Adele and string instruments — a match made in pop music heaven. Known for its classical string covers of popular songs of varying genres — and more recently, its contributions to Netflix’s steamy Regency-era show Bridgerton — Vitamin String Quartet has delivered a brand new cover of Adele’s Billboard Hot 100 No.1 single “Easy on Me.” The arrangement dropped Friday (March 4), as part of the group’s announcement of upcoming album Vitamin String Quartet Performs the Hits of 2021, Vol. 2, due out later in March. The Adele cover was accompanied by an emotional, contemporary dance-filled music video.
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Vitamin String Quartet has long been transforming Adele’s stunning ballads into equally gorgeous string arrangements. In 2011 the group released VSQ Performs Adele, a seven-track cover album featuring elegant arrangements of Adele’s biggest hits, from “Rolling in the Deep” to “Someone Like You.” Plus, the ensemble’s first violin player, Leah Zeger, performed live alongside the 15-time Grammy winner at her One Night Only special at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.
Zeger spoke about recording their newest addition to the Adele canon, saying the cover was an honor to be a part of. “It was a bit surreal having just had the pleasure of playing this song with Adele at the Griffith Observatory concert,” Zeger said in a statement. “She is a sensational performer, and ‘Easy on Me’ is a song for the ages. I don’t feel biased in saying that VSQ’s rendition of the song perfectly captures what she was experiencing when she wrote it.”
In a Venn diagram where the left circle is strings and the right is pop music, VSQ has been dominating the middle for more than a decade. The group’s covers of Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Maroon 5, and Shawn Mendes set the musical backdrop for Shondra Rhimes hit series Bridgerton. VSQ also uploads modern music interpretations of tracks such as Nelly’s “Hot In Herre” to its YouTube channel.
Check out Vitamin String Quartet turn “Easy on Me” into a gorgeous string quartet piece below: