Draft:He Won't Go

• Comment: Per WP:SONG Coverage of a song in the context of an album review does not establish notability. If the only coverage of a song occurs in the context of reviews of the album on which it appears, that material should be contained in the album article and an independent article about the song should not be created. Mach61 04:24, 17 March 2024 (UTC)

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"He Won't Go"
Song by Adele
from the album 21
Released	19 January 2011 (2011-01-19)
Studio	Shangri-La Studios, Malibu, California
Genre	R&B, soul
Length	4:37
Label	XL
Songwriter(s)	Adele Adkins Paul Epworth
Producer(s)	Rick Rubin

"He Won't Go" (originally titled "What Is Love") is the sixth track off of Adele's second studio album, 21. It was produced by American record producer Rick Rubin (who also produced "Don't You Remember", "One and Only" and "Lovesong" from the album). The song was originally intended to be the last track of the album instead of "Someone Like You", which would become one of the singer's best-selling singles and most popular songs. It was originally co-written by Adele and Paul Epworth under the title "What Is Love", according to Epworth's Twitter account. Their version was originally intended to be put on the record, but Rick Rubin and Adele also did a version of the song that Epworth liked better, and they ended up releasing the Rubin version.

Background

The song was mainly inspired by two friends of Adele's that she had met after her first record, 19, was released. She had met them through her love of dogs. The male was a heroin-addict and had been making his journey to rehab. The couple's bond had helped the male overcome his addiction, something that really touched Adele, who says that she is very proud of both of them, as the male has been "clean" for what is over a year now.

Adele revealed in an interview with Q Magazine that the song was conceived within the first seven hours of working with Paul Epworth, along with "Rolling in the Deep". Adele turned to Epworth, after only being able to create on usable song ("Take It All") with Eg White during their first writing session for 21. Adele and Epworth would collaborate on three songs in total for the album, "Rolling in the Deep", "He Won't Go" and "I'll Be Waiting".

Title

"He Won't Go" was originally included in the album's track listing under the title "What Is Love". Ultimately, it was decided that Rick Rubin's version with Adele would be released on the album. Therefore, "He Won't Go" appears as a separate song from "What Is Love" on BMI Repertoire. At one point, the song may have also had an association with "Never Gonna Leave You", a cut from 21 that was penned by Adele and Fraser T. Smith, as the lyrics in the bridge of "Never Gonna Leave You" are the same as those in the bridge of "He Won't Go".

Critical reception

"He Won't Go" received mainly positive reviews from music critics, with some citing it as a highlight from the album. The song was described by one critic as something she might perform at the Soul Train Awards. Joseph Viney of Sputnikmusic wrote that "'He Won't Go' should get even the most miserable of music fans snapping their fingers." Matt Collar of AllMusic named the track as one of the album's highlights, and further wrote, "'Rumour Has It' and the old-school-style soul cut "He Won't Go" are terrifically catchy, booty-shaking numbers, and exactly the kind of songs you want and expect from Adele." The New York Times praised the "disco-like treatment of the vocals" on the song."

The Boston Globe gave a mixed review of the song; it praised Adele's vocals, but criticized Rick Rubin's production skills on both this song and "Don't You Remember", blaming him for "obscuring" them. The song is a certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

Personnel

Personnel (adapted from the liner notes of 21):

• Adele – songwriting, lead vocals, backing vocals
• Paul Epworth – songwriting
• Rick Rubin – producer
• James Poyser – piano
• Chris Dave – drums
• Lenny Castro – percussion
• Stephanie Bennett – harp
• Andrew Scheps – mixing
• Phillip Broussard Jr. – mixing assistant, engineering assistant
• Greg Fidelman – recording, engineer
• Sara Lyn Killion – recording assistant, engineering assistant
• Lindsay Chase – production coordinator

References

• Text was copied from He Won't Go (song) at Adele Wiki, which is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA 3.0) license.

Category:2010s songs Category:2011 songs Category:Adele songs Category:Soul songs Category:R&B and soul music portal Category:Song recordings produced by Rick Rubin Category:Songs written by Adele Category:Songs written by Paul Epworth