BY KATHY WILLIAMS, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
British singer Adele returns to the music scene by releasing “Easy on Me,” her first new song in six years. She also announced a new album titled “30” to be released Nov. 19.
According to Billboard, the new song reached number 68 in the Billboard Hot 100 list within the first five hours of its premiere on Oct. 14. With 3.1 million U.S streams, 3.1 million impressions and 14,800 sold units according to MCR Data, Adele’s “Easy on Me” is expected to keep climbing the charts for the Oct. 30-dated Hot 100.
The single has achieved success on other charts, too. In the U.K., it debuted at the number one spot on The Official Big Top 40 which bumped Ed Sheeran’s “Shivers” down from the top rank. On Spotify, the song shattered the record for most streams in a single day with 24 million streams, beating out BTS’s song “Butter.”
Adele released a music video to pair with the single’s release, and within hours, the video surpassed millions of views on YouTube. On Oct. 20, the video was the number one trending item under YouTube’s music category, and it had over 90 million views just six days after its debut.
Fans are expecting “30” to be Adele’s way of expressing her experience with her divroce from Simon Konecki, which was finalized in March of this year. In an interview for Vogue, Adele explained how this project is a way for her to show her emotions and perspectives of the divorce to her nine-year-old son. The release of “Easy on Me” gave listeners the beginning glimpse of what “30” will behold.
The British singer is known for her strong, emotional vocals from her hit songs “Hello,” “Rolling in the Deep,” and “Someone Like You.” Her latest song is no exception.
Beginning with the line, “There ain’t no gold in this river, that i’ve been washin’ my hands in forever,” Adele sang the first verse to set the tone of where her relationship with Konecki was. She immediately tells listeners of how she no longer found value and happiness in her relationship. Her married life no longer was serving her purpose after she fought through its struggles, but she argued how despite the turmoil, she never gave up hope for the couple.
The title “Easy on Me” comes from her chorus where Adele uses her melodic tune with an accompanied piano to tell how she is asking for grace during her difficult times. Fans have speculated that she is using the chorus as a way to speak to her son by asking him to go easy on her while she navigates the difficulties that come with divorce. Other theories are that Adele is speaking to her ex-husband and asking for him to be understanding, and that Adele is simply telling herself to not place blame on her for the situation.
After a six year break from new music releases, it is apparent that fans are eager for the release of “30” following the debut of “Easy on Me.”
