Adele Reveals First Single, Video From Upcoming Album ’30’

Adele released her first new song in five years on Thursday. “Easy on Me” provides a preview of her upcoming album, 30, her first since 25 was released in November 2015. The single was released a day after Adele shared a statement on the new album, which she began recording almost three years ago. 30 will be released on Nov. 19.

The video for “Easy on Me” is mostly in black and white, reflecting the mood of the song. It starts with a long segment before the song itself even starts, as Adele gets ready to leave a house that looks just like the one from her “Hello” video for the last time. The song doesn’t start until she puts in a cassette and drives off, past a “For Sale” sign as she puts the past behind her.

On Wednesday, Adele announced she was finally ready to release 30, which will actually be released after she turned 33. “I’ve learned a lot of blistering home truths about myself along the way,” Adele wrote in a statement she shared on social media. “I’ve shed many layers but also wrapped myself in new ones. Discovered genuinely useful and wholesome mentalities to lead with, and I feel like I’ve finally found my feeling again. I’d go as far as to say that I’ve never felt more peaceful in my life. And so, I’m ready to finally put this album out.”

She called working on the album her “ride or die” during a tumultuous period of her life, referring to her divorce from Simon Konecki. The singer also recalled how a close friend helped her during those dark times. “That friend who no matter what, checked in on me even though I’d stopped checking in with them because I’d become so consumed by my own grief,” Adele wrote. “I’ve painstakingly rebuilt my house and my heart since then and this album narrates it. Home is where the heart is.”

30 includes collaborations with many of the same writers and producers she worked with on 25, including Greg Kurstin, producers Max Martin and Shellback. Ludwig Gorannsson, Tobias Jesso Jr., Tyler the Creator, and Skepta also contributed to the album. The vocals are also the original demos since they have charisma she cannot replicate in the studio, Adele told Vogue.

“There isn’t a bombastic ‘Hello,’ ” she said of the music on 30. “But I don’t want another song like that. That song catapulted me in fame to another level that I don’t want to happen again. I’m not saying I’ve got ‘Hello’s in my pocket. I was just conscious that I didn’t want my story on this album to sound like that.”