
"ospel vibe and powerful vocals form Keys" led Complex to place the song on number two on its list of "The 25 Best Alicia Keys Songs". In September 2011, "Fallin'" was placed at number 22 by VH1 on its list for the 100 Greatest Songs of the 2000s. In The Village Voice 's 2001 Pazz & Jop critics' poll, the song appeared at number four on the list. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic pointed out the lack of depth in the song, saying it "doesn't have much body to it", which he felt was "a testament to Keys' skills as a musician." Accolades Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine said that "the gospel-tinged starts out simply with measured piano and basic drum programming, eventually building to a crescendo of operatic proportions." Steve Jones of USA Today described the song as "a bluesy ode to self-destructive love" and further commented that the song "is only a teaser for what she has to offer." Simon Price of The Independent called the song Keys' breakthrough song and noted how the melody of the song is similar to Queen's " We Are the Champions".

Robert Hilburn of The Los Angeles Times described the song as having "the neo-soul vitality of Macy Gray and Jill Scott." Sam Faulkner of NME said that the song had "deeper moments creep up and grab you exemplified." Mark Anthony Neal of PopMatters said that the song "combines Keys' natural blues register with a subtle, and brilliantly so, sample of James Brown's ' It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World'." Barry Walters of Rolling Stone said "there's no denying the serious early Aretha vibe permeating the hit." The song was described as "gospel fervor of lovesick righteousness" by Beth Johnson of Entertainment Weekly. NME called it a "assive, massive massive hit" adding "Piano tinkles, drum machine coughs like an athsmatic whippet and Alicia strokes your spine with ice cubes and spatters your spotty back with hot candle wax". Keys performing "Fallin'" in Frankfurt, Germany in 2002 The song has a basic chord progression of Em–Bm 7–Em–Bm 7 as it follows a "moderate blues tempo" throughout the chorus of the song. It is composed in the key of E minor with Keys' vocal range spanning from the low-note of B 3 to the high-note of E 5. You fall in and out, sometimes it goes back and forth, and that's just what relationships are about." Īccording to the sheet music published at by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the song is set in 12/8 time with a "free" tempo of 60 beats per minute. Sometimes, you're completely head-over-heels in love with someone, and sometimes you can't stand that person. is about the ins and outs of a relationship. Even though he was young, he was singing some deep stuff back then. When asked about the background behind the song, Keys told Billboard, "I wanted to write a song for someone who was 10 or 12 years old – like a young Michael Jackson.

The song was written by Alicia Keys as the lead single from her debut studio album, Songs in A Minor.
