Adele is back! “Easy on Me” debuts at Number 1 with the highest opening numbers of the year so far

In May 2017, Adele made her last appearance on my list with “Water Under the Bridge”. Since then, it has been nearly five years since she released a new song and graced the Top 40. Luckily for us, this week, Adele finally made her highly anticipated comeback with “Easy on Me”, the lead single of her fourth studio album 30. It enters straight at Number 1 with the highest opening numbers of the year so far, having amassed over eighty streams on Spotify alone, surpassing the record previously set by Jesy Nelson’s “Boyz”. According to my personal last.fm, Adele’s “Easy on Me” has had the most successful streaming debut week since Dua Lipa’s Number 1-debut with “Levitating”, which was also streamed about eighty times in its first week. The new song is Adele her ninth Number 1-hit, tying her as the act with the third most Number 1-songs. The act with the most chart-toppers are the Spice Girls, whom scored twelve Number 1-hits, a record that remains unmatched. Adele’s “Easy on Me” dethrones Jesy Nelson her debut single from Number 1, which falls back to fifth place, while keeping Elton John & Dua Lipa’s “Cold Heart” from taking the crown position.

At Number 23, Dutch newcomer Flemming Viguurs makes his chart debut with “Amsterdam”. When he was younger, he starred in the musical productions for Ciske de Rat and Kruimeltje, which were both extremely successful in the Netherlands. In 2019, Flemming released his first studio album, which failed to impact the official charts. Earlier this year, he co-wrote the Top 40-hit “Miss You”.  He then released “Amsterdam”, his first Dutch song, which quickly claimed success on Dutch streaming services and debuted inside the national Top 40 last week. The new song is further supported by live performances at multiple radio stations.

At Number 30, Belgian singer Stromae makes his highly anticipated return with “Santé”. It is his first Top 40-entry since 2015’s “Quand c'est?”. He previously enjoyed major chart success with the Top 10-hits “Alors on Danse”, “Formidable” and the Number 1-song “Papaoutai”. At Number 39, Dutch musical duo Suzan & Freek enter with their new song “Dromen in Kleur”. The song follows the Top 3-hits “Goud” and “Onderweg naar Later” and is the new single taken from the couple’s upcoming studio album.

To celebrate the return of Adele and “Easy on Me” its historic debut at Number 1, I have decided to take a closer look at Adele her chart history on my personal list. Since debuting in 2008 with the sleeper hit “Chasing Pavements”, the British singer has been a chart sensation, scoring back-to-back hits with ease. With her sophomore album 21, Adele claimed three Number 1-singles, which were all certified triple-platinum or higher, making it one of the most-successful albums of all time. In 2012, Adele topped the charts with “Skyfall”, the official theme song to the James Bond film of the same name. After a small hiatus between 2012 and 2015, Adele gloriously returned to the top of the list with “Hello”, the lead single of her multi-platinum album 25. It became her longest-running Number 1-single to date, having spent nine weeks atop the chart. Follow-ups, including “When We Were Young”, all peaked inside the Top 3. In total, Adele scored fifteen Top 40-hits, of which thirteen peaked inside the Top 3, an impressive feat not matched by many other artists. Her best-scoring record to date remains “Rolling in the Deep”, which spent six weeks atop the chart and an impressive thirty-eight weeks inside the Top 40. For a full overview of Adele her impressive legacy, check the ranking below this chart.