You’ve heard it in grocery stores, at weddings, and definitely during those late-night drives when you just needed a good cry. Choosing the most popular song of Adele isn't as simple as checking a single chart. If you look at Spotify today, Someone Like You is sitting pretty with over 2.5 billion streams. But ask anyone who lived through 2011, and they’ll tell you Rolling in the Deep was the actual earthquake that changed everything.
Numbers are weird.
They tell one story, but cultural impact tells another. Honestly, Adele doesn't just release music; she releases "events." When she dropped Hello after that long silence, the internet basically broke. It became the first song to sell a million digital copies in a single week in the US. That’s not just a hit. That’s a total monopoly on the public's attention span.
The Statistical Heavyweights: Hello vs. Someone Like You
If we’re going purely by the "biggest" debut, Hello wins by a landslide. It hit No. 1 in over 30 countries. It reached a billion views on YouTube in just 87 days, which is still a staggering pace. But if you're looking for the song that people keep coming back to year after year, the data shifts.
Someone Like You has this strange, immortal quality. It was the first "piano-and-voice-only" track to ever top the Billboard Hot 100. Think about that for a second. No drums, no synth, no flashy production. Just a woman and a piano. It shouldn't have worked on pop radio, yet it did.
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Current streaming data from early 2026 shows a tight race:
- Someone Like You: Consistently leads in total Spotify streams (crossing the 2.5 billion mark).
- Easy On Me: The 2021 comeback holds the record for the most streams in a single day (24 million).
- Rolling in the Deep: Remains the "biggest" in terms of pure global sales, with over 17 million copies moved.
The "most popular" title depends on whether you value a massive explosion or a slow, steady burn.
Why Rolling in the Deep is Still the G.O.A.T.
A lot of people forget that before Rolling in the Deep, Adele was "that British girl who sang Chasing Pavements." She was talented, sure, but she wasn't a titan. This song changed the architecture of pop music in 2011. It wasn't a ballad. It was a "sassy fuck-you" anthem, as some critics called it, mixing blues, gospel, and disco.
It spent seven weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and eventually won both Record and Song of the Year at the Grammys. It’s the song that proved she could do more than just make us sad; she could make us feel powerful.
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The Mystery of the "Bond" Boost
Then there's Skyfall.
It’s often left out of the "most popular" conversation because it was a movie theme. But don't let that fool you. It won an Oscar, a Grammy, and a Golden Globe. It’s arguably the most successful James Bond theme ever written. While it doesn't always top the "most played" lists on streaming apps, it has a level of prestige that Send My Love (To Your New Lover) or Water Under the Bridge just can't touch.
Comparing the Eras
It’s kind of wild to see how her popularity has evolved.
In the 21 era, it was all about heartbreak and grit.
By 25, it was about nostalgia and "Hello from the other side."
By the time 30 rolled around in 2021, the world was different. Easy On Me broke the Spotify record for most streams in a single day, not just because it was a good song, but because we were all collectively going through it.
What the Data Misses: The "Karaoke" Factor
If you want to know the most popular song of Adele, go to any karaoke bar. You’ll hear Someone Like You at 1:00 AM. You’ll hear Rolling in the Deep from the person who thinks they can hit those high notes (spoiler: they usually can't).
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This is the "human" side of popularity. Some songs are popular because they are played on the radio. Adele’s songs are popular because they’ve become the soundtrack to our actual lives. We use her music to process our own divorces, our own breakups, and our own regrets.
How to Experience the Best of Adele Right Now
If you’re trying to catch up or just want to dive deep into her discography, don't just stick to the Top 10. There’s a lot of gold in the deeper cuts that explain why she’s so famous.
- Start with the "Big Three": Rolling in the Deep, Someone Like You, and Hello. This gives you the foundation.
- Check the "Vibe" Shifts: Listen to Set Fire to the Rain for the drama, then Make You Feel My Love for the pure, soul-crushing romance.
- Don't Ignore the Debut: Hometown Glory was written when she was just 16. It shows the raw talent before the world-class production kicked in.
- The Modern Classics: I Drink Wine and To Be Loved from her latest work show a more mature, complicated side of her voice.
Ultimately, her most popular song isn't just the one with the most clicks. It’s the one that makes you feel like she’s reading your diary. Whether that's the foot-stomping rhythm of Rolling in the Deep or the quiet devastation of Someone Like You, Adele has managed to do something very few artists ever achieve: she made the whole world feel the same thing at the exact same time.
To really get the full experience, listen to her live performances—specifically the Live at the Royal Albert Hall version of Someone Like You. That’s where you see the "popular" part in action, as thousands of people sing her own words back to her, often louder than she is singing them herself.