"Hometown Glory" is the debut single by English singer-songwriter

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a rec ...

, released on 22 October 2007 in the United Kingdom. The song appears on her debut studio album '' 19'' (2008). In 2008, the song was re-released as her fourth single. Adele wrote the song within 10 minutes, when she was only 16 years old, after her mother tried to persuade her to leave her home suburb of

West Norwood West Norwood is a largely residential area of south London within the London Borough of Lambeth, located 5.4 miles (8.7 km) south south-east of Charing Cross. The centre of West Norwood sits in a bowl surrounded by hillsides on its east, ...

in London for university. "Hometown Glory" is the first song that Adele ever wrote. In 2007, "Hometown Glory" was released on singer Jamie T's '' Pacemaker Recordings'' label as a limited edition

7" vinyl In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separate ...

single, of which only 500 copies were made. The song failed to chart initially. However, due to high downloads of the song during the release week of Adele's ''19'', the song managed to chart inside the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

top 40 for the first time. At the

52nd Annual Grammy Awards The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards took place on January 31, 2010, at Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009. Neil Young was honored as the 2010 MusiCares ...

, the song received a nomination for

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. It was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season. The awar ...

Background and composition

"Hometown Glory" was re-released on 21 July 2008 as the follow-up to second single "

Cold Shoulder "Cold shoulder" is a phrase used to express dismissal or the act of disregarding someone. Its origin is attributed to Sir Walter Scott in a work published in 1816, which is in fact a mistranslation of an expression from the Vulgate Bible. There ...

". The song was added to Radio 1's B-list on 18 June 2008, and moved up to Radio 1's A-list on 2 July 2008. Its B-side now featured Adele's brand-new cover of the

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, sh ...

song "Fool That I Am", which was recorded during a live performance in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

. The song was later released in 2008 as Adele's debut single for the US market. Due to its popularity in the UK, which resulted in it charting inside the top 40 twice on download sales alone, it was re-released as the third single (fourth including the original single release) from the album on 21 July 2008. As of July 2008, the song has become Adele's third consecutive top 20 hit single. The song is played in the key of B♭ minor with an intro at a tempo of 60 beats per minute, before changing to 124 beats per minute. Adele's

vocal range Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of st ...

is D♭–A. "Hometown Glory" follows the chord progression Bm(i) – D/A(III) – D/F(III) – G/B(VI M7).

Chart performance

On 13 April 2008, the song entered the

at No. 32, following its showcase on an episode of the British television show '' Skins''. On 6 July 2008, "Hometown Glory" re-entered the chart at No. 74 and then climbed to No. 49 the following week. It eventually peaked at No. 19 on 27 July 2008, following its physical release.

Accolades

"Hometown Glory" received a nomination at the 52nd Grammy Awards in the

category but lost out to

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

's "

Halo Halo, halos or haloes usually refer to: * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head HALO, halo, halos or haloes may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Video games * ''Halo'' (franch ...

Music video

The initial limited edition vinyl release of "Hometown Glory" does not have a promo video. In June 2008, XL released a Paul Dugdale-directed live video for the single's re-release. In April 2009, Columbia finally released a proper promo video directed by Rocky Schenck and filmed at

Sony Pictures Studios The Sony Pictures Studios is an American television and film studio complex located in Culver City, California at 10202 West Washington Boulevard and bounded by Culver Boulevard (south), Washington Boulevard (north), Overland Avenue (west) and ...

on Stage 29. The video shows Adele singing while backdrops of American cities are moved around her. As of October 2021, the music video has received over 114 million views on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

In the media

On 7 April 2008, "Hometown Glory" was featured in the critically acclaimed, British teen drama series '' Skins'', resulting in the song re-entering the

top 40 at No. 32. Later that month, on 24 April 2008, the song was featured in episode 5.15 of the American TV drama '' One Tree Hill''. On 22 May 2008, the song was featured in the season four finale of US TV series ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into s ...

''. According to Adele's manager Jonathan Dickins, the powerful music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas chose the song after seeing Adele perform it at the

Hotel Café The Hotel Café is a live music venue located off an alley on the Cahuenga Boulevard strip in Hollywood, California, United States, that has become known for helping to establish the careers of new singer-songwriters in the 2000s. The venue began ...

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, following a recommendation by Columbia Records' creative licensing staffer Jonathan Palmer. On 10 June 2008, the song was used on popular UK soap ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera '' Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on sister channel E4 a ...

'', where it has been used again on 13 October 2008 episode. It was used again on ''

'' on the 10 November 2010 episode which featured the death of one of the UK's most popular television characters

Steph Cunningham Steph Roach (also Dean and Cunningham) is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', played by Carley Stenson. She debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 8 March 2000. Steph was introduced into the serial ...

. The opening of the song played as Steph said goodbye to her on-screen husband

Gilly Roach Gilly is a municipality in the district of Nyon in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. History Gilly is first mentioned in 1179 as ''de Iusliaco''. In 1278 it was mentioned as ''Gillie''. Geography Gilly has an area, , of . Of this area, or 5 ...

, choosing to perish in a house fire rather than face death from the

cervical cancer Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later symptoms may include abnormal ...

doctors had informed her was terminal. The episode was a season-high for ''Hollyoaks'', viewed by 2.12 million viewers (including timeshift and E4 figures, 0.7, a high for the channel) – a high figure for a non- BBC or ITV show. On 2 July 2008, it was featured on season four of ''

So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and ha ...

'' in a

Mia Michaels Mia Michaels Melchiona (known professionally as Mia Michaels; born February 22, 1966) is an American choreographer and judge on the television show '' So You Think You Can Dance''. She has worked with Tom Cruise, Celine Dion, Gloria Estefan, M ...

contemporary dance Contemporary dance is a genre of dance performance that developed during the mid-twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world, with particularly strong popularity in ...

by Katee Shean and eventual winner,

Joshua Allen Joshua Allen (born March 13, 1989) is an American dancer and actor, best known as the winner of the fourth season of '' So You Think You Can Dance''. He had originally auditioned in Dallas, Texas with his friend and fellow contestant, Comfort Fe ...

. It also featured in a season two episode of ''

Secret Diary of a Call Girl ''Secret Diary of a Call Girl'' is a British drama television series that aired from 27 September 2007 to 22 March 2011 on ITV2, based on the blog and books by the pseudonymous Belle de Jour. It stars Billie Piper as Belle, a high-end London ...

''. A remixed version of the song was featured in the superhero drama-comedy '' Misfits''. The track has also been used on advertisements and promotional scenes for the UK soap ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Orig ...

''. The song was featured in a season one episode of the American

teen drama In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

series '' 90210''. It was also featured on the reality TV show '' The Hills''. "Hometown Glory" has also been sampled by other artists, including by the Mississippi rapper Big K.R.I.T. on his single "Hometown Hero", in

Big Sean Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper. Anderson began his music career in 2007 and gained popularity in 2010 with his third mixtape '' Finally Famous Vol. 3: Big''. He then s ...

's song "Hometown" from his mixtape '' Finally Famous Vol. 3: BIG'', by French rapper La Fouine on his song "Vecu" featuring French rapper Kamelancien, by The OCS on his song "Hometown" featuring Glasses Malone, Jay Rock and XO, by the Montreal rapper Boy6lue in his song "Hometown" featuring Two Two and by Minneapolis hippy-hop artist Mod Sun on his song "The Same Way". Adele's song has been used in various soap operas in accompaniment to the deaths of Danielle Jones, Steph Roach, Joe McIntyre, Archie Mitchell, and Bradley Branning. It has also been used in ''EastEnders: Revealed''. Various reality singing and talent shows use the song in between performances such as ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

and in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloqui ...

'', and ''

Australia's Got Talent ''Australia's Got Talent'' is an Australian reality television talent show. The show is based on the ''Got Talent'' series format that originated in the United Kingdom with Simon Cowell. The first six seasons aired on the Seven Network, from ...

''. The song was used memorably at the end of Julien Temple's 2012 documentary, ''London: The Modern Babylon'', which debuted on BBC in August 2012 to coincide with the end of the Olympic Games and takes its place in the film alongside other London anthems including "London Calling" by

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...

and "Waterloo Sunset" by

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhyt ...

. During the free skate of both the pairs and team events at the

2018 Winter Olympics , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium , wint ...

Canadians Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Meagan Duhamel Meagan Duhamel (born December 8, 1985) is a Canadian pair skater. With partner Eric Radford, she is a two-time world champion (2015, 2016), a 2018 Olympic gold medallist in the team event, a 2014 Olympic silver medallist in the team event, a 2 ...

and Eric Radford skated to the song. "Hometown Glory" was also their winning free performance at the

2016 World Figure Skating Championships The 2016 ISU World Figure Skating Championships took place March 28 – April 3, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. Figure skaters competed for the title of World champion in men's singles, ladies' singles, pairs and ice dancing. This marked the fi ...

. On the 30 September 2020, the song was used during the final moments of the BBC series Ambulance.

Formats and track listings

Original release

7-inch vinyl #"Hometown Glory" #"Best for Last"

Re-release

CD single #"Hometown Glory" – 4:32 #"Fool That I Am" – 3:45 Digital EP #"Hometown Glory" – 3:40 #"Hometown Glory" – 3:35 #"Hometown Glory" – 5:11 #"Hometown Glory" – 5:55 #"Hometown Glory" – 6:36 #"Hometown Glory" – 6:35 7-inch vinyl #"Hometown Glory" – 4:32 #"Fool That I Am" – 3:45 12-inch vinyl #"Hometown Glory" #"Hometown Glory"

Official remixes

* Album Version * Single Version * Radio Edit * High Contrast Remix * Axwell Remix * Axwell Remode Mix * Axwell Radio Edit

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hometown Glory 2007 debut singles 2007 songs Adele songs Music videos directed by Rocky Schenck Song recordings produced by Jim Abbiss Songs about London Songs written by Adele XL Recordings singles