"Fallin'" was written and produced solely by Alicia Keys for her debut album Songs in A Minor.

[5] NME called "Fallin'" a "[m]assive, massive massive hit" adding "Piano tinkles, drum machine coughs like an athsmatic [sic] whippet and Alicia strokes your spine with ice cubes and spatters your spotty back with hot candle wax".

[7] Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times described the song as having "the neo-soul vitality of Macy Gray and Jill Scott.

"[8] Sam Faulkner of NME said that the song had "deeper moments [that] creep up and grab you exemplified.

"[10] Barry Walters of Rolling Stone said "there's no denying the serious early Aretha vibe permeating the hit.

"[11] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine said that "the gospel-tinged [song] starts out simply with measured piano and basic drum programming, eventually building to a crescendo of operatic proportions.

[14] 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.

On The Village Voice's 2001 Pazz & Jop critics' poll, "Fallin'" appeared at number four.

[24] In January 2024 Rollling Stone ranked "Fallin" at number7 on their list of "100 Greatest R&B Songs of the 21st Century".

[25] In the United States, "Fallin'" debuted at number 98 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week of June 16, 2001.