As you may know ... this is the singer's first new music after a 6-year absence, and after dropping her single "Easy on Me" Thursday, Drake gave it a shout-out ... along with some surprising insight about their relationship.

Champagne Papi posted a photo of Adele on his IG story and wrote, "One of my best friends in the world just dropped a single" ... while adding a smile emoji, hearts and "WOIIIIIII" to show his awe for it.

Now, we've known Adele and Drake are friends for awhile now -- you'll recall she attended his birthday party in 2019 after her divorce -- but it's a bit of a surprise they are in the BFF zone.

But, perhaps we should have known, because back then Drake also shared a photo of himself with Adele along with a caption about "unbreakable bonds I have in my life from incredible people."

Anyway, Adele's new song is the first release from her upcoming fourth studio album, "30." As we reported ... she gave her fans a sneak peek of the song last weekend during her first-ever Instagram Live, and yes -- she's still got it.