Adele makes country music debut with Chris Stapleton-assisted ‘Easy on Me’
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Adele is taking the country music business by storm.
Much like her Columbia Records labelmate Lil Nas X did in 2019 with “Old Town Road,” the British vocal powerhouse has made it to the country music charts with a superstar collaboration.
“Easy On Me” (featuring Chris Stapleton) has debuted at No. 25 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart dated Nov. 27.
The power piano ballad, which sat atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart for four consecutive weeks, makes – according to the outlet – “unprecedented airplay chart history” with 5.4 million audience impressions.
Released Nov. 19, the collaborative version can only be heard on Country music radio outlets and via the deluxe version of Adele’s new album, “25,” which is only available at Target. To date, no streaming distribution platforms has access to the song.
Other bonus tracks exclusively available via the deluxe disc include, “Wild Wild West,” and “Can’t Be Together.”
The Academy and Grammy Award winner pegged Stapleton as a “dream duet partner” during an appearance for Vogue’s popular “73 Questions.”
But the country musician isn’t the only artist who has taken to the booth to record a hit Adele song.
Months after it went No. 1, Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award winner John Legend uploaded a rousing a capella rendition of Adele’s chart-topping thumper “Rolling in the Deep” in 2011.
Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin also recorded the song for her daringly ambitious 2014 “Divas Classics” opus.
In 2016, R&B crooner Joe brought new depth and dimension to Adele’s ubiquitous 2015 track “Hello.”
But Stapleton, a five-time Grammy Award winner with four albums under his belt, was the only artist who got the duet treatment.
Earlier in her recording career, Adele covered Stapleton and the SteelDrivers single “If It Hadn’t Been For Love” for bonus versions of her 2011 album “21.”
“Basically, I’ve’ been a fan of [Stapleton] since SteelDriver days,” she recently told Rolling Stone. “I’ve’ been covering SteelDrivers for like nearly 12 years now. It’s’ just…his voice is just f---ing brilliant.”
Her first time on the country airplay charts marks her 17th overall appearance on Billboard’s airplay charts.
Through the years, Adele has traversed a myriad of genres with her music played in multiple formats, including Adult Alternative, Adult Contemporary, Adult Pop, Adult R&B, Dance/Mix Show, Latin Pop R&B/Hip-Hop, Smooth Jazz Airplay and Tropical Airplay.
According to Billboard, she matches Mariah Carey with visits to as many as 17 Billboard airplay charts since 1990.
“Easy on Me” has been ranked as the most played song in U.S. radio history.
