“Hello. It’s me.”
Even Adele knows that she needs no introduction.
The British chanteuse returned last week with 25 (right), her first LP in nearly a half-decade, bolstered by its smash lead single, “Hello.”
Her last album, 2011’s 21, yielded massive hits “Rolling in the Deep” and “Someone Like You” on the way to selling more than 30 million copies globally.
Such sales make her a unicorn in an era when the record industry moves units in a decidedly unmagical way. In its first week, 25 shattered the all-time record for first-week sales and also became the first platter to move 3 million units in a single week in America.
There seems to be no upper or lower limit to her demographics due to her lyrical themes, which often are about love and relationships.
Since each album title corresponds to the age at which its songs were written, 19, 21 and 25 are the beginnings of what could be an unconscious project on Adele’s part to chronicle the different peaks, valleys, milestones and challenges of one woman’s life as she ages.
Assuming she continues this and I hope she does it would turn her entire career into one long concept album, chronicling her life at different junctures.
Her work so far isn’t contemplative or ruminating about being that particular age. Still, listeners can see growth and change in Adele from 19 to 25 and three of her singles demonstrate it.
The biggest hit from 19 (left), her 2008 debut album, was “Chasing Pavements,” giving listeners a curious, teenage Adele aiming to make sense of pursuing her romantic ideals and navigating potential partners.
“Should I give up or should I just keep chasing pavements?” she asks on the song’s chorus. She claims she “know(s) this is love,” working out the distinction between amorous feelings and those of lust. It sounds precocious, but also feels appropriate for a 19-year-old.
If “Chasing Pavements” is the pursuit and excitement headed into romance, the lead singles from each of the past two albums show the aftermath of relationships in different ways.
2011’s 21 kicked off with “Rolling in the Deep,” a burning postmortem on a relationship Adele invested in deeply.
“You’re gonna wish you never had met me,” she sings in the background of “Deep,” turning her heartbreak into one of the iconic songs of the decade behind a foot-stomping, neo-soul groove. “We could’ve had it all.”
“Deep” reads as a “hell hath no fury” statement to an ex. Listeners got satisfaction from feeling Adele turning her sorrow into gold, getting a sort of revenge. People were able to relate to wanting that feeling themselves.
Where Adele scorched the earth with “Deep,” her latest single, “Hello,” speaks of sadness and lament. Instead of the shortsightedness of anger, she takes a longer view.
“At least I can say that I tried to tell you I’m sorry for breaking your heart,” she sings.
Here, rather than rushing to express her anger, Adele takes a more mature perspective, seeing how the other person may have hurt, too.
In keeping with a number of songs on 25 about growth and maturity, in a recent Rolling Stone interview, Adele said the song is about “making it out alive from your late teens, early 20s.”
Also in the interview, she talks about how motherhood has changed her perspective.
“I have a yearning for myself from, like, 10 years ago when my only responsibility was writing songs for myself before anyone cared and getting to school on time,” she said.
Other moments on 25 show growth and aging seems to be a common theme on the record. In different songs, she sings, “We both know we ain’t kids no more,” “We were sad of getting old” and “It’s no secret that the both of us are running out of time.”
If the speedy sales are any indication, her multigenerational fan base is ready to take that step with her.
In her work, we can identify our own feelings, emotions and growth. Since listeners are on a single-name basis with her, we feel as though we’ve come to know her well.
So when she begins her latest record in such a familiar way “Hello. It’s me” who else could it possibly be?