The Number Ones: Adele’s “Easy On Me”

October 30, 2021STAYED AT #1:10 WeeksIn The Number Ones, I'm reviewing every single #1 single in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, starting with the chart's beginning, in 1958, and working my way up into the present. The column is now biweekly, alternating with The Alternative Number Ones on Mondays. Book Bonus Beat: The Number Ones: Twenty Chart-Topping Hits That Reveal the History of Pop Music.Up until a few years ago, you could've made a perfectly strong case for Adele as the biggest pop star in the world. This was interesting because Adele didn't do the things that pop stars are supposed to do. She didn't tour. She didn't dance. She didn't reinvent herself every time she made a new album. She didn't significantly change her look, her persona, or her general presentation. She didn't make songs with other pop stars. She didn't make music that engaged with the zeitgeist at all. She just popped up at infrequent occasions to drop a new album that sold in impossible, world-obliterating numbers, and then she disappeared again.The sheer overwhelming nature of Adele's commercial success made the "biggest pop star in the world" conversation difficult. It was clear that Adele was play...