Fallin’ by Alicia Keys

“Fallin’” is a song recorded, written, and produced by American R&B-soul  singer–songwriter Alicia Keys for her debut album, Songs in A Minor (2001). Released to radio  and music video outlets in 2001, it is generally considered her signature song. “Fallin’” became Keys’ first number-one single in the United States and her first top five hit in several countries. It is also Keys’ second biggest single to date after 2007’s “No One”.

“Fallin’” won three Grammy Awards in 2002, including Song of the Year, Best R&B Song, and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. In 2009 the single was named the 29th most successful song of the 2000s, on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs of the Decade.  Rolling Stone ranked it number sixty-two on their Top 100 Songs of the 2000s decade. The song charted at 413 in Blender magazine’s 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born.

Keys described the song as being a strong representative of who she was as an artist. She explained that the song was about the “ins and outs” of being in a relationship. She went on to say, “Sometimes, you’re completely head-over-heels in love with someone, and sometimes you can’t stand that person. You fall in and out, sometimes it goes back and forth, and that’s just what relationships are about.”

Although it is regarded as Keys’ signature song, it almost did not become her single. Before she joined J Records, Keys had signed a recording contract with Sony’s Columbia Records. Sony felt that Keys should sing more mainstream-accessible material written by others, while she insisted upon recording her own compositions. As a result, Keys’ recording career remained in limbo for two years. Bored and with free time on her hands because of Sony’s lack of interest in her, Keys decided to put her time to good use and began to write a song. Instantly, arpeggios hit her, and she became inspired with the chords that would define “Fallin’“. She quickly composed lyrics basing the tune on the emotions she faced during one of her first serious romantic relationships.

As Keys was still in artistic limbo, the song was originally not meant for her; Sony intended to have Kim Scott, a child prodigy signed to their label, record “Fallin’”. Keys became uneasy over the matter, as she wanted to record the song herself, but could not because Sony was not focusing on her career. At first Keys had surrendered the piece to Scott willingly, but later changed her mind, and Scott did not record it. Clive Davis, a former Columbia executive then at Arista Records, heard about Keys and was impressed with her artistry. After Davis started a label of his own, J Records, he bought out Keys’ Sony contract and signed her to his label.

Once at J Records, Keys began working on her debut album, Songs in A Minor. Unlike Sony, J Records did not mind Keys recording her own compositions, and encouraged her to do so. When it was time for a first single to be chosen, “Girlfriend”, a song Keys had worked on with Jermaine Dupri while at Columbia, was considered, but Keys and other executives agreed that “Fallin’” would be the best choice.

“Fallin’” is a gospel-influenced song. It begins with piano and basic drum programming, then proportionally builds up to a crescendo. The record also features a violin performance of the pizzicato and legato strings by Miri Ben-Ari. Keys’ collaborator Kerry “Krucial” Brothers provides the song’s digital programming. The song samples 1966’s “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” by James Brown. The song is written in the key of E minor.