EASY ON ME
Unless you live under a rock, you probably know that Adele is finally back this weekend with EASY ON ME, the lead single from her highly anticipated fourth studio album, 30 (out November 19th). It’s been six years since her last release, 25 (the fastest-selling album of all time in the US, lest we forget…), back when album releases still somewhat felt like actual events. The instant gratification of streaming has given way to artists dropping increasingly disposable, standalone singles, but leave it to Adele to tee up a proper album rollout. It started a few weeks ago, when mysterious “30” billboards started appearing in major cities around the world. While Adele is distinctly known for her numerical album titles based on her age at the time of songwriting, the Internet seemed to be doubtful— it had been so long since she dropped new music, and this seemed too good to be true. For me, the news was all but confirmed when Taylor Swift mysteriously moved the release of RED (TAYLOR’S VERSION) up one week, clearing the weekend of November 19th. Lo and behold, Adele released the teaser for EASY ON ME a week later, and the world was forever changed. A beautiful piano ballad that’s relatively sparse by Adele’s standards, EASY ON ME still offers her signature wistful sensibilities with a glint of catharsis and optimism. And around 1 p.m. on Friday, Spotify confirmed that the single had already become the platform’s most-streamed song in a single day, with a few tracking hours left to spare. In other words, just another Friday for Adele. The music video is directed by Xavier Dolan, who also directed the video for Adele’s HELLO, and it very much feels like a poetic sequel to the 2015 sepia-drenched clip. When asked on her (now viral) Instagram live last weekend what her forthcoming album would be about, Adele simply responded: “divorce, babe, divorce.” Consider this the beginning of sad girl autumn, and brace for impact.
—Neal Mulani, Development Assistant
