number Four and is also used as the theme tune for E4 reality series Made in Chelsea. It was played heavily in promos during the 2011 NBA Draft. Linkin Park performed a piano cover of the song during the iTunes Festival on 4 July 2011. The song appears twice in the Secret Life of the American Teenager episode "Hole in the Wall" on 11 July 2011 once during Adrian's walk at the beginning of the episode and in final minutes after Adrian has punched holes with her fist in several portions of the walls in her empty nursery. The song recently appeared in the trailer for upcoming 2011 Australian crime drama Underbelly: Razor The song has also appeared in various commercials, such as for a women's clothing store in Chile.

The song became popular and has been covered by various artists included David Cook, Haley Reinhart and Nicole Scherzinger. John Legend uploaded an R&B a capella version of the song in April 2011 on SoundCloud.^[26] The song was then covered by Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff of Glee for the second season episode "Prom Queen". The single charted at number twenty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and at forty-nine on the UK Singles Chart and was later released on the album Glee: The Music, Volume 6. At the 2011 iTunes Festival, Linkin Park performed an acoustic version of "Rolling in the Deep" as part of their set, with Chester Bennington as the vocalist. This recording was released to the iTunes Store as a single, debuting at number forty-two on the UK Singles Chart.^[27] On 14 July 2011, Patti Smith included a cover of "Rolling in the Deep" at her performance at the Castle Clinton.^[28] Quentin Elias released it as a single on 6 September 2011. It also appears on his EP I Can Do Bad All By Myself released simultaneously.^[29]

• Digital download^[30]

1. "Rolling in the Deep" – 3:48

• Digital EP^[31]

1. "Rolling in the Deep" – 3:48
2. "Rolling in the Deep (Jamie xx Shuffle)" – 4:17
3. "Rolling in the Deep (Acapella)" – 3:56

• CD single^[32]

1. "Rolling in the Deep"
2. "If It Hadn't Been for Love" (Michael Henderson, Christopher Stapleton)

• Songwriting – Adele, Paul Epworth
• Production, bass, acoustic guitar and electric guitar – Paul Epworth
• Mixing – Tom Elmhirst
• Mixing assistant – Dan Parry
• Recording – Mark Rankin
• Piano – Neil Cowley
• Drums – Leo Taylor
• Mastering – Tom Coyne

Source:^[33]

• Official music video on YouTube