Adele ‘in a strong place now’ after releasing first new music for six years

Adele has spoken about her new music, saying she is “in a strong place now, where I feel like I can put that vulnerability out”.

The 33-year-old has released her comeback single, Easy On Me, which is her first new track in six years, with the full album, titled 30, due for release on November 19.

In the run-up to the release of the single, the singer-songwriter spoke frankly in the British and American editions of Vogue about her split from charity boss husband Simon Konecki in 2019.

She also said the album is her attempt at explaining her divorce to eight-year-old son Angelo.

Speaking to the Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2 on Friday morning, just hours after Easy On Me was released, Adele said she is feeling “good” and “ready”.

“I definitely feel like I lost sight of and lost the appreciation of, like, actually what a gift it is to be into music and be able to make it,” she said.

“I feel like I got a bit frightened of it for a while and it really, really took care of me big time; not just making this record but sort of like diving back into old records of other people’s that I love, discovering new artists on SoundCloud or whatever.

“It brought so much joy to my life, being able to listen to music and wail at the top of my lungs, you know, along to my own bloody songs, the ones as I was writing and stuff like that.

“I don’t know what my outlet would have been had I not had (music) and it made me feel like some people don’t have any bloody outlet, you know, which is why they never get to leap and jump and put themselves first.”

She said of the album: “It was bloody hard work to make, just in terms of, I would sing things I didn’t even realise I was feeling or thinking, but I’m really proud of it and I feel like I can’t unlock a door for my own mental health and take the key with me, got to leave it in the door for everyone else, and I’m in a strong place now, where I feel like I can put that vulnerability out.”

The singer said she had hoped the new song would be out last year, “but here we are now and hopefully it’s perfect timing”.

Talking about the release of the music, she said: “I really wanted to go for, like, an old school rollout, which is hilarious, because most of it relied on social media, which isn’t so old school, but just so the anticipation, I think it’s really, really important, and I feel like a lot of newer, younger artists are just told and taught to undervalue their own art, which does not sit right with me, so I’m trying to, sort of, also maybe inspire some of them to not give it all away at once.”

In a separate interview on Capital Breakfast, she revealed she had played the new music to Canadian singer Drake ahead of its release.

She told the radio station: “I played it to Drake maybe last year when he was in town, just to get… I was like ‘Do you think this is what people want or not want?’ And he was like ‘Aabsolutely’, but that’s it really.”

When presenter Roman Kemp quipped: “I’m sorry Adele, really, that’s it, Drake?”, she said: “I mean, don’t get me wrong – Drake is obviously incredible and amazing and a really lovely mate, but, no, I don’t send it around to various people being like ‘Can I get your thoughts on this?’

“It’s always about how it makes me feel, you know, quality control is my forte. I can write a song about my own experiences and my own life and stuff like that, but sometimes they don’t move me so I ain’t going to put those out into the world.

“But Easy On Me felt great and people certainly aren’t waiting for like a club banger from me, I feel like I’m going to give people what they’ve been missing whilst I’ve been away.”

Easy On Me sees the singer apparently directly addressing her ex-husband and son while explaining why she left her marriage.

The black-and-white music video for the track was filmed in Canada last month and was directed by Xavier Dolan.

Her previous albums – 19, 21 and 25 – all referred to her age at the time, with 21 and 25 both winning Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards.