Adele 30: the psychology of why sad songs make us feel good

Adele’s new album, 30, is finally available. Last month, hundreds of millions of us streamed its first single, Easy On Me. This song evokes feelings not easily put into words. But we can probably agree it is a sad song.

It isn’t obvious that we should like sad music. Sadness is usually a feeling we try to avoid. An alien might expect us to find such music depressing and dislikable.

Yet, sad music pulls us in and lifts us up. So, why does hearing sad music feel so go