Why do people love Adele so much?

When you look at Adele’s career in numbers, you begin to understand that she’s more than an artist, she’s become an institution, like The Beatles, Elvis Presley and Madonna. Adele has sold over 120 million albums (that doesn’t even include her fourth, 30, which was released this week), she’s won 15 Grammys and nine Brit Awards and has smashed all kinds of sales records. Her album, 21, is the best-selling album of the 21st century and the highest-ever selling album by a solo artist in the U.K., and it spent 24 weeks at number one in the U.S., making it the most successful album ever by a female artist. What’s particularly staggering about her record sales is that she’s done it in an age where album sales are at an all-time low. 

The anticipation surrounding Adele’s new album is palpable. The album’s lead single, “Easy on Me,” instantly shot to number one all over the world upon its release. This past Sunday, Adele gave the world a preview of the album with a special TV concert, Adele: One Night Only, which featured a sit-down interview with Oprah (a kind of sequel to Oprah’s epic Meghan and Harry interview, which brought so many of us together in our thirst for gossip during the lowest point of the pandemic). We’ll be taking a closer look at the concert (we both watched the whole thing) and the unique phenomenon that is Adele as we try to answer the question: Why do people love her so much? 

Thomas: Adele’s mainstream success is an anomaly in the age of streaming. To me, it all comes down to the songs (the best karaoke songs ever), her most recognizable being “Someone Like You,” “Rolling in the Deep” and “Hello.” She actually doesn’t have that many hit singles—she’s an albums artist—but her hits are classics that will stand the test of time. People need to remember that when she blew up in 2011, most female artists were doing dance-pop which was unappealing to a large segment of the population. In a way, Adele was the anti-Ke$ha. Adele’s model is brilliant: she is making new music for people who don’t really pay attention to new music, and that’s actually a very difficult thing to achieve because most people only have the bandwidth for one or two new albums every year. Most pop hits today are disposable, and Adele is the opposite of that; her artistry comes through in everything that she does. One of her best qualities is that she knows how to make an entrance, but also an exit. It’s been six years since 25, and the wait just made her stock go up. Part of the fun of being an Adele fan is witnessing the massive rollouts of her albums, which included mysterious building projections earlier this fall. I love her music and I’ve enjoyed the incredible marketing campaign leading up to the Nov. 19 release of 30—especially the historic double Vogue covers (U.S. and U.K.) and the revelation that James Corden gave her a framed piece of Céline Dion’s chewing gum.

Tranna: I should be upfront and let our readers know that I’m not the biggest Adele fan. I don’t dislike her in any way but the music doesn’t really resonate with me. I’m saying this now so I won’t be attacked by the Adele fans in the way the Mariah Carey fans—a.k.a. the “Lambily”—attacked me for our last column. I know the Adele fans are just as protective of their queen. Adele means a lot to a lot of people. 

Thomas: Few artists can sing and write like Adele, and she makes it look so effortless because she was clearly born to do this. Her songs are as much about her as they are about us; she is one of those artists who can turn their specific experience about love into songs most people relate to. That’s why people freak out everytime she releases something new: maybe Adele will help us discover something about ourselves! But as much as I rationally understand her appeal, I’m still surprised by how emotional people get when her music comes up. To celebrate the release of 30, but also the fact that we can finally gather to watch shows, I’m throwing a drag, burlesque and comedy event in her honour on Nov. 20. The event sold out faster than anything I’ve ever produced in my life! I was actually shocked because she doesn’t have that “has been” camp factor that queer audiences love so much. Adele is a bit like Dolly Parton: from soccer moms to Twitter gays, everyone loves her.

“Adele has morphed into a real-life Madeline Ashton from Death Becomes Her (her joke).”

Tranna: While I may not be the biggest Adele fan, I am genuinely fascinated by her, her career and the phenomenon that she is. She has become legendary faster than any other artist and I watched the concert as a pop culture anthropologist, hoping to understand the meaning of Adele and why her music resonates so deeply with audiences all over the world. When she first appeared on stage, I was like “OMG, it’s Rita Baga!” I can’t watch Adele without seeing Rita Baga’s face. Rita was the runner-up in the first season of Canada’s Drag Race and her resemblance to Adele is uncanny—once you’ve seen it, you can’t unsee it! Every five minutes during the concert I kept saying to myself: “That is Rita!” Adele performed outside the Griffith Observatory in L.A. in an elegant black mermaid gown, stunning gold Saturn earrings (which stole the show), her hair was up in a gorgeous twist and her face was contoured for the Gods—she looked fabulous. The whole environment was stunning: Adele with the Hollywood sign in the background, the open sky behind her and an intimate audience spread out in lit up semi circles around the stage—the art direction was truly sublime. I can’t remember the last time I saw a concert that looked that beautiful. It was old-school Hollywood glamour in a way that felt totally contemporary. I think Adele is the only mainstream artist who understands elegance. When Gaga does it in Vegas, it’s still camp (although, messaging with a friend during the show, we couldn’t help but wonder how electrifying it would have been to see Gaga on Adele’s stage). 

Thomas: Are you saying that Lady Gaga is not THE MOST ELEGANT on the current House of Gucci press tour?? She might have to get you murdered.

Tranna: I don’t consider myself to be a particularly ethical person, but I am fair.

Thomas: Back to Adele…. We’ll talk about the astrological undertone of the 30 rollout in a minute, but I think people are not noticing how significant it is that Adele is now an L.A. girl! She used to be so London; her Britishness was such a big part of her appeal. She is a literal divorcée who moved to America to reinvent herself! That gives me gay West Hollywood energy. What’s more queer than leaving your hometown to become the person you were meant to be?  Only in her case, it meant buying a home next to her ex-husband and dating LeBron James’ agent. As the daughter of a working-class single mother who grew up in North London, she was our most relatable diva. But no more: she has morphed into a real-life Madeline Ashton from Death Becomes Her (her joke). Talk about a subtle yet iconic queer reference! Her weight loss and reinvention really amped up the anticipation for this TV event.

Tranna: Despite the gorgeousness of it all, the concert left me a bit cold. As glorious as that giant stage was, I wonder if it wasn’t too big, too bare. In a small, intimate venue the energy stays in the room, it builds, it becomes something you can feel. I recently rewatched the iconic VH1 Divas Live concert with Mariah Carey, Aretha Franklin and the others, and it was genuinely electrifying. A big part of that was because of the intimate venue, the Beacon Theatre. When you put a powerhouse like Aretha Franklin in a small theatre, it’s explosive! When you’re in a big, outdoor space it’s hard to feel the collective energy; it all floats away in the air. 

Thomas: Los Angeles has reinstated mask mandates indoors, so having the concert outdoors was probably the only way to have maskless celebrities in this never-ending pandemic. I agree with you that it was a tall order to have this concert be outside in a relatively intimate setting, but the cutaway shots to celebrities during the show gave it an absurd twist that I like. The whole scene literally felt like Mount Olympus: we, mere mortals, were accessing the realm of gods and goddesses. Adele served us coastal elite and, honestly, I was here for it. There were more stars present than at most any award show of the last 10 years! Lizzo, Leonardo Di Caprio, Melissa McCarthy, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Donald Glover, Nicole Richie, Seth Rogan, Tyler Perry, Aaron Paul, Selena Gomez, Gordon Ramsay and even (gasp!) Ellen all showed up. Obviously, her pal James Corden was there (they go way back—before getting her on the most iconic installment of Carpool Karaoke, Corden was hosting the 2011 Brit Awards, where she sang “Someone Like You,” the performance that propelled her to superstardom). By the way, I’m absolutely obsessed with Adele’s friendship with Drake, so I giggled a little bit when the director cut to him during “Rolling in the Deep.”  

Tranna: After the first hour, Adele’s concert started to feel repetitive. Every performance was the same—same staging, same gown, same camera angles, same tone. I don’t know if people are ready to have this conversation but every Adele song is the same! (Which is why she only releases albums every four to five years, so you won’t catch on!) “Easy on Me” is “Hello” but not as compelling. The two Xavier Dolan-directed videos are almost identical. I know it’s intentional but I find it so unexciting. 

Thomas: Sure, but the fact that those two videos were shot in Quebec, with local crews and a gay director, makes me strangely proud! Readers, if you understand French, treat yourself to this account of the “Easy on Me” shoot. It’s full of crunchy details about how they shot the video in complete secrecy a few weeks before it premiered on YouTube! To your point that the concert felt repetitive, I guess you’re right (a notable exception is “Skyfall” and the closer “Love Is a Game”), but in a way she is like a chef who excels at French cuisine; the point is almost to keep churning out the same plates over and over again. That being said, let’s give her credit for some of the album tracks on 25 like “I Miss You,” “River Lea” and “Water Under the Bridge,” which are different enough from the piano power ballads she is known for. 

Tranna: My biggest problem with the concert is that not only is every song the same, but her approach to each song is the same. She sings each song with the same vocal inflections and so there is no variation to keep things dynamic. Adele gets compared to Barbra Streisand a lot, especially in terms of her ability to command a stage with just a microphone, but Barbra approaches each song she performs as a character; each is a different role to play. I would love to see Adele channel different energies in different songs. I kept waiting to feel the emotional knock out that all her fans seem to have and it never came for me. The closest thing was her performance of “Hold On,” a song from the new album, which I think was the standout performance of the whole show. It was achingly beautiful. As Oprah said, “Girl, you can write!” 

Thomas: I knew you were going there! Look, Barbra is ancient; most people under the age of 40, or even 50, can’t name one Streisand song. 

Tranna: You’re so ageist! And don’t blame Barbra, okay? Blame the parents who aren’t educating their children. In her Vogue “73 Questions” video, Adele said Barbra is her dream duet partner. 

Thomas: I was excited to see Adele in conversation with Oprah because she has given so many fun moments recently, like the now-legendary Instagram live where she played a bit from “Easy on Me” and the BBC breakfast radio interview where she talked about her mom eating chips with Worcestershire sauce.

Tranna: I felt like the chemistry between Oprah and Adele was a bit forced. Of course the interview was billed as “Adele’s most personal ever!” but I don’t think I really learned anything about her. Oprah’s questions were so broad and Adele’s answers were so cliché and vague. There was a point in the interview where they were talking about Adele’s marriage and Oprah said something along the lines of, “So you weren’t miserable miserable but you knew you were unhappy.” Adele responded: “Ya.” And I was like, “What the fuck are we doing here?” This is what couples go through all the time! I think Adele’s music is for people who love to think their life is so hard when it’s really not. Oprah even said, “Women are going to be liberated by you,” and I was just like “What?!” Oprah needs to stop aggrandizing her guests.

Thomas: You’re right that the interview didn’t deliver the kind of lines viral moments are made of, but I thought it touching to hear her talk about her divorce, her son and especially her estranged father who didn’t listen to anything after “Hometown Glory” (her first single). I thought the way she talked about her friendship with her ex-husband was refreshing, especially in the context of a straight marriage. In our culture, we picture most divorced couples as sworn enemies and it was nice to hear her speak of her ex in such kind words.

Tranna: I went into this concert hoping to get a better understanding of the Adele phenomenon and I don’t know if I did. You compared Adele to Dolly earlier, but I think her appeal has more in common with Céline Dion and Hallmark Channel movies: they’re vague and unthreatening enough to be universally appealing. Unlike Céline, Adele has a gravitas and a sophistication that keeps her from becoming pure schmaltz. While the music doesn’t resonate with me personally, I have an appreciation for Adele’s artistry. And I really do love and appreciate her elegance and regality, which she combines with a kind of earthy realness—although I think Adele may be on the cusp of that moment when mega stars lose touch with reality. Having all those celebs in her audience of “close friends” is proof. 

“Adele no longer lives in the same world as us; she has climbed to the literal summit of Hollywood.”

Thomas: That’s the issue at the centre of the 30 rollout: for so long, Adele was relatable to audiences because she was an authentic Londoner who stayed true to her working-class roots, a girl who dreamed like us and achieved so much because she followed her heart and talent. But what is clear now is that Adele no longer lives in the same world as us; she has climbed to the literal summit of Hollywood and even though people can relate to divorce and losing a parent or healing one’s inner child, it’s harder to relate to the mega star she’s become. One of the few charming bits before the interview, I’ll admit, was when Adele spoke freely about lifting weights. 

Tranna: Come on, deadlift queen!

Thomas: I’m confident her sense of humour will always keep her among the mortals. From her Saturn tattoo to the earrings you mentioned earlier to the reference to her Saturn return in her Vogue interview, Adele has very probably consulted astrologers in recent years. Her divorce coincided with her Saturn return, a moment that happens to everyone in their late twenties when the planet Saturn “returns” to the exact point in the sky where it was when we were born. Adele, a Taurus, is creating a frenzy in the astro community because she chose Nov. 19, the date of a lunar eclipse in Taurus, to release the album. Even the last song of the concert, “Love is a Game,” was set to projections of a zodiac chart on the side of an actual observatory! I can’t wait for Friday to listen to the whole album. Maybe there will be a Peppa Pig collab in the end!

Montreal-based comedians Thomas Leblanc and Tranna Wintour’s podcast Chosen Family streams on CBC, Apple and Google; new episodes drop every other Thursday.