When it comes to Adele, some things never change. For starters, the British singer-songwriter’s signature acrylic fingernails and self-deprecating sense of humor have remained in tact. And “Easy on Me,” her first solo release in six years, is another melancholic piano ballad in the mold of 2010’s “Someone Like You” and 2015’s “Hello.”
Produced by Greg Kurstin, the lead single from Adele’s forthcoming album, 30, finds the singer grappling with a form of arrested development: “Go easy on me, baby/I was still a child/Didn’t get the chance to/Feel the world around me.” In a statement posted to her Twitter account, Adele said that the follow-up to 2015’s 25 narrates how she’s “painstakingly rebuilt” her house and heart following her painful divorce, and the weepy but understated “Easy on Me” reflects a sense of emotional restoration.
The music video for “Easy on Me” was directed by Canadian filmmaker Xavier Dolan, who also helmed the clip for “Hello,” which has racked up over 2.8 billion views on YouTube. The new video picks up where “Hello” left off, opening in stark black and white before shifting to color halfway through, as the track’s beat becomes more prominent in the mix.
Watch below:
Adele’s 30 will be released on November 19 via Columbia Records.
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