Adele combined soulful vocals and classic songcraft into one of the most widely loved performers of her generation. Adele took six years between 30 and her previous release Chasing Pavements before finally releasing it.
Joe Talbot-directed video features London-born hitmaker Adele as she drifts down a river in an inner tube, attracting the eye of fisherman Kendrick Sampson from Insecure before a group of synchronized swimmers push him away.
1. The Story of a Girl’s Dream
Adele made headlines with her 2008 debut album 19 – featuring songs anchored by her powerful alto that established her as one of Britain’s finest R&B singers – but when it came time for follow-up album 21, the Tottenham native struggled to find inspiration; finally her relationship collapsed, prompting “Rolling in the Deep”, an emotive portrait of young heartbreak that became one of its signature singles and sold millions.
Adele had long since won over audiences with her big, heartbreaking ballads on 25; listeners had grown accustomed to expecting big and emotional ballads from this modern soul singer who idolized Etta James as a child. But this time around she proved wiser about using her instrument–only allowing herself to break free emotionally when necessary, like on “Water Under the Bridge” or The Cure’s downcast “Lovesong.” Adele became one of 21st century’s biggest-selling artists!
2. The Making of a Star
Adele became an international star by building an audience through the quality of her music. Her supple phrasing, tasteful arrangements, and ability to transform intimate emotional experiences into songs with wide appeal made her stand out among today’s other megastars.
She also took great care in selecting talent. From Carl Fysh at Purple PR to Richard Russell at XL Records, she assembled an A-Team of producers and managers who understand her and know exactly how best to bring out her strengths.
On 21, she demonstrated her versatility as both an uptempo pop pleaser and balladeer, with haunting keys, soaring vocal harmonies and rhythmic clapping from Danger Mouse on “River Lea.” Furthermore, it is testament to her power and range that she continues to gain fans despite physical album sales having decreased.
3. The Untold Story
Adele has built her career around an outstanding showbiz strategy. She understands that selling albums is like running a business and therefore treats the process with that in mind.
So she made sure to launch 25 like Steve Jobs: keeping some information under wraps and building anticipation while not providing details that feed into media speculation – and instead treating its release like an important event.
With a steady beat from snare drums and strings reverberating behind her, Adele took to a stage covered only by black cloth to reveal a black dress, an empty microphone stand, and her name: she stood there like an image out of history while shaking her head and blinking nervously at every remark, shaking off nervousness with every word she sang – yet managed to become the biggest-selling album of modern history – quite an achievement for a girl born into hardships of her own making!
4. The Real Deal
Adele has amassed an incredibly broad fan base through her music, even while experiencing some hiatuses between releases of new material. Adele’s melodic phrasing, tasteful arrangements, and ability to channel intimate emotional experiences (such as heartbreak) into songs with wide appeal have established her as a pop superstar of unprecedented magnitude.
But even as she has grown in fame, she has managed to retain an admirable sense of restraint that has prevented her from making the kind of cash-ins other celebrities have been known for making. For instance, she didn’t rush into producing another album between 21-30; taking her time may have helped preserve the authenticity so prized by fans.
Adele is unquestionably real and her success should be celebrated for more than its commercial impact alone; rather it’s evidence of our culture’s ongoing evolution toward accepting popular music with emotional depth and authenticity – something to which Adele deserves praise and should be applauded.