Adele released her newest album this morning and successfully depressed the whole world. I listened to all the songs so you don’t have to (even though you should).
Adele released the years most highly anticipated album this morning after months of teasing it. Her album “30” contains 12 tracks, all of which will effectively break the heart of anyone who hears it. While she’s depressed the world in the past, this album takes the cake as the most heartbreaking one she’s ever made. It also feels like the most personal one yet, with songs describing her feelings during a hard time in her life. The whole album is her dealing with the fallout of her divorce and it’s impact on her son. I listened to the whole album for you and put together a list of the six best songs. You should still listen to it though and decide for yourself. Anyways, here is my list!
6. Easy On Me
The second track of the album, and it’s first single, sets the tone for the rest of the album perfectly. It lets the audience know what this album is about, while giving us classic Adele vibes. The song reflects on the end of her relationship, where she asks for listeners to go easy on her in the songs to follow. This album is extremely personal, something that can be difficult for any artist to accomplish, however Adele masters it here. She’s asking to audiences and her son Angelo not to judge her for the mistakes she made in her relationship.
5. My Little Love
While Easy On Me prepares the audience for what’s to come, My Little Love is a sadness punch in the gut. This song is Adele’s way of apologizing to her son for the hurt and the pain she caused him in the divorce. The most heart wrenching moments are the voice memos Adele inserted throughout the song of her talking to her son. In one, Adele explains to her son that she’s “having big feelings” and feels like she doesn’t know what she’s doing. One lyric literally asks her son if the things she’s done make him sad. The song ends with one long voice note of Adele explaining how depressed and lonely she feels, and how nervous she is that she’ll always feel this way.
4. Woman Like Me
While a majority of the album is Adele blaming herself and grieving, Woman Like Me points the finger at her ex-husband. For a brief second, she moves on from her wrongdoings, and instead points out her husband’s failures. She points out his complacency in their marriage, claiming he was whiny and that he was pushing her away in the end. As well as calling him whiny, Adele also calls her man lazy. She also called him out for staying in his comfort zone where he feels more powerful than her. Anyways, it’s a great breakup song for anyone who feels their significant other doesn’t value them or try to meet them where they are.
3. Hold On
While appearing on Oprah, Adele explained the song is based off advice her friends gave her when she was in her emotions after the divorce. This song is about the difficult process of divorce and all the transitions that come with ending a marriage. The song speaks about staying strong when you feel like you’re falling apart. It perfectly describes the struggle of feeling lonely, while trying to remember better days are coming. One of the more relatable lyrics is when she sings about how she’s surprised to feel insecure while struggling to feel anything at all. The song ends with a somewhat hopeful tone, with Adele saying she hopes she’ll one day find love again.
2. I Drink Wine
This song is about the complete unravelling of her marriage from Simon and the ways in which they changed in their relationship. With lyrics like “We’re in love with the world, but the world just wants to bring us down” and “But the higher we climb feels like we’re both none the wiser” paint that picture. During an interview with Oprah, Adele explained alcohol was how she coped with the pain of her divorce. It also made her realize she had to stop drinking and find herself again. Part of finding herself was realizing she had developed a big ego and needed to stop taking things to personally. She explained that to let others love her, she had to learn to get over herself, also a lyric in the song. It truly reflects the change of priorities which come with divorce.
1. To Be Loved
No one sings a heartbreak ballad like Adele. Also, no one can write a heartbreak ballad like Adele can. She is the queen of tapping into your emotions and making someone feel all the uncomfortable feelings. Adele sings about going into this relationship with so much hope only to realize she went into it completely lost. She documents crying in secret while remembering the hope she felt in the early years. She sings in the chorus that she can no longer live a lie, but she wants everyone to remember how hard she tried. Adele also sings that she regrets nothing, admitting she would do it all again because all she wanted was for it to work. The song is Adele coming to terms with her decision to move forward with the divorce. It is heartbreaking, but perfectly describes what we all feel before a breakup.
Overview
While these were my top six, I have to admit every song on the album is amazing. As if you couldn’t tell, I am partial to the slow emotional ballads. There are some upbeat, yet still depressing songs on there, but my favorite Adele songs are always the slow emotional ones. I don’t know what that says about me, but I’m not concerned enough to dig deeper on that.
Anyways, what’s your favorite song on her new album? Let me know in the comments!