In Adele’s cover story interview for the November 2021 issue of Vogue (US), interviewer Abby Aguirre previewed “Hold On” from Adele’s upcoming 30 album. The track was described by Aquirre as “a joyous anthem” with “gospelly” organ. The track ends with an amateur choir consisting of Adele’s friends singing “Just hold on.”

“The thing that they’re all singing is what my friends used to say to me,” Adele explains. “That’s why I wanted them to sing it, rather than an actual choir.”

On November 7, 2021, a snippet of the song debuted in a video advertisement for Amazon.