Catching up with Adele, it’s impossible not to be a little star-struck. At just 23, the British singing sensation is dominating the music charts on the strength of her other-worldly voice and searing lyrics. The singer/songwriter’s second album, 21, has sold more than 10 million copies and taken the world by storm, topping the music charts in over 15 countries.
Audiences find themselves enthralled by the heartbreaking passion and candour that Adele brings to her music. She’s already connected to her public in a way that few artists ever manage to do, appealing to the broken-hearted with songs that reveal a sensitive young woman looking for love and exposing all the pain that comes from not finding it.
But having poured her heart and soul into her music, Adele says she is hoping to stop writing songs about her romantic disappointments. The songstress is feeling more confident these days – having suffered through a few bad affairs – believing that she might just find true love the next
time around.
“I want to write something more positive in my songs on the next record – I hope I won’t be bitching about a boyfriend,” laughs Adele. “I love being able to express my feelings and often the most powerful feelings are heartbreak. I had to write a song like Someone Like You because otherwise I would have wound up a bitter old woman. I’m glad I did it and hopefully I will find happier moments to express. I want to stop writing songs about my ex-boyfriends.”
THE MUSIC WITHIN
Having felt like an outsider for much of her adolescence – her weight and her stubborn sense of self-confidence isolated her from most of her classmates – Adele followed the path of so many tormented artists before her, by pouring her angst into her music.
She admits that her naturally ebullient personality often masks some of the thornier issues that may be troubling her in life, and she draws considerable comfort in sitting down at her desk or any lonely cafe and sorting out her personal dramas on paper while she hears the melody in her head.
“When I write, the music evolves from how I’m feeling or what has been going on in my life. I can’t control the process. I wouldn’t know how to articulate my vision to anyone else, so it’s up to me to find my way,” Adele muses.
“The music makes me fearless. It’s something that I know I can use to think about what’s gone on in my life. I think of it as cheap therapy. I like to talk, but it’s harder for me to talk about how I really feel in ordinary conversation. That’s where I use my writing to express myself best."
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins was born in London to a single 19-year-old mother, Penny, on May 5, 1988. Growing up in both north (Tottenham) and then south (Lambeth) London, Adele displayed her vocal gifts at an early age when she delighted in covering songs from her favourite girl groups, the Spice Girls and Destiny’s Child. Neither her mother, a furniture-maker, nor her father, who works in a shipyard, have any musical talents.
At 12, Adele was already telling her mother and her school chums that she was going to be a singer. When she was 13 she saw the American artist Pink perform at Brixton Academy and she says it was a life-changing moment. “I had never heard someone sing like that live.
It was incredible.” Accordingly, at age 14, Adele enrolled at the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon where she immediately began to make an impression on students and teachers alike. Liz Penney, the director of music at the BRIT, recalls that Adele was a brilliant, if erratic and occasionally disappearing, pupil.
“She [Adele] was great fun. She was here for four years. Sometimes she worked very hard, other times not so hard. She was a bit of a chatterbox but she was an excellent songwriter … I’m really proud of her, as is the entire staff.
“There was no doubt that her talent was prodigious. She also had a very strong will and sense of purpose. With some students, you can never tell if they have what it takes to succeed. But Adele had the voice and the sensitivity to be able to pour her soul into her music,” observes Penney.
Not long after graduating from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele published two songs on the online arts publication PlatformsMagazine.com and posted a three-song demo on MySpace. Music label XL Recordings heard the demo and she was signed by the end of the year. Her breakthrough song, Hometown Glory, was released a year later.
AN EMOTIONAL JOURNEY
“She’s relatable and, for me, she’s got the best voice of her generation,” says Jonathan Dickins, Adele’s manager. “But I think the key for every great singer is whether or not you believe what’s being sung. And with Adele, I think you absolutely believe every word coming from her mouth."
Adele actively embraces that artistic credo, and admits to investing huge chunks of her personal life into her music. Much of her latest album 21 was written as an elegy to a failed romance and her voice resonates with the kind of pathos that fires the imagination of her fans, lovelorn or not.
She freely confesses to mining her love life for material: “You want your music to affect people and for people to understand you. But it’s not a conscious thing on my part. I went on a real journey with [21] and it was something I had to do. You throw yourself into your songs and see where it takes you.
“I think 21 shows different sides of me compared to my previous record (19) which was much more moody. I do have a serious side but I’m not that kind of serious person who’s constantly worrying or in a dark state. My friends will all tell you that I’m very sarcastic and cheeky and I like having fun. But it’s when you’re going through hard times in your life that you feel this urgency
to write about those moments.”
BATTLING STAGE FRIGHT
Her anthemic hit single Someone Like You, which consists solely of Adele singing while accompanying herself at the piano, has come to be seen as one of her defining songs. It’s the kind of heartfelt tune that critics have praised, defining it as one of the greatest love songs of our generation.
“The song is about the most important and poignant relationship I’ve ever had in my life. It was an incredible and devastating relationship and he was the love of my life up until this point. But it was just bad timing and the song was about putting us at peace. I didn’t want to put blame or anything like that. I was trying to be honest … Falling in love can be exhausting but I hate being single. I wish [romance] could be easier,” Adele laughs.
She says she cries all the time when she writes her songs. “On Someone Like You I am really crying. You can hear it towards the end. But I always cry when I’m writing songs.”
Having endured an exhausting touring schedule last year, Adele has learned to conserve her emotional energy better while performing. She no longer lets the sad memories in her songs exact a toll on her.
“I don’t think so much about the things that happened when I’m on stage performing. The music takes over and you’re not reliving your life. It’s when you’re writing the songs that you’re more emotional and trying to express things.”
Although Adele appears very comfortable performing, she admits it’s not something that comes easily to her and she often vomits before going on stage. “I have awful stage fright. I’m crippled by fear,” she says. “I used to be nervous before the show and after half an hour be happy and at ease, but now I’m nervous the whole concert. Because people pay their hard-earned wages. I never believe I’m going to please them.”
HOME SWEET HOME
Well-versed in tales of singers and musicians burning out in a toxic haze, Adele seems to have the good sense and milder instincts to avoid excessive behaviour although she has admitted to enjoying after-concert drinks with her band mates and roadies. Sometimes the partying wears her down, however, and she’s learning to take better care of herself.
Earlier this year Adele suffered a minor scare when she developed a bad case of laryngitis and lost her voice. Now she’s on a regimen of honey water and under strict doctor’s orders to stay quiet on performing days – not that she could “ever stop talking for very long” she admits.
“I’ve needed to take some time to relax because last year I was getting too exhausted from all the touring. It got so bad that I couldn’t wait to go home and spend time with my mum. And losing my voice this year kind of scared me. So I’m learning to pace myself better.”
She still lives with her mother after trying, and failing, to move out of home in 2008. “My life fell apart. My phone got cut off, my credit card got cut off, the house was a mess, it was awful. I could not function without my mum. I’m still young, I need my mum, so I moved back in with her.”
Adele is obviously very close to her mother and says whenever she writes a song, her mother is usually first to hear it. “I admire her so much,” she says.
It’s easy to forget that the worldwide sensation is still only a young woman who still needs her mother. “I don’t want to live on my own, I hate it.” When asked how long she will stay with her mum now she replies enthusiastically, “Forever!” But on a more serious note adds, “Maybe another couple of years. At 25 I will do it on my own.”
Friends are also high on her priority list and Adele has maintained close friendship with her pre-fame friends. “I make a conscious effort to make time. It’s possible, because I can count everyone on my hands who is in my life. I’m very good at being loyal.”
LOVE IS HER DRUG
Conversation with the quick-witted, fast-talking and somewhat guarded Adele often shifts to her turbulent love life, and she confesses to the artist’s tendency towards solipsism. What sets her apart perhaps from terminally self-absorbed artists is an acute level of self-awareness and humility. She's aware that love can be a toxic thing, especially when one falls too heavily under its spell or indulges in the fallout.
“So many people go through bad love affairs or feel lost and confused when a relationship ends – I’m no different and I don’t pretend that the break-ups I’ve had are more important than anyone else’s. But those are the things that affect us so deeply …
“I always feel like I’m the only person who’s feeling what I’m feeling and I’m sure there are a lot of people like me who tend
to feel that way when bad things or heartbreak is going on.
“I’m sure there are millions of people in that situation and if they can listen to the music and see that they’re going through the same thing that I’m going through then that’s great.
If my record can make people say, ‘My God, that’s what I’m feeling,’ then my job is done.”
Having suffered enough for the sake of her music, Adele still wonders what might happen to her fan base should she find the man of her dreams. An essential balladeer in the art of romantic misfortune, would happiness spoil Adele?
Adele laughs. “If you’re in love you don’t care about anything else. The worst thing that can happen is if I put together a very positive or happy record and people complain that you were better when you were sad and miserable. But that’s out of my control. I would hate to stay single just to come up with sad songs."
GROWING UP
On the verge of the kind of fame that can either make or break a young artist, the level-headed Adele still shows no signs of becoming conceited or being overwhelmed by her burgeoning career.
Adele insists the paparazzi are not interested in her because they have nothing to write about. “I don’t hide anything. I’m very honest. I don’t keep any secrets. I’d be the first person to admit I was scandalous. If I did something crazy, I’d blog about it: ‘You’ll never guess what I just did!’
“I’m amazed how well the album has done in Europe. I wasn’t expecting that and it’s good to see how people are connecting to it. When you’re starting out, you’re just hoping to be able to play in clubs and do what you love. But now it’s all pretty surreal.”
Her down-to-earth honesty and palpable vulnerability are qualities she radiates as much in person as she does on stage and through her music. It’s impossible to not want to give her a hug each time she hints at how a past boyfriend crushed her love or left her feeling betrayed. She is almost at pains not to reveal how sensitive she can be, but her underlying sense of optimism continues to buoy her spirit against disillusionment.
“I’m much happier now. I’ve become less stubborn and less bitter and I’ve taken a bit more time for myself this year,” smiles Adele, softly. “I’m growing up. I used to be very stubborn and felt that I knew everything. I was a typical stubborn teenager. But now I realise that there’s so much I don’t know and I want to find out. I’m reading a lot about politics and everything. I want to learn more about the world, about travelling, about wine, different things. I don’t want to think just about boys and music.”
