Adele
21
19 Records
Adele has a voice that could make Christina Aguilera blush. Not only can she belt out notes with the best of them, but she also understands that you don’t have to sing at a rate of 5000 notes per word on every song. Because of that control, her latest album, 21, will break your heart. The reason? The one main theme is breaking up and making up. Yes, this has been done before, but nothing like this. Adele’s voice is like watching an eagle fly. You have to stop and stare, mouth agape, in awe at the majesty.
The first single, “Rolling in the Deep,” showcases the power and beauty of Adele’s voice threaded with a foot stomping beat to make one of the best singles of the year, hands-down.
“Don’t You Remember” has that awe-inspiring effect as Adele laments a lost love when she belts “Why don’t you remember/ The reason you left me/ Please remember me once more.” The Motown soul with a British flare will leave tears in your eyes.
I first fell in love with 2008 Grammy winner for Best New Artist when I heard her Grammy-winning song “Chasing Pavements” and then I fell even harder after hearing the string-infused follow-up track on her debut 19 (her age at the time) “Hometown Glory.”
“I’ll be waiting for you when you’re ready to love me again/ I’ll put my hands up/ I’ll do everything different/ I’ll be better to you” she confesses to a former love on the funky “I’ll Be Waiting.”
The theme is punctuated by one of the best covers I’ve ever heard. A remake of The Cure’s “Lovesong.” The first time I heard her sing this I cheered so loud that my boss looked in my office and gave me that “Get back to work” glare. “Lovesong” is my all-time favorite Cure song and hearing Adele’s angelic voice cover the lyrics; it’s like heaven inside of heaven.
Adele can whisper a lyric and have your eyes welling up with tears. She can belt out a line with more power and control that it will have you standing up and cheering even before the song ends (as she does at the end of “One and Only” when a choir backs her up). Adele is a superstar and deservedly so. The music world has not heard a voice this polished and this talented in years. 21 is the album of 2011 so far and it will be awfully hard to top it.
Adele: http://www.adele.tv
