5. Adele – ’21’ [XL]
‘For an artist who initially bored me, Adele has since become one of my favourite singers for three reasons; she’s unpretentious, she can sing, and unlike many other singer/songwriters out there, she has continuously developed her sound and song writing, rather than remain precious about her work. For such a fiesty – and young – woman, I feel this displays true professionalism. This ability to adapt has propelled her from a Brit-pop image to one of sophistication and world-wide acclaim. Debut single ‘Chasing Pavements‘ did little to impress me, the voice was there but the lyrics – I feel – fell flat.
Then I heard ‘Cold Shoulder‘, and became an instant fan, buying debut album ‘19‘ and discovering tracks like ‘Daydreamer‘ and ‘Hometown Glory‘. These songs better displayed what Adele’s true capabilities were, in both lyrical skill and the power of her vocals, and paved the way for her 2011 album,’21‘.
This album not only sounds better than its predecessor, it has the kind of polished, well-produced feel that you might expect from an album much further down the musical career path. ‘Rolling in the Deep‘ has become such a hit worldwide its video has (at point of writing) had over 118 million views on YouTube. America has openly embraced Adele after other hits like ‘Rumour Has It‘ and ‘Turning Tables’ caused listeners everywhere to take notice of this loud, passionate Londoner.
Her Brit Award performance in 2011 of ‘Someone Like You‘ completely blew the half-naked, mimed performance by Rihanna at the same show completely out of the water. Every song on ‘21‘ seems to have been written about Adele’s own personal heartache and despite being an old catalyst for song writing, it still manages to be refreshing. Everyone needs this album. The only issue Adele will have now is making a better one. – Sian Lower
