I’m going to be honest – I forgot about Adele. Then just today, October 17, I was looking at Spotify’s Today’s Top Hits and lo and behold – Adele graced the top of the list. I didn’t freak out, but I did, inwardly.

That’s a name I haven’t heard in a while. To be specific, her last album, “25” was released in 2015. Since then, a president was elected and then replaced by another, and of course there’s the global pandemic. In short, a lot has happened.

I remember a time when she was on the top of the music world, and the new single “Easy on Me” has her classic emotional, powerful sound that almost brought me back to those moments. It wasn’t that those moments specifically involved an Adele song, but she was just so omnipresent that for a certain period of time it was impossible not to “accidentally” listen to one at a given time.

On Spotify, it became the most streamed song in one day, passing BTS’s “Butter.”

Despite my shock to hear Adele’s voice again in her new single, I also realized how integrated she had become in today’s pop culture, and thus, how I could never have really forgotten Adele. Whatever did people say before “hello, it’s me?” and “hello from the other side?” (may I add, clenching their fists, closing their eyes, and tilting their head up to the ceiling in a mock Adele pose). 

With that said, Adele’s new single came out October 15 and her new album, her first in 6 years, comes out on November 19. I’d recommend you’d take a listen.

She says the album is a reflection on her 2019 divorce and the songs focus on it.

I imagine her comeback like the returning of an exiled queen bursting through the doors of the court and staring down the new corrupt leader, while her army appears behind her. It’s a bit of a stretch, yes, and it has some logistical problems in that I have no idea who the corrupt leader would be, but I’m certain she really does have an army showing up behind her in her fans. Her single has been praised heavily by many –  celebrities including Drake and Lil Nas X, and critics have called it “a thing of beauty and wonder,” “quintessential Adele,” and “powerful” among other comments.

Many in YLHS love the new song and are excited for the upcoming album. Ishana Jansen (9) said, “I’m very excited to hear her new album and music.”

I couldn’t imagine a better song for a 6-year comeback, and I hope the songs in the album all match this sentiment.

November 19 – save it on your calendar.