Tom Breihan's "The Number Ones" column reaches Adele's "Easy On Me," which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for ten weeks from October 2021. The piece reflects on Adele's unusual path to pop dominance, noting that she achieved massive commercial success without following the conventions typically expected of major stars, such as touring extensively, dancing, or continually reinventing her image.

The writer contrasts Adele's low-key approach with Taylor Swift's intense, all-in commitment to every facet of stardom, including choreography and constant public engagement, arguing the two represent fundamentally different models of pop success. Adele instead appears infrequently, releases albums that sell in enormous numbers, and largely withdraws from public life between releases, a pattern the author finds understandable, if not necessarily conducive to compelling pop music.