When Adele emerged from the shadows and said Hello to a new album, expectations were predictably high. Since the release of 25, Adele has been on a mission to trash every record in the industry, starting off with the fastest selling record in history. Case in point, she outsold Coldplay‘s new album by three to one in her third week on the charts, making it Coldplay’s only album not to debut at number one.
When she isn’t one-upping her contemporaries, she is also promoting her new album – not that it needs it. Now, her special Adele: Live in New York City has been made available online (to US audiences only, or those with a VPN). The performance is her first full concert in four years.
She kicks off the performance with her current single Hello, before cycling through some of her old hits such as Rolling in the Deep, Someone Like You and Set Fire to the Rain. She also glided through some of her new material, including her rumoured next single When We Were Young, which evoked a spontaneous standing ovation and tears from Adele. She also debuted All I Ask for the first time live, a Billy Joel-inspired tune co-written by Bruno Mars.
For most of the performance, a considerable orchestra and a host of backup singers bolstered her, although she proved once more that her voice alone is enough to fill a stadium. Yet she confided in the audience that even she still gets nervous.
“I’m so nervous,” she said. “I was trying to find the nearest exit before I came down, trying to leg it down.”
As always, it wouldn’t be an Adele performance without a cackle or two and a few choice swear words.
“It’s fucking hard to sing,” she said of her 25 tracks All I Ask and Hello.
Somehow Adele, I don’t think anyone noticed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQHsXMglC9A
One week ago, Adele released 25 after eager fans waited for four years, and now the week’s results are in. It seems the wait was well and truly worth it, as she sold 3.38 million copies in the US alone in just seven days.
According to Billboard, Nielsen Music, who have been documenting all album sales since 1991, have said that it is the only album to sell more than 3 million albums in a single week. NSYNC’s No Strings Attached previously held the record, selling 2.42 million back in March, 2000, whilst Taylor Swift who only sold 1.8 million copies of 1989, claimed the title of having the most albums sold in its first week for 2015. Furthermore, the rate for illegal downloads of 25 isn’t as high, with two-times the amount of people searching for her lyrics rather than torrents, showing more people are opting to actually buy the record than download it, as Consequence of Sound reports.
Last week, her intense performances of Hello and When We Were Young on Saturday Night Live stunned audiences worldwide. She also performed Water Under The Bridge on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, which received a similar reaction. See that performance below.
Seems one of Adele’s biggest fans, Rick Ross may have been right when he said 25 “may be one of the biggest records in the history of our time.”
Adele’s previous album 21 was named as the greatest album of all time by Billboard a couple of weeks ago, and whilst many people have more than a few words to say about that, they cannot deny the worldwide success she continues to enjoy, with 25 looking set to thrust her further into world fame.
For anyone enjoying the comedy gold that Adele’s video for Hello has spawned (poor Lionel Ritchie), I imagine it won’t be long before a fresh wave arrive. But this time with America’s longest serving embarrassment, Donald Trump, on the receiving end of the call. Adele could be the latest in quite a long line of artists who have a message for Trump, after he reportedly appropriated her track Skyfall for use at a rally in Columbus, Ohio.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HKoqNJtMTQ&w=560&h=315]
Apparently Trump’s interest in Adele’s music is also personal, as he attended her New York concert recently. In the spirit of generosity and equality (one that doesn’t feature in Trump’s persona, or campaign), there’s not much anyone can do to prevent him from liking any artist’s music. But soundtracking his presidential campaign is a bit of a different matter. Trump certainly isn’t the first politician to come under fire for using music without an artist’s blessing, due to the legality of music copyright it is fairly easy for artists to challenge this kind of public performance. Unfortunately for Trump, the music industry has issued those challenges fairly steadily.
Having already received notice from Neil Young’s management after he used Rockin’ In The Free World, Trump was told to “go fuck himself” by R.E.M earlier this year and even his reported friend, Steve Tyler, requested that he not use Aerosmith’s Dream On as part of his campaign. Other musicians who are unhappy to be associated with Trump also include Smashing Pumpkins‘ Billy Corgan and Speedy Ortiz.
As these artists wholeheartedly believe that Trump’s ascension to power would completely fuck America, and by extension a lot of the world, their viewpoint is completely understandable. The use of these songs to soundtrack his political campaign is to draft these artists into his cause against their will. To lend an association to the songs that was never intended and to cash in on popular artists without their given support. Some might argue that this is appropriation of a song, rather than the artist. But the song is the intellectual property of that artist, they are inextricably linked.
In Trump’s case, to become an unwitting asset in his campaign toolbox is to be held up as the call to arms for some fairly unsavoury beliefs. As his campaign continues it has been seen to normalise and incite racism and violence, increasing real physical danger for different ethnicities in America. While the internet laughed (quite rightly) at that hair, Trump slowly fanned the embers of a particularly nasty kind of prejudice. As his campaign draws comparisons to early Nazi movements, and the word “facist” is used with increasingly less humour, is it any wonder that these artists are angry? You also have to question the intelligence of a man who soundtracks all the above with songs specifically speaking out against such prejudice. With Elton John’s Rocket Man also reportedly used at recent rallies, I’m not entirely sure how that squares with Trumps anti-gay marriage stance?
Also listed were The Beatles’ Hey Jude and We’re Not Gonna Take It by Twisted Sister. So far none of the artists have made any comment, but I would guess it won’t be long before those are added to the growing black list of music available for use by Trump. Strangely enough, he has yet to make use of the one track specifically created for this exact purpose. Jack Black and Stephen Colbert’s My Kind Of America is ready and waiting; a rootin’ tootin’ bit of good, honest America. On second thoughts, maybe not Donald. Maybe Jack Black would extend his permission to They Fucked Our Asses?
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqgvll8W7Jk&w=560&h=315]
Following the release of her highly-anticipated album 25, Adele gave a performance on Saturday Night Live of two of her newest tracks. As Matthew McConaughey, who was hosting on the night, introduced her, the crowd screamed with joy and excitement before she absolutely killed it both times. The two previous SNL performance by Sia and Disclosure were phenomenal, so the bar was already set pretty high, but any and all expectations were totally blown out of the water after this.
I can tell you now that she was jaw-droppingly incredible. I’m sure you already knew that, because she’s Adele.
Hello was first up. The recorded version is heart wrenching enough, but singing it live takes it to a whole other level. It’s so raw, it hurts. Adele stands still with a band, back-up singers and a cello player behind her. There’s nothing to distract us as the song takes us in. All eyes are on Adele. Her voice is pitch-perfect as she draws us in and slays our hearts as the chorus roars. She finishes, and as the crowd practically explodes with adoration she reacts by pulling a funny face, casually reminding us that under all the grace and talent she is still a normal person – as hard as it is to believe.
When We Were Young was the second performance of the night. This is the newest single from her which is, in my opinion, even more heartbreaking than the last. We once again open to her standing still on the dark stage, with just a piano playing. If you watch this performance and it doesn’t have you wiping drops of water from your cheeks or at least on the brink of tears, you should probably get your heart checked.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV8NqiYjuIc
Overall, she was amazing. After this, we can’t wait to see who will grace the stage next week.
With her new album on the way, Adele’s previous record 21 has been named as ‘the greatest album of all time’ by Billboard Magazine. It beat The Sound Of Music soundtrack and Michael Jackson’s Thriller, which came in second and third respectively. They also celebrate The Beatles as the top artist of all time.
Adele’s 2011 album swept the world off its feet, with heart-wrecking breakup songs and iconic ballads, immediately topping the charts and sending Adele straight into the realm of superstardom According to the Telegraph UK, “21 is estimated to have sold 30 million copies worldwide to date and is this century’s biggest selling album.”
Billboard states that, “Adele’s blockbuster 21 tops the Billboard 200’s all-time albums ranking, fueled not only by the set’s 24 nonconsecutive weeks atop the list (the most weeks at No. 1 for an album by a woman), but also its lengthy chart run in the upper reaches of the tally.”
Now, four years later, we’re about to hear 25. The first single, Hello, has dominated the online media, the radio and pretty much every chart in the world since its hugely anticipated release. She says the track is about missing home, rather than a relationship. “It’s about a yearning for the other side of me. When I’m away, I really, really miss my life at home,” she told i-d.
Adele also mentioned that she had trouble writing the some of the songs for 25. “They were good pop songs, but I was just trying to bang it out, I didn’t want to think about it. And, you know, it got rejected. My manager was like, ‘This isn’t good enough.’”
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Rick Ross admitted his love for Adele, saying that 25 “may be one of the biggest records in the history of our time.”
If you won’t be able to get this highly anticipated album on Friday, don’t worry, all eleven tracks will also be available to stream via Spotify, Rdio and Tidal.
25 will be released on November 20th through XL.
Adele is all the rage in the music world right now, and for good reason too. Her long-awaited third album 25 is just around the corner, and her phenomenal, soaring new single Hello shot straight to the top spot on the charts after being released, knocking Bieber, The Weeknd, Drake and everyone else way out of the water. It’s since broken all kinds of records, including debuting at no. 1 on the Aussie ARIA charts, smashing through nearly 28 million views on Vevo in just 24 hours, going on to topple more than 100 million in five days.
In a new in-depth cover story with Rolling Stone, she tells all about her experiences and the journey of creating her new album, her influences, musical preferences, family life and more.
Interestingly, she speaks of working with Damon Albarn, of Blur and Gorillaz fame. Now, Albarn has a temperamental reputation at best, but you’d hope that his real-life personality, especially around other musicians, might not be as fiery as the media suggests. Not so, says Adele, who admitted to regretting spending time with the man.
The news came as she discussed the many incredible collaborations that took her through the creation of 25. Working with production and writing heavyweights Rick Rubin and Max Martin, alongside artist collabs with Bruno Mars, Tobias Jesso Jr. and more – btu while these were challenging and rewarding times, her experience with Albarn was now. As Rolling Stone point out, Albarn firstly told the press that Adele was “insecure”, and that she was writing “middle of the road” music.
“It ended up being one of those ‘don’t meet your idol’ moments,” she told the publication. “And the saddest thing was that I was such a big Blur fan growing up. But it was sad, and I regret hanging out with him.” They didn’t finish a single song. “No! None of it was right. None of it suited my record. He said I was insecure, when I’m the least-insecure person I know. I was asking his opinion about my fears, about coming back with a child involved — because he has a child — and then he calls me insecure?”
25 comes out on November 20.
Source: Rolling Stone
Rick Ross. If you take his word for things, he is “the biggest boss”. Perhaps then it comes as quite the surprise that the larger than life rapper has voiced his desire to collaborate with none other than pop singing sensation Adele.
Whether or not Rick Ross appears to be riding on the back of Adele’s record breaking debut of Hello remains to be seen, as a potential collaboration between the two does not exactly seem to be a perfect match.
In an interview with Complex in which he revealed the album art for his upcoming Black Market release, Rick Ross has detailed his passion and desire to work with the UK songstress, and we can’t fault his eager attitude:
“I love the Adele single. I’m a huge fan of Adele, her last album, the 21 project, I loved that album. I’m just a fan.
I’m reaching out through you guys right now. Adele, I love you, baby. Get at me — I got a wonderful idea for us. [Laughs] Congratulations on your new music.”
While the request seems absurd at first, there is at least some shared connection between the two artists. Ross seems to have created the genius idea of jumping on a remix of Hello, and the results are surprisingly not that bad:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iOPopkKBRY]
While Ross is seemingly attempting to cater to a mainstream audience, it would be amiss to ignore the legal troubles that have continued to engulf the rapper. After implications in a rape case earlier this year, Ricky Rozay has recently been serving under house arrest following a ‘pistol-whipping’ incident.
Only time will tell as to whether we will see a future collaboration between the pairing, but the criminal record that Ross carries might be enough to sway Adele from any future endeavours.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS2H73Q3WsE]
She’s one of the most revered and beloved pop-ballad Divas of the modern age, but even Adele has admitted her first efforts at songwriting for her new album were crap.
In an interview with i-D Magazine – her first interview in three years – Adele admitted that some of her first stabs at penning songs for 25 were a bit dismal at best. After she came up with Remedy for the new album with producer Ryan Tedder, things went down hill.
“Because Remedy is so great, and I loved singing it so much I got excited like ‘I’m on a roll!’ I weren’t on a roll,” Adele told interviewer Hattie Collins. “So I started knocking out some shit songs – they weren’t shit.”
“They were good pop songs, but I was just trying to bang it out, I didn’t want to think about it. And, you know, it got rejected. My manager was like, ‘This isn’t good enough.’”
Even record producer and former co-president of Columbia Records, and maybe the greatest living producer today, Rick Rubin, was convinced that this was Adele at her best.
“Yeah, it knocked my confidence a bit, but I also knew, you know. And then I flew Rick Rubin over, to play him the songs and he was like, ‘I don’t believe you.’ That’s my worst fear: people not believing me. So I went back to the drawing board.”
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQHsXMglC9A&w=560&h=315]
The interview, which comes at about one month before the highly anticipated release of 25, was full of revelations about the new album, as well as personal observations of her own. Most of all, the singer wishes she hadn’t seen the documentary about idol Amy Winehouse. Her fatal overdose in 2011 affected Adele deeply
“I wasn’t going to [see it]. I loved her and I went through my own massive grieving process as her fan. I’d finally got to a place where I felt really great about the impact she’d had on my life, in every way …”
Adele didn’t want to have the last image of the her friend coming from a documentary about her tragic demise.
“I felt like I was intruding so I actually felt a little bit uncomfortable and that ruined it for me. I love watching her, but I kind of wish I hadn’t seen it. But you know, I love Amy. I always have, I always will.”
And after much speculation, the singer revealed that Hello was not a follow-up to Someone Like You, the super soppy, worldwide smash hit that managed to elicit moist eyes from all who heard it. “That’s over and done with, thank fuck. That’s been over and done with for fucking years,” she explains brassily. In fact Hello is about missing home.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLQl3WQQoQ0&w=560&h=315]
“It’s about a yearning for the other side of me. When I’m away, I really, really miss my life at home. The way that I feel when I’m not in England, is…” Adele says, “desperation. I can’t breathe anywhere else.”
It’s drawn hilarious comparisons the eponymous single of the same name by Lionel Richie (who Instagrammed a mash-up of the songs) and baffled fans trying to work out why an archaic flip phone manages to appear in the video. But if the phenomenal success of leading single Hello is anything to go by, then 25 will surely be one of the biggest albums of the years – even with such a late year release.
Adele’s last album 21 sold an incredible 11 million copies in the US alone as of 2014. Hello itself managed to accrue a whopping 27.7 million views in the first 24 hours on Vivo, obliterating Taylor Swift’s previously held record for Bad Blood, which had 20.1 million views. Hello Adele, goodbye Taylor.
Checkout the track list for 25 below:
Tracklist
- Hello
- Send My Love (To Your New Lover)
- I Miss You
- When We Were Young
- Remedy
- Water Under The Bridge
- River Lea
- Love In The Dark
- Million Years Ago
- All I Ask
- Sweetest Devotion
25 is out November 20 via XL Records