Easy On Me by Adele: The comeback after 6 years still cannot surpass the huge shadow of Hello!

Although it is considered the most successful comeback of 2021, Easy On Me is a “low note” in Adele’s music career compared to Hello.

After more than half a decade of absence from the music industry, British nightingale –  Adele returned  to the expectations of music audiences around the world at exactly 0:00 on October 15 (UK time). Carrying great expectations from fans after 6 years of waiting, Adele’s lead single Easy On Me was released and achieved countless successes, becoming a “music industry superstorm” that made even A-list names wary. Just avoid Adele’s comeback date. 

Considered the most successful comeback of 2021, Adele has proven that Easy On Me’s achievements are not “real”. Easy On Me had a grand debut and from the moment it was released until now, the heat radiating from the comeback of “British treasure” Adele has never diminished. 

But, when comparing Easy On Me with the lead single Hello of the album 25 released 6 years ago, Easy On Me seems to be “inferior” in every aspect. Easy On Me is like a “low note” in the shining journey of golden voice Adele. 

Even though it has the same color, Easy On Me cannot achieve the success that Hello created before

On the YouTube front

The first day of its debut on YouTube, Easy On Me caused controversy when the number of streams for MV Easy On Me on this platform was “loser” compared to other Kpop phenomena. This is understandable because the current “real playground” of USUK stars is not YouTube. But when we go back in time to years ago, when Adele made waves with Hello, YouTube felt like her home turf. 

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Hello – a MV released more than 6 years ago will still stand firm with the record of reaching 1 billion views fastest on YouTube until a YouTube phenomenon like Gangnam Style or Despacito is released. As for  Easy On Me, after 10 days of release, it only had more than 111 million views, so to break the above achievement created by the “sisters” Hello is probably a bit far-fetched. 

Both are “digital music monsters”

Regarding digital music, Easy On Me is slightly better than Hello with a series of new records with Spotify such as becoming the song with the most streams within 24 hours, topping the top 4 positions of the 4 strongest streaming days on Spotify. UK is often on the top of all 3 charts of Spotify US, UK and Global. 

Easy On Me “won big” on the Spotify front

Or like Apple Music, the British singer also spread #1 throughout 102 countries with Easy On Me,  making her the first female artist to do this. 

and also Apple Music

At the time of Hello’s release, streaming platforms were not yet as developed as they are now. However,  Hello is still “one step ahead” compared to Easy On Me when ranked #1 on iTunes in 102 countries while Easy On Me only covers 94 countries. 

Comparing digital music achievements in 2015, when streaming platforms were not yet popular, and 2021, the streaming era, is a lame comparison. The numbers prove that  Hello  has done very well in the digital music segment. 

The ability of fans to “withdraw their wallets” is at an excellent level

Another achievement that is sure to make Hello “beat” Easy On Me is the “scattered” number of singles. In its first week of release, Hello earned more than 1.1 million copies sold and qualified for platinum certification in the United States. Hello also set the record for the first and only single to sell 1 million copies in just 1 week. 

By the end of 2015, Hello was a huge success, selling 12.3 million copies globally. At that time, Hello had been released for less than 3 months ( Hello launched on October 23, 2015).  

According to the latest data , Easy On Me sold more than 92,000 copies in the US in the first week, helping Adele “secure” a place at the top of the Billboard 100 chart for the second week. But compared to Hello , Easy On Me ‘s first week sales were only is an odd number among the “scattered” discs in Hello ‘s first week of release in the US . 

Thanks to the “single sales” record, Hello debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the first week , becoming the 24th single in history to debut at #1. Easy On Me was not “lucky”. “lucky” like that, even though the streams and album sales were huge, because Adele released this song at a very odd day and time, when there were only a few hours left to calculate the rankings before the new week, Easy On Me had no choice but to debut. at position #68 of this chart. 

Although it did not debut at #1 on the Billboard 100 due to its release date and time, Easy On Me is sure to be #1 next week.

In the second week, Easy On Me officially “revenged” with a guaranteed position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with all indexes being sky-high. Achieving 65 million radio impressions, 53.9 million streams in the United States and 74,000 copies sold in the week ending October 21, ranking first in 2 out of 3 indexes including streams and sales, Easy On Me is far ahead of other competitors in the same rankings. 

But, when Hello debuted at #1 on this prestigious chart in 2015, Hello ‘s winning indexes were much greater than Easy On Me’s . Let’s not talk about physical sales in the first week because the number of 1.1 million is already a record that no song has ever broken, even the number of streams or appearances on the radio Hello far surpasses its younger brother Easy On Me. 

Hello received 61.6 million streams and 71 million radio impressions in the first week of op top. Make this comparison to see that, whether in an era where streaming is king or physical sales play a decisive role, Easy On Me cannot surpass Hello . The achievements Hello  has achieved are truly a huge shadow, not only Easy On Me but also Adele’s later comebacks are very difficult to prevail. 

Hello won 2 major awards out of Adele’s total of 5 awards at the 2017 Grammys

Hello is also the song that helped Adele win big at the 59th Grammy , with two awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year . 

Although Easy On Me has passed the deadline to submit nominations for the 2022 Grammys , with its status as ” Grammy ‘s darling “, Adele can still reap many awards with Easy On Me , but can she surpass her “sister” Hello ? Otherwise it’s still a long story. Hello has won all two major awards in Grammy ‘s Big 4 for one song, this is also considered a very difficult record for Adele to break.

How does the recognition and coverage of Easy On Me compare to Hello?

When Hello was released, critics gave a series of compliments to the 2015 super hit.  The Guardian newspaper described the song as “a big ballad, but an outstanding example of this genre” , and gave opined that the song “falls squarely in the vein of epic heartbreak ballads that have made Adele one of the biggest stars in the world.”

The Independent magazine commented on Hello:  “it may not be groundbreaking, but Adele’s return to her familiar dark sounds is welcome. Adele does what she does best, singing the verses.” An emotional story of love and loss, similar to her previous album, 21.” 

No one can forget the intense emotions that Hello brought that year

Hello at that time really went viral around the world, the song “Hello, can you hear me” left a deep impression in the memories of millions of viewers. When talking about world music in 2015, it’s impossible not to mention Hello and the album 25 . 

Along with the effects of waiting for half a decade, Easy On Me, before its release, made the audience “nervous” over and over again because Adele postponed the release date from last fall to October this year. It was thought that a “BigBang explosion” would shock the music industry, but it was the “incident” of Adele personally leaking music before the premiere that made everyone guess what her comeback was about this time, causing the day of April 15 to be announced. 10 becomes a “normal day like any other day”. 

Adele herself leaked the best part of Easy On Me in her own livestream

After Easy On Me was released, a series of mixed opinions broke out. The familiar material in Adele’s music makes many audiences think that Adele’s comeback is “bland”. Loyal fans still steadfastly protect Adele’s brand of pop ballads, Adele’s music-making formula is safe, but always successful. 

Conclude

Although Hello and Easy On Me both share the same musical material, pop ballad, the genre that has become the trademark of Adele’s “national sad love”, the expression and message of these two songs are different. 

From the musical material to the way the MV is edited, Easy On Me “reflects” the breath of Hello

In Hello , Adele touches the listener’s deepest emotions when she raises her voice at the climax. Hello brings intense emotions into the song, with emotional scenes expressed clearly and decisively by Adele, drawing the listener into Hello ‘s emotional flow without end. Even when listening to this song, many stars like Katy Perry or Kate Hudson were moved to tears. 

If Hello sounds painful and heartbreaking, Easy On Me sounds more peaceful and light-hearted. Easy On Me does not have painful scenes like Hello , the whole song has a gentle melody with a melodious piano sound. The lyrics of Easy On Me also portray the image of the woman inside Adele who has truly matured. 

Easy On Me is exactly a “healing” song. Adele poured all her heart after her broken marriage into this song and album 30. 

Before releasing Easy On Me , in an interview with Vogue , Adele also confirmed that she would not create another Hello . Easy On Me will be just what Adele wants, a narrative of a 31-year-old woman who has gone through many emotional upheavals. Her heart is no longer as stirring as it was in her twenties, and her music is no longer as passionate as Hello. Easy On Me is just a psychological therapy to help Adele overcome the pain of post-divorce. 

All in all, the fact that Easy On Me cannot become a huge hit like Hello is an undeniable fact. Because of the way the music is expressed, the coverage of the 2 songs at 2 times and the unique qualities of each song. 

An artist’s musical career will go through many different milestones. Maybe Adele herself “couldn’t overcome the huge shadow of Hello ” but what Easy On Me has achieved until today is still the dream of many young artists. Compared to other songs released in 2021, Easy On Me is still one of the most formidable opponents to overcome.

With the expectation that after 6 years of waiting, Easy On Me may make many audiences feel “not yet satisfied”, but for those who have fallen in love with English nightingale, Easy On Me will still become one of the songs Comfortable bedside pillows of many fans.