» a shining superstar
- ADELE
Both as a song writer and vocalist, Adele has been able to
cover a range of subject matters. Because they are pieces
taken from her real life, this too allows her fans to stay loyal
and invested. It’s almost like there is no line between her
music and her life, they overlap in ways that her fans find
authentically positive. In fact, early on in her career, namely
around the time she recorded 19 and 21, many of those songs
were about breaking up and getting over love lost. Adele
admitted openly that sometimes she had to get drunk to write.
Dan Wilson, co-writer of ʻSomeone Like You’, has said of her
songs, “The idea is to make them as personal as possible.”
Frank honesty seems to be her trademark; her shtick says
Will Gompertz of the BBC. This, along with her candour and
sometimes potty mouth expressions, allows fans to connect
with her and perhaps see a bit of themselves in her and the
songs she writes. Who can’t relate to a bad break up or how
hard it is to let go? It’s these kinds of moments that she speaks
to openly that make her real and flawed like the rest of us.
It’s those universal life experiences that keep people listening.
The power of music is capable to move people, stir their souls
and if you close your eyes while listening to a song by Adele,
chances are, it will move you, perhaps even to tears. Her gut
wrenching sad, melancholic ballads have continued to set her
apart from so many others of this generation. Unlike other
female performers, Adele is the show.
Shortly after the release of 25, she interviewed
with etalk and said that she is not going
reveal as much about this album like
she did with 19 and 21. “It was hard
to decide how much I wanted to give
away this time because I gave away
a lot last time. I realized that most
of the things I gave away last time
were actually in my interviews
and in my chats. This album is as exposing as my last, if you
want I’m just not going tell everyone exactly what the things
were about but I also want people to interpret the songs in
their own way.” Adele reached a compromise with 25, she left
us the pieces she needed to leave perhaps, but nothing more
– and yet, still so much more than we are used to receiving
from other performers. This past November in her Vanity
Fair interview she admitted to battling depression – once
again showcasing her willingness to expose herself at the risk
of judgement. This fearlessness connects her to her fans while
inspiring them to take action in their own lives. This candour
and honesty is refreshing in a world where people often
pretend to be perfect. It is no wonder that so many of us
see her like a modern day Cinderella, shining even in her
darkest moments.
In amost recent interviews from 2016, we see a significant
transformation in Adele. After throat surgery and giving
birth, Adele lost her frumpy, happy go-lucky teenage-self and
became a more sophisticated, well-disciplined young woman.
Adele has proven that no matter how you look, you can turn
heads by turning on your voice and honesty. The stigma of
being stunning as a prerequisite for fame has been blown out
of the water with Adele. She is a reminder to many young
girls that look to her as a role model, that a healthy talented
mind trumps outer physical beauty.
Adele says that she never imagined nor dreamed to be
a singer, let alone become famous, she sang for the
love of singing. Despite stardom and wealth, she
has remained quite humble and ‘real’. She continues to sing with unabashed passion about a
kind of pain we all recognize and that sort of
thing doesn’t date her, won’t date her. She
is Adele. Unparalleled.
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• fredi winter 2016
COVERSTORY //