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TL;DR: 

  • Adele is nominated for three MTV Video Music Awards in 2022, including Song of the Year for “Easy on Me.” 
  • In an interview, Adele said when she first shared a clip of “Easy on Me” with friends, they didn’t like it. 
  • The inspiration behind Adele’s first single off of her 2022 album, 30, came from conversations with loved ones.

“Easy on Me” might be the name of Adele’s VMA-nominated song, but it’s also what she could’ve said to friends when they first heard it. While Drake showed his support for the debut single from her album, 30, Adele’s pals weren’t initially on board. Ahead, find out how exactly her friends reacted to hearing “Easy on Me” and why Adele called their responses “perfect.” 

Conversations with loved ones inspired ‘Easy on Me’ 

Adele opened up about the inspiration behind “Easy on Me” during a 2021 interview with Greg James on BBC 1’s Radio Breakfast show. 30 centers on her divorce from Simon Konecki, the father of her son, Angelo. However, Adele explained that “Easy on Me” came about following conversations with loved ones in the aftermath of the split.

“Normally, I’m very not confrontational, but you can initiate something and be like, ‘Hang on a minute, go easy on me!’ Like, bear with me while I try to find my feet in a situation,” she said.

The Grammy winner also shared it had been the first song she wrote and recorded for the album. At her “wits’ end,” at the time, she “bawled” throughout the writing and recording process. 

Adele’s friends weren’t wild about the song

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Fans had positive reactions to 30. Although that wasn’t the case when Adele sent a clip of “Easy on Me” to some friends. 

“Well, they loved it,” she said, recalling their original reactions. “I was saying the other day that I sent a snippet of me singing it as I was writing it to three of my closest friends here.” 

“One didn’t like it,” she continued. “The other one was like, ‘Well, yeah, maybe, keep trying though,’ and the other one was, ‘I’m busy working.’” 

The less-than-enthusiastic replies didn’t bother Adele. She described them as the “perfect response” for her.

Adele also said friends praised her “patience” in “Easy on Me” because she’s a self-described “knee-jerk person.” “I’ll be like, ‘I don’t like it, forget it!’ I’m like that with my music. I’m like that with just things I want to do. I’m like that with my feelings and stuff,” she explained.

“I think it was clear to them in the lyrics,’ she told James, “that I’ve bided my time and I wasn’t reacting to a reaction or anything like that. It was just a feeling that I had stirred on for a while.”

Adele’s nominated for 3 awards at the 2022 VMAs

Before embarking on her rescheduled Las Vegas residency, Adele may pick up a few more accolades.
She’s on the list of nominees for the 2022 VMAs.

“Easy on Me” is nominated for Song of the Year. 30 is among the nominees in the Album of the Year category. And, lastly, the music video for “Oh My God” is nominated for Best Art Direction. 

See if Adele takes home a moon person statue on Aug. 28 when the 2022 VMAs air on MTV at 8 p.m. EST.

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