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“Someone Like You”
Adele - Someone Like You
Single by Adele
from the album 21
B-side “Someone Like You” (Live)
Released January 24, 2011 (UK) • August 9, 2011 (US)
Recorded 2010; Harmony Studios (West Hollywood, California)
Genre Soul, pop
Length 4:47
Label XL Recordings
Writer(s) Adele Adkins, Dan Wilson
Producer(s) Dan Wilson
Adele singles chronology
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Rolling in the Deep Set Fire to the Rain
21 track listing
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Audio

“Someone Like You” is a song by English singer-songwriter Adele. Written by Adele and Dan Wilson in her second studio album 21. The pop ballad was inspired by a broken relationship of hers, and lyrically it speaks of Adele coming to terms with it. XL Recordings released the song as the second single from the album on January 24, 2011 in the United Kingdom and on August 9, 2011 in the United States. Accompanied only by a piano in the song (played by Wilson), Adele sings about the end of the relationship with her ex-boyfriend. The song received positive reviews from music critics who chose the song as a highlight on the album and praised its simple sound. The lyrics and Adele’s vocal performance in the song were also praised.

Following a well-received performance of the song at the 2011 Brit Awards, “Someone Like You” became Adele’s first number one single in the United Kingdom and it stayed on the top of the chart for five weeks. The song also topped the charts in Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, Italy, France, Switzerland and has become Adele’s second number one in the United States. With that achievement Adele became the first female British solo singer in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 to have two number ones from the same album. In July 2011, it became the first single of the decade to sell a million units in the United Kingdom and it was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), as well as being certified 5x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the United States.

An accompanying music video for the song was directed by Jake Nava and it was filmed in Paris, France. The video showed Adele walking alone through the streets with a sad look on her face. Critics praised the video for being simple and perfect for the sound of the song. Adele performed the song on several award and television shows including the 2011 Brit Awards, 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The live performances of the song were heavily praised by music critics and fans.

“Someone Like You” was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance, which she won, in 2012. While it was always intended to be on the album, it was originally the third track on the album rather than the eleventh and final track.[1]

In 2013, it became the most downloaded digital single of all-time in the UK.[2] “Someone Like You” is also the first piano-and-vocal-only ballad to hit number-one on the Billboard Hot 100.[3]

Writing and inspiration[]

“Someone Like You” was written and produced by Adele and American songwriter and producer Dan Wilson. It was one of the last songs written for 21. The track, which epitomizes the lyrical content of 21, summarizes the now defunct relationship that the record is about.

"There's so much grace and forgiveness in these lyrics," Adele said, "which was very important for me in the relationship that 21 is about."[4]

Adele has openly discussed the genesis of it saying, “Well, I wrote that song because I was exhausted from being such a bitch, with ‘Rolling in the Deep’ or ‘Rumour Has It.’ I was really emotionally drained from the way I was portraying him, because even though I’m very bitter and regret some parts of it, he’s still the most important person that’s ever been in my life, and ‘Someone Like You,’ I had to write it to feel okay with myself and okay with the two years I spent with him. And when I did it, I felt so freed.”[5]

Adele had said that she began writing it on her acoustic guitar in the wake of the breakup of her 18-month relationship with the 30-year old man she thought she would marry. A few months after their split, he had gotten engaged to someone else.

“We were so intense I thought we would get married,” she said in an interview with Q magazine. “But that was something he never wanted. So, when I found out he does want that with someone else, it was just the horriblest feeling ever. But after I wrote it, I felt more at peace. It set me free. I didn’t think it would resonate with the world! I’m never gonna write a song like that again. I think that’s the song I’ll be known for.”[6] 

She added that, “I wrote that song on the end of my bed. I had a cold. I was waiting for my bath to run. I’d found out that he’d got engaged to someone else. And it blows my mind how things cross over like that.”[6]

Adele further revealed that she was struggling emotionally when she composed it.

“When I was writing it, I was feeling pretty miserable and pretty lonely, which I guess kind of contradicts ‘Rolling in the Deep.’ Whereas that was about me saying, ‘I’m going to be fine without you,’ this is me on my knees really,” she said. “I can imagine being about 40 and looking for him again, only to turn up and find that he’s settled with a beautiful wife and beautiful kids and he’s completely happy... and I’m still on my own. The song’s about that and I’m scared at the thought of that.”[7]

Recording and composition[]

Prior to completing “Someone Like You,” Adele played the demo of the track for her manager and her mother; her manager loved it and her mother cried.[8]

Adele later collaborated with famed musician and producer Dan Wilson on completing “Someone Like You,” which was one of the final songs composed for the album. Prior to meeting with Wilson, Adele said she wrote some of the lyrics using her acoustic guitar. The two sat around the piano for two days and brainstormed various melodies and lyrics, and ultimately decided to keep the musical production sparse: “We just wrote it on the piano and then we recorded it when it was written. It wasn’t sort of like recording it and listening to it thinking, ‘where can we go next?’ It was really old school.”

“We didn’t try to make it open-ended so it could apply to ‘anybody,’” Wilson told Billboard. “We tried to make it as personal as possible. She may not have had a melodic hook or a specific lyrical idea, but she always knew what she wanted to say. She definitely had a master plan.”[9]

The song was recorded at Harmony Studios in West Hollywood, California with Wilson playing piano. Philip Allen engineered in the studio. The mixing was done by Tom Elmhirst and Dan Parry while the mastering was finished by Tom Coyne.

When Adele recorded the song, she sat on the floor and cried during the second-to-last chorus, and it was kept in the final cut.[10][4]

According to sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Sony Music Publishing, “Someone Like You” has a slow tempo of 67 beats per minute. Written in common time, the song is in the key of A major. Adele’s vocal range spans from F♯3 to E5 during the song.[11] A slow, plaintive ballad pairing Adele’s voice with a looping piano line, “Someone Like You” is the lyrical opposite of “Rolling in the Deep,” on which the singer narrates coming to terms with the end of the relationship.

According to Sean Fennessey of The Village Voice, the singer’s “nuanced” voice goes up a full octave and “into a near-shrieked whisper” as she sings parts of the chorus. However, she “rebounds and gathers herself,” and her voice descends into its fuller and more melancholy state.[12] Critics praised its introspective lyrics and maturity. “Someone Like You” has been compared to the song “Hometown Glory” (2008) from the album 19.

John Murphy of MusicOMH said that the song “casts Adele as the spurned lover, turning up outside her ex’s house, now moved on and settled down, begging for a second chance.”[13] According to Aamir Yaqub of Soul Culture, “Talking of a lost love, this is an extremely touching track with a vocal performance that makes the narrative almost tangible. It really captures the experience of the story and puts it across in both a credible and incredible fashion.”[14] Cameron Adams of Herald Sun called the song a “spine-tingling sparse piano ballad.”[15]

Lyrically, the song talks about the end of Adele’s first “real relationship” with her long-time friend and lover, and it finds her confronting his marriage.

Critical reception[]

The song has received universal critical acclaim from a wide variety of publications upon release, and has been viewed as a highlight of 21. In a track-by-track review of the album, Joanne Dorken of MTV UK noted the track’s placement at the end of the album, writing, “It may be 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.”[16]

Will Dean of The Guardian claimed the song was the album’s “highlight,” characterizing it as “gorgeous.”[17] That was echoed by Slant Magazine’s Matthew Cole, who also called the song “gorgeous.”[18] 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.

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.”[19] 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.”[20]

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.” Lamb went on to write that the song is one of the “top songs of 2011” and that “romantic pain has rarely been so utterly beautiful.”[21]

Jer Fairall of PopMatters called the song an “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 hear 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.” He further called her vocal performance of the song “stunning” and “finally worthy of her talents.”[22]

Writing for the website No Ripcord, Gary McGinley said that the song “has an aching beauty and the hallmarks of a modern standard.” He further added that it “sounds poised to soundtrack atmospheric TV trailers over the coming months.”[23] 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.’”[24]

John Murphy of MusicOMH categorized “Someone Like You” and “Turning Tables” as “the two best songs on the album.” He concluded that the song was “desperately sad and utterly, utterly gorgeous.”[13]

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.”[25] 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.”[26] Allison Stewart of The Washington Post put the song on her list of recommended tracks.[27]

At the 2011 Q Awards, “Someone Like You” was nominated in the category for Best Track.[28] The song was also nominated in the category for Best Song at the 2011 Music of Black Origin Awards.[29] “Someone Like You” won the first Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, which were held on February 12, 2012. The Village Voice’s Pazz & Jop annual critics’ poll ranked “Someone Like You” at number nine to find the best music of 2011; Adele’s previous single “Rolling in the Deep” topped the same critics’ poll.

Chart performance[]

“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 midweek chart update. While “Someone Like You” was at number one on the chart, Adele’s previous single, “Rolling in the Deep,” was placed at number four. 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.)[30] It stayed atop the chart for four consecutive weeks, selling upwards of 100,000 copies for three of them, before slipping to number two on March 20.[31]

Following a performance on Comic Relief, “Someone Like You” returned to the number one spot on March 27, hence becoming the first song to spend 5 weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart since Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl” in 2008.[32][33]

It has been certified 2× Platinum by the BPI, denoting shipments of 1,200,000 copies.[34] On July 5, 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.[35] 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-selling single of the 21st century.[36] As of November 2015, the song has sold 1,584,000 copies in the UK.[37]

In Finland, “Someone Like You” debuted at number 14 in October 2011 and rose to number one in its twelfth 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).[38][39] 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.[40] The song debuted at number 47 on the Australian Singles Chart.[41] “Someone Like You” remained at the top position of the chart for seven consecutive weeks and it was certified 4× Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).[42] It also peaked at number one in New Zealand for five weeks, ending an 11-week run at number one for “Party Rock Anthem.”[43]

The single sold 51,000 copies its first week in the United States, debuting at number 65.[44] The single re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 97 on the week ending July 30, 2011.[45] Upon its radio release in the US 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, making Adele the first ever British female singer to spawn two consecutive number-one singles from the same album.[46][47]

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.[48] 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. The song made Hot 100 history by achieving the biggest jump to number one in the chart’s 53-year history that was not spurred by the release of a single. “Someone Like You” also became the first strictly voice-and-piano ballad to top the Billboard Hot 100, as well as the first “unquestionably slow song” to top the Hot 100 chart since Rihanna’s “Take a Bow” in 2008.[49] It topped the chart for one week and then slipped from number one to number two, being replaced by Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera’s “Moves Like Jagger.”[50] A few days after the release of its video, on October 6, 2011, the song returned to number one and spent four more weeks at the top[51], eventually being replaced by “We Found Love” by Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris.

With “Rolling in the Deep” spending seven weeks at number one on the Hot 100 and “Someone Like You” spending five weeks, Adele is the first female solo artist to log 12 weeks at #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. As of October 2015, it has sold 6,000,000 downloads in the United States alone.[52]

Music video[]

On September 27, 2011, it was reported that the music video for the song was already filmed in Paris, France and it was directed by English director Jake Nava. Several black-and-white pictures which showed Adele “gazing out over a river against a cloudy backdrop” were also posted. Later, the same day, MTV posted a 30-second preview of the video which showed Adele slowly walking on a road. Talking about the video, Nava said, “The location evokes style and romance. And shooting early in the morning allows you to focus on Adele in this lonely and emotional space.”[53][54] The video premiered on September 29 at 7:56 p.m. EST on MTV and VEVO. As of December 2017, the video has received 1 billion views on YouTube.[55]

Synopsis[]

The video begins with a shot of a road in Paris and Adele is seen walking on it alone. She continues to walk and starts singing the song with a sad look as the camera makes circles and shots more locations in Paris including the Eiffel Tower. During the second chorus, Adele stops singing and looks at the Seine, a river in Paris. She continues walking alone through the streets during the bridge and at the end, she goes in a building in which she sees her ex-lover. After seeing her, he starts to walk away and several shots of Adele looking at him follow.

Reception[]

“Someone Like You” received glowing reviews from music critics. James Montgomery of MTV News called the video “a somber, black-and-white affair, featuring Adele wandering the early morning streets and pining for her long-lost love. It's a perfect match for the song’s jaw-dropping emotional range—raw and unfiltered and incredibly sad, but also, in a lot of ways, beautiful and resolute.”[53]

A writer of the website HitFix concluded that the video is “in keeping with the singer’s subdued style” and added that its vibe fits with the “melancholy tune.”[56] Entertainment Weekly’s Tanner Stransky called the video “quiet” and said that “it’s just what you’d want to see for this breakup heart-wrencher.”[57] Krista Wick of Entertainment Tonight praised the video for being “more than enough to accompany Adele’s soulful vocals.”[58]

Amanda Dobbins of New York magazine concluded that “the secretly devastating video” for “Someone Like You” will remind Adele’s ex-lover what he has done by leaving her.[59] A writer for The Huffington Post praised the simplicity and the sadness in the video.[60] Sarah Dean of the same publication called it an “uncomplicated, moving film” and wrote, “the video is nothing more than Adele wandering around the deserted city of love alone, under its grey skies, singing her sorrowful notes, but because it’s her, we don’t need any more.”[61] That was echoed by Jason Lipshutz of Billboard magazine who said that the video was “simply constructed as the song’s vocal-and-piano arrangement.”[62] Marc Hogan of Spin said that the scene in which Adele looks in the camera, “speak[s] for itself” about the sadness in the video.[63]

Andrew Matson of The Seattle Times said, “The song of the year now has a simple, perfect video: Adele in Paris, singing and strolling, apparently processing the breakup detailed in the song’s lyrics. The look on her face during ‘I wish nothing but the best for you’ line is the best, just gutting, a real achievement how she plays it cold but not sarcastic. I think in times of emotional devastation, everyone wants to stand on a bridge over the Seine on a cold day, squinting into the wind, sorting it out.”[64]

A writer for Rolling Stone wrote, “This clip for the ballad ‘Someone Like You’ sticks to the singer’s simple but emotionally direct approach with black and white footage that lingers on her subtly expressive face as she lip-synchs to the tune while walking along sad, grey city streets.”[65] 

Live performances[]

“Someone Like You” has been a staple in Adele’s concert setlists since its release. It was performed during the encore of her Adele Live tour in 2011. It was performed on her 2016 tour as well, serving as the final song during her Australian dates and finale dates at Wembley Stadium. Additionally, “Someone Like You” served as the finale for her headlining gig at the Glastonbury Festival in 2016. Adele performed “Someone Like You” for the first time in November 2010 on the BBC music show, Later... with Jools Holland before the release of the album. As the performance finished, there was a notable stunned silence from the audience, before bursting into applause. Adele has since described this performance as a career-defining moment.[66] “Someone Like You” was later performed on Adele’s VH1 Unplugged special. On February 24, 2011, she performed the song on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

The singer also performed the song at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, held at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on August 28, 2011. After being introduced by Katy Perry, Adele appeared in a black scalloped lace dress by Barbara Tfank, and standing alone on the stage, only with her pianist behind her. Her hair was pulled back and a signature ponytail draped over one shoulder. After the performance, she received a standing ovation from fans and critics.

A writer for Entertainment Weekly noted that, “It takes a real super power to make the seizure-inducing lasers stop, and that power’s name is Adele. The broadcast temporarily abandoned its frantic mission of nonstop overstimulation, bowing to the 23-year-old English soulstress’s soaring, nearly a acapella (well done, subtle piano man) rendition of her heart-wrecking ballad ‘Someone Like You.’ In a modest black dress and with a few spare hand movements, she delivered all the shock and awe of a million-watt showstopper. Who needs special effects, when God gave you your own? Even Britney Spears looked like she had to fix her mascara when it was all over.”[67]

Brit Awards[]

Later, she performed the song at the 2011 Brit Awards, held at the O2 Arena in London on February 15, 2011. She appeared on stage backed by her pianist, Miles Robertson, while “special effects were limited to a shower of glitter and Adele’s own tears, as she almost broke down delivering her lovelorn plea to an ex-boyfriend,” as stated by Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph.[68] 

Speaking on the ITV2 after show, Adele explained why she had cried at the end of the performance:

I was really emotional by the end because I’m quite overwhelmed by everything anyway, and then I had a vision of my ex, of him watching me at home and he’s going to be laughing at me because he knows I’m crying because of him, with him thinking, ‘Yep, she’s still wrapped around my finger.’ Then everyone stood up, so I was overwhelmed.[69]

Adele’s performance of the song at the Brits was released to iTunes UK as a digital download single.[70]

Adelesomeonelikeyoulivefromthebrits

Live performance in her home[]

On January 28, 2011, a live performance from Adele’s home was uploaded to her VEVO channel. The video begins with the studio version of the song and shows a clip of Adele talking about the song’s conception from the track-by-track interview released for the album.

At one time, the performance was available for free MP3 download on Amazon MP3, but it has since been removed from the site for unknown reasons.​[71][72]

Adelesomeonelikeyouliveinherhome

Cover versions[]

Amber RileyNaya Rivera, and Heather Morris sang a mashup of “Someone Like You” and “Rumour Has It” during Glee’s episode “Mash Off,” which aired on November 15.[73] However, the cover was posted online on November 10.[74] Their version of the song peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 while selling 160,000 digital downloads in its first week, which became the fifth highest digital sales week by a Glee Cast single.[75][76] 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.[77] In Canada, the song made a “Hot Shot Debut” on the Canadian Hot 100 at number 12, selling 14,000 downloads.[78] The song peaked at number 35 on the UK Singles Chart, the first Glee recording to make the UK top 40 since “I Feel Pretty/Unpretty.” Riley also recorded her own solo rendition of the song at the request of Adele and uploaded it to her personal YouTube channel.[79][80]

Country musician David Nail recorded a cover of “Someone Like You,” which was posted on his YouTube account on May 15, 2012. The song is featured on Nail’s three-track digital EP, 1979, which was released on July 17, 2012. Nail’s version debuted at number 57 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in September 2012, reaching as high as number 52.[81]

“Someone Like You” was sampled by rapper Tyga on his 2011 track “Reminded.”[82] Metalcore band Ice Nine Kills also released a cover version of the song in 2012. Katy Perry performed “Someone Like You” in a medley with her own song, “The One That Got Away,” during her show at Motorpoint Arena Sheffield in Sheffield, England on October 12, 2011.[83] British rapper Taio Cruz also covered the song in November of the same year.[84] ​​​​​​​

Cultural impact and appearances in popular media[]

“Someone Like You” was banned from an instrument store in Dublin in 2011 after employees complained that, “It’s become the piano equivalent of ‘Stairway to Heaven’ [because] everyone thinks they can play it.”[85]

The November 12, 2011 episode of Saturday Night Live featured an entire skit parodying people’s emotional response to the song. It starred the episode’s host, Emma Stone, and featured a cameo from the episode’s musical guest, Coldplay.

Prior to the 2012 Grammy Awards, a scientific study was conducted to examine what prompted audiences’ emotional response to the song. It was revealed that it was due to a mixture of personal experience and the song’s composition, specifically mentioning Adele’s vocals.[86]

“Someone Like You” was also used in several films and soundtracks after its release. It was featured during the closing of the Grey’s Anatomy episode “This Is How We Do It.” It was also featured during the season 4 finale of Secret Diary of a Call Girl. It also appeared on the Australian drama Winners & Losers on June 14, 2011. A cover version of the song, recorded by Serbian superstar Mladen Bolt, was included on the international soundtrack to Brazilian telenovela Fina Estampa.

Adele has opined that "Someone Like You" was the song that "really, really carried" 21 and its success.[87]

Track listing[]

Digital download
No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
1. “Someone Like You” Adele Adkins, Dan Wilson Dan Wilson, Adele Adkins 4:47
2011 BRITs Performance
No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
1. “Someone Like You: Live from the BRITs” Adele Adkins, Dan Wilson Dan Wilson, Adele Adkins 5:10
Amazon MP3 free download
No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
1. “Someone Like You (Performed Live in Her Home)” Adele Adkins, Dan Wilson Dan Wilson, Adele Adkins 5:22
Australian single
No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
1. “Someone Like You (Album Version)” Adele Adkins, Dan Wilson Dan Wilson, Adele Adkins 4:47
2. “Someone Like You: Live from the BRITs” Adele Adkins, Dan Wilson Dan Wilson, Adele Adkins 5:10

Charts[]

Weekly charts[]

Chart (2011–12) Peak

position

Australia (ARIA) 1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) 2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) 2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) 1
Brazil (Billboard Hot 100 Airplay) 1
Brazil (Billboard Hot Pop) 1
Canada (Canadian Hot 100) 2
Czech Republic (IFPI) 1
Denmark (Tracklisten) 2
Europe (Euro Digital Songs) 1
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) 1
France (SNEP) 1
Germany (Media Control AG) 4
Greece Digital Songs (Billboard) 8
Hungary (Rádiós Top 40) 5
Ireland (IRMA) 1
Israel (Media Forest) 2
Italy (FIMI) 1
Japan (Japan Hot 100) 43
Luxemburg Digital Songs (Billboard) 4
Mexico Airplay (Billboard) 7
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) 3
Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100) 2
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) 1
Norway (VG-lista) 5
Poland (Polish Airplay Top 20) 1
Poland Digital Songs (Billboard) 1
Portugal Digital Songs (Billboard) 1
Romania (Romanian Top 100) 2
Scotland (Official Charts Company) 1
Slovakia (IFPI) 4
South Korea International Singles (Gaon) 9
Spain (PROMUSICAE) 4
Spain (Airplay Chart) 1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) 3
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) 1
UK Singles (Official Charts Company) 1
US Billboard Hot 100 1
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard) 1
US Adult Pop Songs (Billboard) 1
US Hot Dance Club Songs (Billboard) 24
US Latin Pop Songs (Billboard) 6
US Pop Songs (Billboard) 2

Year-end charts[]

Chart (2011) Position
Australian Singles Chart 4
Austrian Singles Chart 31
Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders) 5
Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia) 10
Brazil Billboard Hot 100 Airplay 21
Canadian Hot 100 16
Danish Singles Chart 17
German Singles Chart 28
Hungarian Airplay Chart 44
Irish Singles Chart 1
Israeli Airplay Chart 7
Italian Singles Chart 1
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) 2
Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100) 10
New Zealand Singles Chart 4
Spanish Singles Chart 39
Swiss Singles Chart 9
UK Singles Chart 1
US Billboard 24
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard) 26
US Adult Pop Songs (Billboard) 17
Chart (2012) Position
Argentine Digital Singles Chart 6
Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders) 30
Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia) 15
Brazil Billboard Hot 100 Airplay 1
Brazil Billboard Pop Songs 1
Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100) 90
Hungarian Airplay Chart 83
Spanish Singles Chart 12
Swiss Singles Chart 12
US Billboard Hot 100 43

Certifications[]

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA) 7× Platinum 490,000^
Belgium (BEA) Platinum 30,000*
Brazil (ABPD) Platinum 100,000*
Canada (Music Canada) 7× Platinum 560,000^
Denmark (IFPI Denmark) Platinum 30,000^
Germany (BVMI) Platinum 300,000^
Italy (FIMI) 7× Platinum 210,000*
Mexico (AMPROFON) 2× Platinum 120,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ) 2× Platinum 30,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE) Platinum 40,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) 2× Platinum 1,360,000
United States (RIAA) 5× Platinum 5,576,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Credits[]

Personnel[88]

Lyrics[]

I heard that you’re settled down
That you found a girl and you’re married now
I heard that your dreams came true
Guess she gave you things I didn’t give to you

Old friend, why are you so shy?
Ain’t like you to hold back or hide from the light

I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited
But I couldn’t stay away, I couldn’t fight it
I had hoped you’d see my face
And that you’d be reminded that for me, it isn’t over

Never mind, I’ll find someone like you
I wish nothing but the best for you, too
Don’t forget me, I beg
I’ll remember you said
Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead

Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead, yeah

You know how the time flies
Only yesterday was the time of our lives
We were born and raised in a summer haze
Bound by the surprise of our glory days

I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited
But I couldn’t stay away, I couldn’t fight it
I had hoped you’d see my face
And that you’d be reminded that for me, it isn’t over

Never mind, I’ll find someone like you
I wish nothing but the best for you, too
Don’t forget me, I beg
I’ll remember you said
Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead, yeah

Nothing compares, no worries or cares
Regrets and mistakes, they’re memories made
Who would have known how bittersweet this would taste?

Never mind, I’ll find someone like you
I wish nothing but the best for you, too
Don’t forget me, I beg
I’ll remember you said
Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead

Never mind, I’ll find someone like you
I wish nothing but the best for you, too
Don’t forget me, I beg
I’ll remember you said
Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead

Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead, yeah

References[]

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