Why Adele’s return to the forefront of the music industry is a big deal
Hello, it’s me.
This morning, Adele released the video to accompany her new single, “Hello,” and within only a few hours, it’s already made history thanks to it being shot exclusively on IMAX cameras.
Directed by Canadian filmmaker Xavier Dolan, the video was shot in the Montreal countryside and also features The Wire’s Tristan Wilds as Adele’s ex-boyfriend, who shares her penchant for flip phones. (Which are easily the most heartbreaking moments in the six minute-long video.)
But don’t take my word for it — watch the pitfalls of terrible cell phone reception and painful memories above.
So now that we’re obviously all having a cry, we can safely admit that our expectations for Adele’s third full-length album, 25 (rumoured to be out on November 20th) are freakishly high. Especially since the singer recently took to Facebook to give us a glimpse into her current mindset.
“My last record was a break-up record and if I had to label this one, I would call it a make-up record,” she wrote. “I’m making up with myself. Making up for lost time. Making up for everything I ever did and never did. But I haven’t got time to hold on to the crumbs of my past like I used to. What’s done is done. Turning 25 was a turning point for me, slap bang in the middle of my twenties. Teetering on the edge of being an old adolescent and a fully-fledged adult.”
Then, in an interview with Zane Lowe, she revealed that this would be the last “age” album for her, because at 27, she doesn’t see huge shifts in her life happening the way they did between 21 and 25.
Basically, she’s writing the record that could/might/will articulate the pain of being a human person in their mid-twenties. Which, of course, is a popular theme for us millennial pop culture consumers, and one that probably resonates even more than deep-seeded heartbreak. (I mean, 21 was phenomenal — but if you’ve never loved anybody that intensely, there’s only so far you can go emotionally.)
Instead, Adele is ultimately saying that she’s like us; that the same way we battle insecurity, self-doubt, and our past decision-making (or lack thereof), she has too. Which, of course, only makes me like her even more.
It’s rare to find authenticity on the pop music landscape, and from her award show speeches to her interviews to her songwriting, Adele has always boasted a very real version of herself. She hasn’t hidden behind Hollywood friendships or indulged in planting the seeds for celebrity gossip to water and help grow — it took months for us to learn her son’s name, and she still hasn’t officially confirmed the identity of the man who inspired tracks like “Someone Like You.” Adele is Adele, and she’s never deigned to be anybody else. Which tells me that 25 and its examination of the quarter-life crisis will be an album we can hold close and bask in, content that such an incredible artist has felt the same feelings we have.
She’s just a little bit better at articulating those feelings. Provided she stops using flip phones with terrible reception.
But don’t take my word for it -- watch the pitfalls of terrible cell phone reception and painful memories above.
So now that we’re obviously all having a cry, we can safely admit that our expectations for Adele’s third full-length album, 25 (rumoured to be out on November 20th) are freakishly high. Especially since the singer recently took to Facebook to give us a glimpse into her current mindset.
“My last record was a break-up record and if I had to label this one, I would call it a make-up record,” she wrote. “I’m making up with myself. Making up for lost time. Making up for everything I ever did and never did. But I haven’t got time to hold on to the crumbs of my past like I used to. What’s done is done. Turning 25 was a turning point for me, slap bang in the middle of my twenties. Teetering on the edge of being an old adolescent and a fully-fledged adult.”
Then, in an interview with Zane Lowe, she revealed that this would be the last “age” album for her, because at 27, she doesn’t see huge shifts in her life happening the way they did between 21 and 25.
Basically, she’s writing the record that could/might/will articulate the pain of being a human person in their mid-twenties. Which, of course, is a popular theme for us millennial pop culture consumers, and one that probably resonates even more than deep-seeded heartbreak. (I mean, 21 was phenomenal -- but if you’ve never loved anybody that intensely, there’s only so far you can go emotionally.)
Instead, Adele is ultimately saying that she’s like us; that the same way we battle insecurity, self-doubt, and our past decision-making (or lack thereof), she has too. Which, of course, only makes me like her even more.
It’s rare to find authenticity on the pop music landscape, and from her award show speeches to her interviews to her songwriting, Adele has always boasted a very real version of herself. She hasn’t hidden behind Hollywood friendships or indulged in planting the seeds for celebrity gossip to water and help grow -- it took months for us to learn her son’s name, and she still hasn’t officially confirmed the identity of the man who inspired tracks like “Someone Like You.” Adele is Adele, and she’s never deigned to be anybody else. Which tells me that 25 and its examination of the quarter-life crisis will be an album we can hold close and bask in, content that such an incredible artist has felt the same feelings we have.
She’s just a little bit better at articulating those feelings. Provided she stops using flip phones with terrible reception.){kind=link}