Rolling in the Deep

"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". 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. 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.

"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, 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. As of 2019^[update], with sales of over 20.6 million copies worldwide, "Rolling in the Deep" is one of the best-selling digital singles of all-time. 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. "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. 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". In 2021, the song was ranked at number 82 on the list of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

In an interview, Adele expressed her initial reservations prior to meeting Paul Epworth due to their divergent musical styles; she characterised their collaboration as "a match made in heaven". 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." According to reviewer Bill Lamb, "Rolling in the Deep" features "martial beats, pounding piano keys and chanting backing singers". Adele's vocals have been described as having a "hint of Wanda Jackson's dirty-blues growl". 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." "Rolling in the Deep" is written in the key of C minor (B minor for live performances), in common time with a tempo of 105 beats per minute. The accompaniment uses open fifths, in a progression of C₅(i₅)–G₅(v₅)–B♭₅(VII₅)–G₅(v₅)–B♭₅(VII₅) and two Progressions of Progression #1: A♭(VI)-B♭(VII)-Gm(v)-A♭(VI)-B♭(VII)-A♭(VI)-B♭(VII)-Gm(v)-G(V), Progression #2: Cm(i)-B♭(VII)-A♭Maj7(VI M7)-B♭(VII). Adele's voice spans from B♭₃ to D₅. Musically, Simon Reynolds of The New York Times described the song as "1960s rhythm-and-blues tightened up with modern production" and vocals rooted in soul. Rolling Stone also noted its "[buildup] to a gospel fever".

The song was reportedly inspired by a Nashville-schooled US tour bus driver, and composed by Epworth and Adele in a single afternoon following Adele's breakup with her boyfriend. It was "her reaction to, 'being told that my life was going to be boring and lonely and rubbish, and that I was a weak person if I didn't stay in the relationship. I was very insulted, and wrote that as a sort of "fuck you".'"

The song received universally rave reviews by critics. Lamb gave it a score of 5 out of 5, saying: "'Rolling in the Deep' [...] wastes no time in presenting the stunning bluesy authority of her voice....Here 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." 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". Lipshutz said, "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." Rolling Stone magazine's Barry Walters stated, "'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."

The writers of Rolling Stone placed "Rolling in the Deep" at number one on their list of "50 Best Singles of 2011". Claire Suddath of Time magazine named "Rolling in the Deep" one of the Top 10 Songs of 2011. MTV chose the song as their "Song of the Year". The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop annual critics' poll ranked "Rolling in the Deep" as the top single of 2011. In 2019, Rolling Stone, Consequence of Sound, and Pitchfork ranked the song as the 3rd, 8th, and 171st best song of the 2010s, respectively. Time named it as one of the 10 best songs of the 2010s, and Billboard chose the song as one of the 100 "Songs That Defined the Decade". In 2021, Parade ranked the song number one on their list of the 25 greatest Adele songs, and in 2022, American Songwriter ranked the song number eight on their list of the 10 greatest Adele songs.

In the UK, "Rolling in the Deep" debuted at number 2 (her second number 2 debut, after "Chasing Pavements"), behind Bruno Mars's "Grenade". The song spent the first ten weeks of its chart run in the top ten.