It was only a matter of time before I had to write about an Adele song, right?

And with the siren’s “Easy on Me” continuing to top the charts after multiple months, I suppose now’s as good a time as ever. In fact, this is the first time I’ve written about Adele on this here blog. After taking another listen to “Easy on Me,” it’s easy to see why she continues to break records and lead the charts, song after throaty, passionate song.

“Easy on Me” (released in October 2021) continues the tradition of the emotion-drenched, intensely dramatic epics that Adele is known for. I’m not even what you’d call a fan…but when a new Adele song comes on the radio, err, streaming device, I immediately know it’s her, and I eagerly await that big chorus hook that we all know is coming. While some critics charged that “Easy on Me” isn’t quite as epic or dramatic as earlier singles, they nonetheless give it high marks (and really, that’s just code that means a singer is continuing to do what they do best; she’s not reinventing the wheel here).

According to the artist herself, the song was written for her 9-year-old son as a sort-of apology for divorcing his father and upending the life he had known. In the lyrics, Adele sings:

Go easy on me, baby
I was still a child
Didn’t get the chance to
Feel the world around me
I had no time to choose
What I chose to do
So go easy on me

Powerful stuff. And credit must also go to song co-writer Greg Kurstin, who has a knack for bringing out what Adele fans most want to hear from the singer.

“Easy on Me” was the first single released from Adele’s 2021 album 30, her follow-up to 2015’s smash, 25. And it goes to show that a lot of stuff happens during those tumultuous years between 25 and 30, which Adele has proven to be relatable to a large portion of the global audience.