It’s another belter

EASY On Me is now here — and it’s the kind of yearning, happy-sad ballad that has been Adele’s stock-in-trade ever since she wowed the nation at the Brits ten years ago.

Opening with mellow piano chords and a softly sung first verse, this comeback builds gracefully, with stunning vocal twists.

As Adele bares her soul over three minutes and 44 seconds, there’s tender restraint amid the power. What an exceptional singer she is.

Having described the period since her last album, 25, as a ‘maze of absolute mess and inner turmoil’, she wastes no time in confronting her woes in song. The upheaval of her 2019 divorce from ex-husband Simon Konecki, and its impact on young son Angelo, clearly weighs heavily.

‘I was still a child, didn’t get the chance to feel the world around me,’ she admits. The overall tone might be one of regret, but there’s also something uplifting here. It’s easy to envisage her millions of fans singing this song back to her in a packed stadium.

In 2019, she joked her next release was going to be ‘a drum and bass record, to spite you all’. I wouldn’t rule out a few surprises on her fourth album, 30, out on November 19 — but on big ballads like this, it’s clear she’s still pitch-perfect.

Thanks, Adele — it was worth the wait.