The Adele Topic: From 19 to 21 to 25

[Kromm]

I looked it up, and I'm very surprised to find out that Adele is only twenty seven, making her just two years older than Swift. Her voice is very mature for someone so young, and it wouldn't fit the in-love-bordering-on-stalking vibe TS has. Swift is decent, considering the teenagery (leave me alone, its a word 'cause I say its a word) material she puts out, but Adele way outshines her as far as I'm concerned. I'm just glad to see her back on the scene and past that throat polyp thing.

Given that Adele's always used her age at the time of recording for her album names, was her current age really that much of a surprise though?

 

 

Take it easy, Taylor. ;-)

Given that Adele has been in New York recently I keep expecting to see celeb news coverage with Taylor Swift taking her to some Brooklyn restaurant (like Tay-Tay has every other star who's "friendship" she's seduced). I mean the best way for Taylor to ride this out is probably for her to try and make Adele part of her infuriating "Girl Squad", so she comes off like just another accessory...

[funkopop]

Given that Adele's always used her age at the time of recording for her album names, was her current age really that much of a surprise though?

 

Given that Adele has been in New York recently I keep expecting to see celeb news coverage with Taylor Swift taking her to some Brooklyn restaurant (like Tay-Tay has every other star who's "friendship" she's seduced). I mean the best way for Taylor to ride this out is probably for her to try and make Adele part of her infuriating "Girl Squad", so she comes off like just another accessory...

 

I think I found out her age during her second album and was gobsmacked that she was younger than me.  I do believe you can see her youth in interviews and I may be thrown off by her accent.

Edited November 25, 2015 by funkopop

[Athena]

Having lived both sides of the pond, I find that in Britain, 27 is older than the 27 in North America. Brits, on the whole, settle down earlier. They go to a "college" at 16 (so chefs, trades people start training at this age), and for university, they start at 18/19, but go three years. Grad school is one year. It is not atypical to see girls in common law relationships, married, or with children at 21 or 22. While there are socioeconomic factors at play, for a middle class woman, Adele with a baby at 25 is probably more common. Having said all that, her literal voice and her songwriting are more mature. I like it because she has the soul and personality to carry it and not everyone does.

 

That being said, I think Adele's a tad overrated. Ever since she came out, the two things she's had working for her is her image -- she's not a size-2 tarted up sexpot who drives all the boys wild -- and the fact that she's a mainstream female singer who sings real songs and doesn't seem eager to chase the EDM fad. I don't know if that makes sense, but what I'm saying is, "being a good singer who sings good songs" will always be popular. Ironically enough, the people who seem to have a hard time remembering that is the record industry. The record industry has such a distrust of actual talent without a lot of gimmickry and artifice that when someone with talent breaks through to the mainstream, we act like it's because that person is something special. And I don't say that necessarily as a slight to Adele as far as her talent is concerned, but when someone like her is book-ended against other artists who ride the wave of a couple of catchy singles and/or sex appeal, Adele, who can actually sing, can actually write songs, and actually makes albums and not just singles for radio, stands way out.

 

I think Adele has become the exception because in the mainstream, she is not a typical packaged artist. She's the whole package in the singing and writing part. She's actually good at both and in the mainstream industry now, most female performers are better at one thing than the other. Most of the top female artists have songs written for them and without much of their input. The bar for the industry is low because they don't take a chance on artists like Adele. It makes me wonder if Adele were American, if she would have gotten as far she did.

 

She's huge in the US. When was the last time, a solo non-American dominated the billboards the way she has? I'm not surprised about her popularity in Britain which has its own female singers. In addition to Adele's musical talent,her popularity there is due to her personality, her socioeconomic background (not dirt poor, but not rich) and perhaps, even her ethnicity. Adele is a fan of Gabrielle and Leona Lewis, two British vocalists, but neither of them are white.

 

I like her, but I know what you mean. I try to look at it that she can inspire other artists to make it big because there are many who do the whole thing and can't break through.

[Kromm]

When was the last time, a solo non-American dominated the billboards the way she has? 

Rihanna?

 

Maybe not quite to the level of Adele, but still having as much or more success than US natives on the American charts.

Edited November 25, 2015 by Kromm

[Kromm]

I despise this YouTube channel (they babble), but they had one really interesting bit.  Adele's leaked solo mic feed from her SNL performance was leaked somehow and they have it.  There's some lame bullshit up front in the video, so I've skipped right to the relevant part:

 

https://youtu.be/MnfwkUjq6oo?t=1m5s

 

The point being you can tell how little fuckery is necessary with and around her voice by listening to her isolated mic feed.

Edited November 25, 2015 by Kromm

[AimingforYoko]

 

I mean the best way for Taylor to ride this out is probably for her to try and make Adele part of her infuriating "Girl Squad", so she comes off like just another accessory...

Isn't she part of Jennifer Lawrence's 'squad'? Who will Taylor have to give up to get Adele? It's the Pop Star Hot Stove League!

[27bored]

The bar for the industry is low because they don't take a chance on artists like Adele. It makes me wonder if Adele were American, if she would have gotten as far she did.

 

I don't think Adele would be as popular if she were American. For one thing, we don't have as many high-profile opportunities for singers to actually perform live to show what they're made of. Some of Adele's best performances have been on on BBC and Live Lounge (which might be the same thing, I'm not sure) and the Brits. Outside award shows, early morning shows, and late night shows, we don't have a lot of outlets for artists. If MTV and VH1 focused more on music than BAPS reruns and BS reality show marathons, we could see more televised performances.

 

That mainly leaves radio as the place to make or break careers, which means the same 10 songs get played every day, the same types of songs get played every day, and everything is about "formats" and less about "is this any good?"

[debbydeb]

I think she also benefited from signing onto an indie label that made conscious decision to just sign a couple of artists in a year so they can concentrate and tailor made their promotion. Another artist who benefits from this setup is Taylor Swift.  I'm also conscious that there are many indie artists who don't ever find the break that Adele or Taylor did, but it's food for thought. In that they're allowed to go at their own prefered pace, (which also benefits the other similarly themed artist in the roster that they can take turns for instance). e

 

I enjoyed the many debates that come up in the media about how the music industry needs to rethink its business model (and not just about streaming vs everything else, but more intriguingly about artist management, and album vs. singles driven artists--eg. there's nothing wrong with singles-specialists or album-specialists, etc), and make it more Artist-driven rather than Studio-driven. Finding a balance is difficult obviously. You can't push an unwilling artist into the spotlight with threats, but you also need to reign in thirsty artists. 

 

billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/6777831/adele-25-more-than-3-million

Meanwhile, the numbers are out and Adele made more than 3 million in 6 days in the UK. The closest to her will be Beiber with around 200-300k max.

She has made all other artist look like Indie artists at this point. 

And she did it without ever leaving the vicinity of Rockefeller Center. I don't know what sorcery she's using. It's mighty effective.

[kili]

She's huge in the US. When was the last time, a solo non-American dominated the billboards the way she has?

 

Well, nobody dominates like Adele, but Canadians have been kicking all kinds of butt on the charts this year. Prior to Adele this week, four of the top selling weeks for albums in 2015 were from solo Canadians. Justin Bieber topped the BB200 with 649K for the number one selling week of 2015 so far just this previous week. Drake holds down the 2nd and 5th best selling week (although his 5th place album is a MIxed tape with Future). IIRC correctly, The Weeknd had the fourth best selling week of the year. One Direction, from the UK, was either 3rd or 4th.

 

For the past 10 weeks or so, solo acts from Canada have held at least half the slots in the top 10 on the Hot 100 and there was a continuous stream of about 9 weeks they topped the Hott 100  ("Can't Feel My Face"->"What Do You Mean"->"Can't Feel My Face"->"The Hills"*6). Last week, 7 of the top 10 slots on the Hot 100 were held by solo Canadian artists (all from the province of Ontario). Bieber had "Sorry", "Love Yourself" and "What do you Mean" at 2,4 and 5. Drake had "Hotline Bling" at 3rd while The Weeknd's "The Hills" was sixth. Shawn Mendes's "Stitches" was 7th and Alessia Cara's "Here" was 10th. With Adele holding down the top spot on that chart, only two American made it into the top 10.

 

Last week, Bieber shattered the Hot 100 record by putting 17 songs on the chart (the previous record was set by The Beatles in 1964 with 14 and Drake managed to tie that record twice this year with both of his album releases).

 

Since July 25th, the Hot 100 (the singles primary chart) has been topped by a Jamican (OMI's "Cheerleader") for 6 weeks, Canadians (for a total of 10 weeks) and a Brit (Adele for the last 4 weeks). It is likely that Adele will top the chart until the end of the year (unless one of the Canadians sneak back in) which means no Americans for almost half a year.

 

So, nobody is like Adele, but the US charts can be quite welcoming to artists from other countries.

Edited November 26, 2015 by kili

[VCRTracking]

Given that Adele has been in New York recently I keep expecting to see celeb news coverage with Taylor Swift taking her to some Brooklyn restaurant (like Tay-Tay has every other star who's "friendship" she's seduced). I mean the best way for Taylor to ride this out is probably for her to try and make Adele part of her infuriating "Girl Squad", so she comes off like just another accessory...

 

 

After she was on Jimmy Fallon the other night Adele had dinner with Jennifer Lawrence and Emma Stone at a NYC restaurant. I'll take that squad over Taylor's:

Edited November 26, 2015 by VCRTracking

[kili]

Hits Daily Double which tracks sales (they don't get reports from as many vendors as SoundScan so they use models to make up the difference (SoundScan does as well, but on a much smaller scale and mostly for some sub-genres that market through non-traditional music vendors)). They are typically pretty close with their numbers (they underestimated Bieber by a bit last week).

 

They are reporting that Adele sold 3.4M albums in her first week and 3.5M in combined album sales (every 10 downloads counts as an album (TEA - Track Equivalent Album) and every 1500 streams (SEA - Stream Equivalent Album.  So, she sold 100K in TEAs/SEAs and 3.4M in pure album sales).

 

She'll likely sell another 1M this week (only 20 artist have sold more than 1M records in the SoundScan era - SoundScan uses Point of Sales terminals to track sales starting in 1991. Prior to that, sales were based on what was reported by the labels based on what they shipped)). Billbard will probably announce the SoundScan numbers soon.

[Kromm]

Drake Will Do 'Anything' for Adele... Even Her Laundry

[Athena]

Well, nobody dominates like Adele, but Canadians have been kicking all kinds of butt on the charts this year. Prior to Adele this week, four of the top selling weeks for albums in 2015 were from solo Canadians. Justin Bieber topped the BB200 with 649K for the number one selling week of 2015 so far just this previous week. Drake holds down the 2nd and 5th best selling week (although his 5th place album is a MIxed tape with Future). IIRC correctly, The Weeknd had the fourth best selling week of the year. One Direction, from the UK, was either 3rd or 4th...

 

So, nobody is like Adele, but the US charts can be quite welcoming to artists from other countries.

 

I say this as a Canadian, but I don't really think Canadian artists count as foreign in the same way. Since the North American music markets are more intertwined. Bieber and Drake are heavily influenced and produced by the mainstream US industry. Both of them have been tutored by successful American artists and Drake is half-American. I actually think Bieber is more American than Canadian; he's spent far more time in the States than he has in Canada since he made it big.

 

Other than Rhianna, there are less big "foreign" female artists who make it big in the USA and achieve the same level of longevity or possible longevity as those two have. Boy bands have done well in the US market, but female groups are less popular when compared to the UK or other countries.

[Kromm]

I actually think Bieber is more American than Canadian; he's spent far more time in the States than he has in Canada since he made it big.

Sure. Try to blame shift for Bieber!  He's yours---no "passies"!

 

I mean come on.  That would be like us trying to pass off the Kardashians to someone else.  We created them, we gotta take the blame!

[Quof]

 

Try to blame shift for Bieber!  He's yours---no "passies"!

Hey, he was fine when we sent him.  You broke him, you bought him.

[kili]

Billboard makes it official. 3.38M copies in her first week. Records broken all over the place.

[methodwriter85]

I wonder how long before Taylor Swift invites Adele to her squad?

 

Anyway, I was at Target during Black Friday and some guy said something about how Adele was so overrated and she is the Britney Spears of 2015. LOL.

Edited December 2, 2015 by methodwriter85

[UYI]

That would work if Britney Spears could actually sing.* (Yeah, I said it.** She may be a nice person and a good dancer, but Christina is the singer of her generation, and I wish that people would stop giving her crap about not being as famous. That isn't everything.)

 

And I do not think Taylor will add Adele to her merry band of Victoria's Secret models (and Lena Dunham) and add her to her Girl Squad (may that asinine phrase leave with 2015...I fucking HATE that phrase), in part because I don't think Adele would deign herself to do so, and also because Taylor realizes (or thinks) that Adele is the enemy (well, sort of.) 

 

*Well, actually, maybe I'm being unfair. I remember seeing clips of Britney as a kid where I thought she could sing. Maybe she just hides it. 

 

*And today is Britney's birthday. I feel kind of like an asshole picking today to say these things now. :P

 

**Now that I think of it, I should say her range is...limited. I think she has some songs which stay within it better than others. Plus, her type of music really isn't my thing, so...yeah. 

Edited December 2, 2015 by UYI

[truthaboutluv]

I'm all for someone not thinking Adele is the best thing since sliced bread and jumping on the bandwagon but when you compare her to Britney Spears, you lose all credibility in my opinion and I wouldn't pay attention to a thing that person says. As for Taylor and her "Girl Squad", I agree that one, I doubt Adele would be interested but two, as I said, I don't think Taylor includes people who threaten her success. 

[UYI]

Adele did say in Rolling Stone recently that if she DID have a squad, she would want one with Rihanna, LOL. She loves her (I'll admit that I do too), and Beyoncé (not so much).

[Kromm]

Adele did say in Rolling Stone recently that if she DID have a squad, she would want one with Rihanna, LOL. She loves her (I'll admit that I do too), and Beyoncé (not so much).

Other than her really shitty taste in boyfriends (which seems more like TayTay's style) I agree Rihanna has more in common with Adele.

[CaughtOnTape]

Adele is more personable and likeable than Taylor IMO.

 

She's cute as hell in interviews and doesn't take herself too seriously.  Her bit about how she's not allowed to tweet on her own account anymore without a ton of paperwork had me rollin.  

Some could argue Taylor is cute, but she comes off as fake.  Very very VERY fake.  Like she's trying WAY too hard.

 

I'm glad Adele blew her out of the water.  Taylor needed to take a stadiums worth of seats and I'm happy Adele delivered the blow.  

[Kromm]

Taylor Swift is a very clever businesswoman, who's admirable for basically crafting herself (originally a half-baked Northern younger Leann Rimes copy) into a global megastar who completely obliterated those roots and made herself into a gigantic money printing machine. And to be fair, her songs and certainly how she presents herself in her live shows improved so dramatically there's no doubt she worked her ass off for it. She did NOT just get lucky.

 

But she's made hard and sharp to become that, I think. That's why she comes off as fake with any attempts to connect on a more basic level. It's like trying to connect with a shark.

 

Adele really lucked out in a way. Sure she always had this immense talent, but she also made some really fortunate decisions early on with tying herself to a small independent record label instead of a major label. When the success DID come, she hadn't sold her soul to do so and had a great deal of autonomy, I think.

 

So... two different paths to success, you might say. In her own way Adele's path relied a bit more on luck, but only because the market traditionally rewards raw naked ambition like Swift's more than pure talent, like Adele.

[LADreamr]

It hasn't been that easy for Adele. She's talked about having to fight for her creative point of view to condescending label execs, even after her success. She's also had to continue to be true to herself in the face of nastiness toward her by sexist assholes who didn't like her body, which could only have been made harder with her stage fright. Staying so authentic anyway I think is part of what makes her so inspiring to her fans.

I'm more an Adele fan than Taylor, but they both have admirable qualities and have done great in an almost impossible business. Good on them, both.

[truthaboutluv]

I know that may not be the intent but I don't think it's fair to sort of dismiss Adele's success to luck and Taylor's to hard work. Yeah Taylor's shrewd but many believe Taylor is VERY lucky - very lucky to come from an upper middle class family with a daddy who worked in finance (I believe he still has his big job at Merrill Lynch) who brokered a sweet deal for his daughter in a start up label which has since grown, largely on her success and she now makes 20 percent off and basically has part ownership in. She was lucky to have parents who could up and move to Nashville when she decided she was a "country singer" because again, that sweet job her dad had at Merrill Lynch just switched him to the Nashville office.

 

And being on a start-up label meant Taylor was no different than Adele on an independent label. She pretty much had Borchetta's full attention and determination to make her a star as opposed to being on a major label where she would be just another artist. In fact that's why she signed with Big Machine. She was signed to Colombia but they just had her in a writing development deal because they felt she wasn't ready to go off as a singer. So when she had to re-sign and it was the same offer, she chose to walk because she wanted to sing and be a performer right then and there. 

 

Also, I'm sorry, but let's address the shallow. Taylor was a tall, curly blonde, blue-eyed teenager singing cute songs about boyfriends that all her little teen fans related to. It wasn't THAT hard to market her. Adele was an overweight British 20 year old when her first album came out who most thought looked and sounded a lot older than she was. And while the critics loved her and 19 did a respectable 1.2 million in the U.S., the world wasn't falling at her feet. What happened is that she tapped into her feelings even stronger and deeper on her second album and delivered something powerful enough that resonated with a lot of people. YMMV but that's not luck. Also, the success of 21 had a lot to with word of mouth. The album was released and did well but it was on the back of people raving and the critics going crazy over it that it began selling steadily and kept selling. 

 

eta: For the record, I want it clear that despite my comments,  I don't disagree that Taylor has worked hard. I have nothing but respect for the fact that like Adele she is a songwriter (whatever one thinks of the songs) and a producer and she is very much in control of a lot of her image and career. Basically they are both impressive women in their own right.

Edited December 2, 2015 by truthaboutluv

[Kromm]

I know that may not be the intent but I don't think it's fair to sort of dismiss Adele's success to luck and Taylor's to hard work. 

Did anything I say dismiss it as JUST luck?  That's a really unfair summation of a post where I used the phrase "immense talent".

 

And there's a big distinction between commercial success and creative success. Adele's level of talent having commercial success is unusual (and yes, involved more than a bit of luck) because this is the same market that also rewards talentless creeps like Justin Bieber. Adele being the wrong size and shape for a star also reinforces this--she didn't follow the formula and it was a real stroke of luck she found the right opportunities despite that. That opinion doesn't lessen or invalidate her creative success. And yes, that creative success is tied to her commercial success, that's undeniable. I just noted that a ton of luck was involved, because talent getting noticed (and bought) is the issue, not talent existing in the first place. People connecting to Adele only matters when Adele is present in the circumstances for people to hear her in the first place. That's the uphill climb and relied on opportunity, some good choices, and some luck too.

 

As for Taylor Swift, perhaps it was a bad arrangement of sentences, but again notice the use of "just".  I said "She did NOT just get lucky." The word I emphasized should have been "just" and not "not". Of course there was luck. There always is. On balance I think the unlikely non-pop-star-like Adele roaring over the ever-marketable Taylor in commercial success means luck was a bit more on Adele's side, but the presence of that luck only relates to how things played out, not to the talent levels behind it.  Adele is more talented. I have no trouble saying it outright.

Edited December 3, 2015 by Kromm

[truthaboutluv]

Yes I think we can agree to disagree because this may just be lines getting crossed. I do think I get what you're saying, I just disagree with it. That Adele, in many ways not being the archetype of the superstar means that there had to be some luck in her getting the success she's gotten as opposed to Taylor whose success wasn't just luck because she's been very shrewd about her career. 

 

The fact is there is always some element of luck that goes into the kind of success both of these women have because there are WAY too many talented people who never even get a shot. So when you think of someone becoming as successful as Taylor and Adele have become, yeah some luck played into it - maybe just right timing, right producer, right song, etc.

 

However, I just personally was a bit triggered at the suggestion  that Taylor was this shrewd, hardworking career woman who worked hard into achieving her success versus Adele who had a bit more luck getting there. Again, I accept maybe that was not the intent but it still feels a little dismissive of Adele and the struggles she faced herself and the hard work she did put into getting herself to where she is now. 

Edited December 5, 2015 by truthaboutluv

[UYI]

Another week of over a million records sold. Yay, Adele!

 

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/adeles-25-officially-scores-record-845937

[methodwriter85]

I do think that the timing for Adele worked well- she filled the void for an adult, contemporary sound, for Millennials that are in their 20's  to early 30's and aren't necessarily looking for fun, youthful Katy Perry type stuff. And she had the cross-over appeal to R&B.

 

Anyway, this was hilarious. SNL, you done good:

 

[truthaboutluv]

And, I think it's also proof that women in music who don't make their career off showing their asses generally don't get a ton of comments about their weight/image.

 

Adele has had many comments about her weight and image since she came on the scene. It's just that many of those writers believe they're being "positive" in these comments, even if on some level it is still offensive because they're still making her career about her weight and looks. There have been plenty of "she's not a size 2, not your "typical" looking pop star", she has been asked directly in interviews about not looking like the perfect pop star, etc.

 

And assholes always exist so you've gotten people like Karl Lagerfeld who made some disparaging comments about her weight and image. The truth of the entertainment industry is that women, no matter their size, how overly sexual they are, will always be judged on their looks, far more so than men. 

 

As far as 25 is concerned, it's a good record, but to me it has the same problem 21 did: the lead single/first song is obviously the strongest song on the album, and all the others seem not to really live up to it, and Adele kind of defaults to the stately, dreamy balladry she's used to.

 

YMMV but  I don't think Hello is the strongest song on the album and I've read many comments online with people wondering why that was the lead single when it's clearly not the strongest song. In my opinion, When We Were Young destroys Hello on every level - lyrics, emotion, Adele's singing, etc. That said, I think it made perfect sense why they went with Hello for the first single. It was just too easy to avoid that obvious hook. She was gone for almost four years and the first words we hear after all that time is "Hello, it's me..." Yeah, just too easy. 

 

I think Adele has become the exception because in the mainstream, she is not a typical packaged artist. She's the whole package in the singing and writing part. She's actually good at both and in the mainstream industry now, most female performers are better at one thing than the other. Most of the top female artists have songs written for them and without much of their input.

 

I actually think this is somewhat of a misconception. There are far more women writing their own stuff or at least contributing to it than I think people may realize. If I think about the top women in the industry right now, aside from Adele, Taylor very famously writes her own songs. She has co-writers particularly on the more pop sounding songs but she has writing credits on everything she sings. Katy Perry co-writes her songs as well, as does Beyonce. Now granted Beyonce is a bit iffy because there have been rumors for years of her just sticking her names on songs for writing credits but that's never been proven. In terms of the current women dominating the industry I'd say Rihanna is the only one I think who is pretty much just handed songs to sing. 

Edited December 5, 2015 by truthaboutluv

[UYI]

^^^^ Yes, this. There's also Lady Gaga, and Meghan Trainor wrote/co-wrote all the songs on her first album (and was the executive producer, too--and she had just turned 21 when it came out!).

[KatWay]

 

as does Beyonce. Now granted Beyonce is a bit iffy because there have been rumors for years of her just sticking her names on songs for writing credits but that's never been proven.

 

yeah, well, in the business, nobody believes she's writing her own songs. It's pretty common knowledge that if you want Beyonce to sing your song, she gets writing credits. Lots of her songs are developed with her, but her actual writing of either music or lyrics is minimal.

[BatmanBeatles]

I do think that the timing for Adele worked well- she filled the void for an adult, contemporary sound, for Millennials that are in their 20's  to early 30's and aren't necessarily looking for fun, youthful Katy Perry type stuff. And she had the cross-over appeal to R&B.

 

Anyway, this was hilarious. SNL, you done good:

 

At Thanksgiving dinner my sister in law's dad and her sisters began debating over which college was the best and I began singing "Hello". My brother and sister cracked up.

[amaranta]

Five million sold in just 3 weeks.  This album is quite the sales monster and no end in sight, with another 660,000 this week. 

 

I wish I could own the Fallon version of Hello - the one with the classroom instruments. That performance is when I decided that I really did like the song.

[Chrissytd]

Adele Live from NYC is airing tonight on NBC.

[Ohwell]

I'll be watching Fargo.

[truthaboutluv]

I loved the special and Adele sounded amazing. I could tell she was nervous when she first came out because you could sort of hear it in her voice. The first couple notes of Hello were a bit shaky but she really picked it up by the end and she nailed these songs, especially All I Ask and When We Were Young. However, if I'm going to be critical, three things bugged me.

 

One, no crowd shots. I know the show was directed by Lorne Michaels and I'm not sure that was a good idea because it felt like watching an SNL performance, where the camera focuses solely on the performer and you never see the audience. And that's fine for SNL. But when you're watching a concert like this was, I want to see the crowd reactions and enthusiasm and singing along. 

 

Two, Adele's two female backup singers sound amazing but um, could they seem more lifeless? I know Adele's the star but I couldn't help noticing them and it just stood out how lackluster and kind of bland they seemed. There was like no energy coming from these two women. 

 

Finally and this really bugged me because it is one of my favorite songs of Adele's but I can't believe they didn't show her performing Hometown Glory. Especially because I heard she dedicated the song to Paris and the victims, since she filmed the show a few days after the attack. Also, it means that they didn't show her performing any songs from her first album. I was really looking forward to that performance and bummed that they didn't show it. But all in all, pretty awesome show. 

Edited December 15, 2015 by truthaboutluv

[movingtargetgal]

NBC should have made this a two hour special and aired the entire performance.  I hope they are planning on selling a DVD of this concert.

[Wishing Well]

GOT MY TICKETS!

$210 for 4 tickets, fighting on Ticketmaster worked out this time!

[Rick Kitchen]

Yayyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!

[truthaboutluv]

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/6821619/adele-25-billboard-200-fifth-week-sells-another-million?utm_source=twitter

 

Well you know 25 was probably a top stocking stuffer for Christmas so no surprise, another 1.15 million copies sold and fifth straight week at number one. That puts 25's total in the U.S. at 7 million. For perspective, it took 21, 52 weeks to sell 7 million copies and 25 was released in November, to be specific, November 20. So she's sold 7 million albums in ONE month. That's not slaying or snatching wigs - I don't think there's even a term yet for that kind of dominance. Who knew that 21, rather than the peak of her career as many thought, was only a sign of things to come. 

Edited December 27, 2015 by truthaboutluv

[AimingforYoko]

I don't think there's even a term yet for that kind of dominance. 

I think we could call it Star Wars-ish. Funny that they came out within a month of each other. 

Now if Adele made a Star Wars album, then you'd really have something.

[debbydeb]

I think we could call it Star Wars-ish. Funny that they came out within a month of each other. 

Now if Adele made a Star Wars album, then you'd really have something.

Or is SW7 "Adele-like"?

Either way, how astonishing for them to do very well indeed. 

@WishingWell, how nice!! And at such affordable price too!

I wish she would tour to my neck of the woods.

Edited December 28, 2015 by debbydeb

[Rick Kitchen]

As much as I love "Hello", I think I like "When We Were Young" even more.

 

[methodwriter85]

As much as I love "Hello", I think I like "When We Were Young" even more.

 

 

I'm guessing that's the next single...I can't wait to see what the video will look like.

[27bored]

As for the Taylor/Adele debate, I would have to slightly agree Adele's gotten lucky in her career. Only slightly. I think everyone whom we know about in music has had a fair amount of luck, so it's not really a slight, but remember Adele kind of rode in on the tail of Amy Winehouse. She was A Thing, and Adele blew up during that time. Even though Taylor is more traditionally marketable, nothing beats timing. I don't know if Adele would be as big as she is now if Amy was still alive. She'd still be popular, but we would probably hear more about Amy in the blogs and tabloids than Adele.

 

Speaking of blogs and tabloids, unfortunately for Taylor, the interest our entertainment press has in her is fleeting. Just as Britney. As Taylor gets slightly older, she gets into a stable relationship with some actor dude, and there stops being a story there about who she's beefing with on Twitter, who she might be dating, and basic white girl pics on Instagram, the media's gonna shift their focus. Adele on the other hand is not as ingrained in the tabloid culture, so she can just work and let her music speak for itself.

 

YMMV but  I don't think Hello is the strongest song on the album and I've read many comments online with people wondering why that was the lead single when it's clearly not the strongest song. In my opinion, When We Were Young destroys Hello on every level - lyrics, emotion, Adele's singing, etc. That said, I think it made perfect sense why they went with Hello for the first single. It was just too easy to avoid that obvious hook. She was gone for almost four years and the first words we hear after all that time is "Hello, it's me..." Yeah, just too easy.

 

That's probably a good reason for why they picked it as the first single, and like I said, "Hello" isn't my favorite song on her album, but it's the most put-together song on her album. "When We Were Young" is a good song, and it's the kind of song that will move her catalog forward if that makes any sense, but it's of a piece, like all her other songs on 25. I think this is more her label than Adele, but they're good at pushing songs out there that make a statement for Adele as an artist, rather than a statement about the particular album. Chasing Pavements, Rolling in the Deep, and Hello are scorned, sexy, and soulful, and that's who Adele is. She has other songs that are good for their respective albums, and that her fans love. I think Adele will truly be considered great if she can pull off the same nifty trick she pulls off in her singles throughout her entire album. Outside the lead singles, it's a lot of dreamy piano ballads that sound good, but would sound good for many people, which is what separates the good from the great.

[truthaboutluv]

Only slightly. I think everyone whom we know about in music has had a fair amount of luck, so it's not really a slight, but remember Adele kind of rode in on the tail of Amy Winehouse. She was A Thing, and Adele blew up during that time. Even though Taylor is more traditionally marketable, nothing beats timing. I don't know if Adele would be as big as she is now if Amy was still alive. She'd still be popular, but we would probably hear more about Amy in the blogs and tabloids than Adele.

 

Yeah that one has been stated a few times and as someone who was a fan of both of these women when they broke onto the scene, I disagree. Yes, Amy ushered in a wave of British white woman soul singer that saw her, Duffy and Adele pop onto the scene in the space of a year. Except Adele's 19 was nothing like Amy's sound in my opinion. Sure she had many soul singer influences like Aretha Franklin but 19 was very coffee-house/indie singer-songwriter vibe. I honestly think it's become this urban legend over time that Adele is a soul singer because she is a white woman with a big voice but in my opinion, Adele's music is and always has been pop. 

 

Also, it is key to remember that 19 wasn't a massive commercial success. Certainly it did more than respectable for a new artist, selling a little over 1 million in the U.S. but it wasn't until 21 that she exploded as she did. And 21 came out after Amy's death, well after her moment and her being "a thing" had passed since sadly by the time of her death, all she was really known for was being an alcoholic/drug addicted mess. And again, while Rolling In The Deep did okay, it had a slow build on radio and the album sold a respectable 300,000 + copies the first week but certainly not a million smash. 21 didn't really take off until Someone Like You. THAT'S the song and the moment that changed Adele's life and she's said as much. 

 

As for the bolded, first of all, Adele really hasn't made her success being or needing to be tabloid fodder so that's inconsequential really but honestly, and I say this as someone who loved Amy's music and thought she was amazingly talented but unless she got her life together, yeah she'd still be on the blogs and tabloids more than Adele but it wouldn't exactly be for good reasons. While I understand the point that's sort of being made - because yes, there is some luck that goes into success in the entertainment industry. Right timing, right song, right look, etc. does play a part. However, I always feel slightly uncomfortable by these comments because it almost feels like an implication that Adele is where she is because Amy died and no longer there to be a threat to her. And I don't agree with that. Unless Amy's being alive would somehow stop Adele's writing and creating 21, then I say she would still be where she is. 

 

Outside the lead singles, it's a lot of dreamy piano ballads that sound good, but would sound good for many people, which is what separates the good from the great.

 

I disagree. For one, as I noted above, Someone Like You was the song that really defined Adele's 21 era and in a way her career to that point, in my opinion, and it wasn't the lead single. Second, there is a video floating around of Celine Dion performing Hello at her NYE concert and aside from the fact that she really should have learned the words, the performance was kind of bland. And this is Celine Dion, a woman with an incredible voice. But I watched that performance and the whole time I thought, "you know this is why some songs work for some artists and they don't for others." 

 

I think the fact that Adele has a personal connection to many of her songs probably plays a big part in that but also, I think as a songwriter, she understands her voice and sound even better so knows what really works for her and basically what is best tailored to her. So sure, some people can do covers of her songs and do them quite well but it is rare that any of them will have the emotional impact she has when singing them. YMMV of course. 

Edited January 7, 2016 by truthaboutluv

[Cobalt Stargazer]

As for the Taylor/Adele debate, I would have to slightly agree Adele's gotten lucky in her career. Only slightly. I think everyone whom we know about in music has had a fair amount of luck, so it's not really a slight, but remember Adele kind of rode in on the tail of Amy Winehouse. She was A Thing, and Adele blew up during that time. Even though Taylor is more traditionally marketable, nothing beats timing. I don't know if Adele would be as big as she is now if Amy was still alive. She'd still be popular, but we would probably hear more about Amy in the blogs and tabloids than Adele.

 

I also loved Amy's music and wish she was still around, but the reason she was in the tabloids and being blogged about so much is precisely because she was such a train wreck. Like Kurt Cobain, she burned out like a comet, and had Kurt not committed suicide, the face of music would be different than it is now, IMO.

 

Trends change, particularly in the music business, which moves a lot faster than the film industry. But I think Adele has staying power become she comes across as so level-headed, which may be because she's not American.

[Ohwell]

But I think Adele has staying power become she comes across as so level-headed, which may be because she's not American.

 

Wow.  Just...wow.

 

Brits and other nationalities can get just as fucked up as Americans.

[CaughtOnTape]

Trends change, particularly in the music business, which moves a lot faster than the film industry. But I think Adele has staying power become she comes across as so level-headed, which may be because she's not American.

 

It's funny you made this comment while simultaneously discussing what a train wreck Amy Winehouse was....and she was also British.