The first album that has ever moved me to tears in my life is the album “30” by Adele. It came out in November of 2021, which was about two winters ago. This album was the first I ever heard from Adele.
Most people have heard “Hello” from her only, and think they could never listen to a full album like that. In this next album, she unapologetically opens up about her personal life. It has wacky and fun songs that you would never expect and genre changes throughout the album.
The first song I sat down and listened to was “My Little Love.” It was a heartbreaking song, and I loved everything about it. In the song, she opened up about the hardships of having a divorce and co-parenting her son. When I first heard this song, I thought, “I’ve never heard an Adele song that was this calm” and I felt like she was actually saying something I could relate to instead of just a vague heartbreak song.
Her opening track, “Strangers by Nature.” is a homage to Judy Garland, a renowned singer and actress mainly known for her role as “Dorothy” from “The Wizard of Oz.” Adele wrote this song after watching the biopic titled “Judy” and wanted to make a song that reminded her of the film.
Then, we moved on to “Easy on Me,” which was released as a single before her album came out, and it became very popular. In an episode of the “Q Interview” Podcast, she explained that before this album was released, everyone knew she was divorced, and everyone thought she would be angry or bitter. Adele states, “It wasn’t a song about anyone hurting each other, it was about being like ‘we love each other so much, but it’s just not working.’” She wanted it to not be a blaming song, but almost a breath of fresh air at the start of her album to let people know she wasn’t angry.
In “Cry Your Heart Out,” she talks about depression, but with the happiest beat ever. She goes back in time on this track, and uses a Motown-gone-reggae beat to disguise the lyrics explaining how hard it was to move on with her life after her divorce. The opening lyrics are “Cry your heart out, it’ll clean your face…When you’re in doubt, go at your own pace.”
One song that really changed me and felt like she was actually talking to the listener was “Hold On.” In an interview with Zane Lowe of Apple Music, she spoke about her feeling stagnant in her depression, as if she would never come out the other side and feel happy again. And I think that’s something almost everyone can relate to, when your journey to happiness looks different than other people. In Adele’s cover story for Vogue in the November issue of 2021, she explains that at the end, the amateur choir at the end of her song chanting “Just hold on” was her actual friends each holding a microphone and singing along together. She thought it was very meaningful because those were their encouraging words to her when she was going through a very rough time.
This entire album has proved that it was not just emotional breakup songs. This album is an amazing soundtrack to explain some of the feelings we all share. Adele speaks about the complexities of life, growth, parenting, and love all in one album. You should definitely listen to this album.