Adele says “hello” after a long five years with a new record breaking song. Rumor has it that this album may top any of her previous ones. Adele released her single “Easy on Me” on October 15, 2021 as a debut for her brand new album, “30,” which is an album that she has spent the past three years writing. Just a week after this song has been released, it has broken multiple records and has soared straight to the top of the Official Singles Chart, with over 200,000 chart sales. The song has also broken records on Spotify, with 24 million streams within a single day. It has received overwhelming praise amongst many critics. Many have regarded this song as extremely well-written, with stunning vocals. This song is a little different from Adele’s other singles, only having a piano, bass and vocals, which gives off a different tone than some of Adele’s previous works. A lot of listeners expressed a liking to this shift in tone, believing that it shows a new sense of maturity in Adele. “Instead of offering more tear duct-ravaging balladry focused on long-gone exes or scorned romances, ‘Easy On Me’ presents a different type of devastation: a plea for understanding, following a breakup that has caused too much collateral damage,” Billboard wrote. The song is addressed to Adele’s nine year old son, Angelo, begging him to “go easy on her” after her divorce. Adele expresses how she did not have any hard feelings from her divorce but she felt like she needed to get out of the marriage to pursue her own happiness. “I was just going through the motions and I wasn’t happy,” Adele said. “Neither of us did anything wrong. Neither of us hurt each other or anything like that. It was just: I want my son to see me really love, and be loved. It’s really important to me.” The song was also accompanied by a music video, following Adele moving out of her previous house and into a new home. The video starts off in black and white, and slowly transitions into color by the end of the song. This is the only Adele music video to have color, which is interpreted by many to be a symbol of Adele transitioning into a new phase in her life. “Easy On Me” is only one of the songs that will be in Adele’s new album, “30”. This album will be about Adele’s emotions following her divorce. Through her writing, she explains to her son the big questions about life, love and apologizes to him for leaving the marriage to pursue her own happiness. Xavier senior Mary Clare Bean is excited for the new album. “I’m looking forward to the album because she was in a very vulnerable place when writing these songs and that vulnerability makes her writing easy to relate to,” Bean said. Although, unlike her other albums, this one stands out. Instead of blaming others for the breakup, Adele realizes that she was responsible. “It was more me divorcing myself,” Adele explained.” The record is about self- destruction but also about self-reflection and then some sort of self-redemption.” The rest of Adele’s album will be released on Friday, November 19.