Daniella Flores | Writer
October 24, 2o21
After years away, the queen of heartbreak anthems is back. Through the best of the best and the worst of the worst, Adele has been with us through it all. The 33-year old from north London has made a return to the music scene.
After nearly six years, the 15-time Grammy winner has released, “Easy On Me,” the first single of her fourth studio album, 30. In true Adele fashion, the single shattered numerous records within 24 hours. From becoming Spotify’s most-streamed song in a single day to receiving the most first-day Alexa song requests in Amazon Music history, “Easy On Me” is an instant global success.
Since the release of her third album, 25, in 2015, Adele has gotten married and divorced. The star has also opened up about her ongoing battle with depression. Her new single provides nothing but a sense of comfort that her fans have long loved her for.
On October 5, fans nearly broke the internet when the artist teased a preview of the song’s music video on her Instagram. Four days later, she played a clip of the song during an Instagram live after admitting that she “might get in trouble for playing it.”
Finally, on October 15, both the song and video dropped on all platforms, gaining just under 20 million views in eight hours.
The song was an obvious quick success, already being memorized and belted out by her millions of fans. “Adele’s new song is a beautiful piece of art that truly shows how amazing she is, and I can’t wait to hear the rest of the album,” junior Emma Massimiri said. “‘Easy On Me’ has done what it was intended to do, which was intriguing her fans into anticipation for the release of the album, 30,” junior Ava Miller said in similar excitement.
Sonically, “Easy On Me” is a melodic piano ballad which highlights Adele’s remarkable vocals. The song reflects the ending of a relationship, specifically the marriage between Adele and her ex-husband, Simon Konecki. The song reveals Adele in her most vulnerable state.
The five-and-a-half-minute video was directed by Xavier Dolan. With an exaggerated wing, leather trench coat, and voluminous hair, Adele appears in a country home. The video starts in black-and-white, with the artist packing up and getting ready to leave the home. A fan was quick to point out that, “Adele built a house in ‘Rolling in the Deep,’ she moved into the house in ‘Hello’ and left the house in ‘Easy On Me.” Halfway through, the video transitions from black-and-white to a dramatic array of fall colors.
As she gets into her car, she pops a cassette into the tape player and begins to drive away singing her song. Continuing down the road, pages of sheet music fly off into the wind. Fans suspect that this is a metaphor for the artist letting go of past versions of herself.
On October 13, Adele revealed that her fourth studio album, 30, would be released on November 19. In a post shared via Instagram, the artist shared her emotional state during the production process of the album. “I’ve learned a lot of blistering home truths about myself along the way,” Adele said. “I’ve shed many layers but also wrapped myself in new ones.”
With the title of the album being 30, the artist will continue the numerical pattern of her previous album which reflects the age at which she wrote them.
The artist has truly come back with a bang as she is the first cover star to appear on both editions of Vogue U.S. and Vogue U.K. during the same month. In interviews conducted with both magazines, she explained that the album is dedicated to her 9-year old son, Angelo. She revealed that she hopes the songs on the album will one day help to clarify her reasons for divorcing his father.
According to Vogue U.K., 30 will be Adele’s most musically diverse album yet. One song documents her break-up experiences with dating and another presents a funky electro-pop beat. While the fine details of the album are extremely secret, Adele remarks that this will be her most personable album yet. The world is ready for what Adele has to bring on November 19.
Leave a Reply