I know, between repeated listenings of “When We Were Young” and “Hello,” we’ve all wondered the question: why is Adele so popular?
Now, I’ve already answered this. (Spectacularly, FYI.) But because Adele is her own damn woman, she’s spoken up to tell us once and for all why we all want to be her.
“The fact that I’m not shy or embarrassed to be falling apart,” she said to Time. “Everyone falls apart, I think. A lot of people try to be brave and not shed a tear. Sometimes when you know someone else feels as shitty as you do, or approaches things in a certain way, just like you do, it makes you feel better about yourself.”
“Even though my music is melancholy, there’s also joy in that. I hope I do bring joy to people’s lives, and not just sadness, but I think there’s a comfort in it. But I honestly don’t know. If I knew, I would bottle it, and sell it to everyone else.”
And I would buy it. I would buy it for myself, and then I would be Adele, and my in-car renditions of every “25” song would be just as beautiful (I bet) as I imagine them to be in my head.
But what I also thought was interesting about Adele’s interview was her total rejection of branding herself on social media during her creative process.
“Privacy is key to being able to write a real record, whether people like it or not,” she claimed. “My life has changed so much, but I’ve made the realest record I can make, and it’s the real part of me. How am I supposed to write a real record if I’m waiting for half a million likes on a fucking photo? That ain’t real.”
And ughhhh she has a point. (I admit, when checking my own Instagram for feedback on these shoes I got last night.) I mean, granted, no one here is about to create the majesty of “25” (mostly because I’m assuming the majority of us are not recording artists), but damn it: maybe 2016 is the year we should all take a step back just a bit. Mostly because it is embarrassing to be excited about a certain number of people liking a photo you’ve posted. (I mean, at least on Twitter, you’ve written something. But like, we all take selfies. And let’s admit it: they don’t exactly make us artists.) (I’m sorry — they don’t. Not even the ones where we look really, really nice.) (Even though I will like the shit out of all of them.)
So, okay, fine. The secret to success is genuineness and not being super hung up on what makes a good clout score. Got it. 2016, you guys. I’m 99% sure I myself can master . . . half of one of those.
Damn it, Adele.
