Adele covers the new issue of Rolling Stone and RS has already released the full interview –go here to read. If you read Adele’s I-D interview last week, much of her current frame of mind is familiar to you. She’s in a different place right now, she’s more content, becoming a mother changed her in profound ways, but unexpectedly, and she found she was more eager to go back to work after becoming a mom. She’s proud of her accomplishments, she’s proud of her music, and while she seemingly takes a few swipes at a few artists here and there, she’s not into the whole Mean Girl thing. Some highlights:
Her hobby: “My career’s not my life. It’s my hobby.”
Her man, Simon Konecki: “He’s so supportive. And that takes a very big man, because I’m very successful at what I do. My last boyfriend was uncomfortable with how successful I was, and the fact that he had to share me with lots of people. I have said a million times I’m not married and everyone still says we are. But, yeah, we’re still together. We haven’t broken up. We’ve never broken up. We’ve been together. We just haven’t felt the need to get married. We’ve got a kid together. I feel like that’s a big enough commitment.”
She has quit smoking: “I absolutely loved it, but it’s not that f–king cool when I’m dying from a smoking-related illness and my kid is, like, devastated.”
She goes to the gym: “I mainly moan. I’m not, like, skipping to the f–king gym. I don’t enjoy it. I do like doing weights. I don’t like looking in the mirror. Blood vessels burst on my face really easily, so I’m so conscious when I’m lifting weights not to let them burst in my face. And if I don’t tour, you’ll catch me back down at the Chinese!”
When asked about her “squad”: “I’ve heard about a squad,” she says with an amused snort. “I wish my squad was all supermodels. We are, in our brains. I guess I have my own squad.” She pronounces the word in a comical American accent. “It’s not as interesting as some of the other squads that are around right now.” She brightens. “But maybe Rihanna can be in my squad! That would be really cool. Oh, God. She’s life itself, isn’t she? I love her.”
Briefly working with Blur frontman Damon Albarn, who later told the press that Adele was “insecure” and that her music was “middle of the road.” “It ended up being one of those ‘don’t meet your idol’ moments. And the saddest thing was that I was such a big Blur fan growing up. But it was sad, and I regret hanging out with him…He said I was insecure, when I’m the least-insecure person I know. I was asking his opinion about my fears, about coming back with a child involved — because he has a child — and then he calls me insecure?”
On using her “classy, conservative” image as a cudgel to bash other women: “I’d rather not be the person that everyone gets pitted against. If they do decide to get their body out, I would rather not be that person because that’s just pitting a woman against another woman, and I don’t hold any more moral high ground than anyone else. So that has pissed me off a bit. Not that I’m going to start getting my tits out now! Would I show my body off if I was thinner? Probably not, because my body is mine. But sometimes I’m curious to know if I would have been as successful if I wasn’t plus-size. I think I remind everyone of themselves. Not saying everyone is my size, but it’s relatable because I’m not perfect, and I think a lot of people are portrayed as perfect, unreachable and untouchable.”
On feminism: “If there’s a movement, that’s great. Who’s doing it? Will you ask me if I’m a feminist? I don’t think many men in interviews get asked if they’re feminist…I’m a feminist. I believe that everyone should be treated the same, including race and sexuality.”
The whole piece is definitely worth a read. Adele is very, very smart about what she says, what she gives away, how she discusses her process, her life and her work. I do tend to think that she was taking a little swipe – a baby-swipe! – at Taylor Swift for Swifty’s squad of supermodels. Especially since Adele managed to mention “squads” without saying Taylor’s name, then Adele name-drops Rihanna. Rihanna and Adele should have a squad. Their squad would be the best.
Photos courtesy of Rolling Stone.
Adele is back and Taylor just seems so vapid and plastic.
I’d choose Adele’s squad over Taylor’s anytime!
Wouldn’t everyone?
nope not everyone. I’m pretty tired of people abusing Taylor Swift. She’s barely older than a teenager for god sake. What kind of asshat is Adele, taking a jab at a kid? Grow up, you twat.
And the effing double standard. Adele CLEARY writes songs about her tragic breakups and failed romances- does ANYONE focus on who these songs are about? Nope. not even a little. I guaranty if Taylor wrote Adele’s songs. people would have a field day speculating as to who they are about.
LA Juice – Adele is two years older than Taylor. She was hardly taking a jab at the 25 year old kid.
Taylor Swift is 25, Adele is 27…
Um. Taylor is hardly a teenager, she is twenty-five. And Adele is just a little more than a year older than her. She is hardly abusing or taking a jab at a kid. They are almost the same age.
@ LA Juice: at first I thought your comment was sarcasm. You do know Taylor turns 26 NEXT MONTH, right? How is that barely older than a teenager? Adele is 27. That’s less than 2 years age difference between the women (yes, Swift is a WOMAN not a teenager). And Taylor Swift is arguably the most powerful person in the music industry, though to be honest I bet Adele takes that title fairly quickly here. My point being, she isn’t some victim people are abusing, as you so state.
And, sure, both women obviously draw from heartbreak as their inspirations, but the maturity level of their content is worlds apart. Taylor leaves clues in her liner notes to draw a straight path to the men she writes her songs about. That’s fine and all, but the problem some people have with that is that she then tries to maintain that she’s above it all. It’s the hypocrisy they have issues with.
@ LA Juice
You are joking, right? Taylor will be 26 next month. Adele is 27.
Plus, I have no idea who Adele wrote her songs about , Taylor on the other hand…..
@LA Juice
lol. Do you also call Chris Brown just a kid? Swifty’s closer to being 30 than a teenager. It’s just her arrested development as an artist (and a person, let’s be honest) that makes you think she’s so young.
@la juice…I like Taylor but she takes pap walks and parades her current loves in front of everybody and then writes about them. Adele writes about heartbreak over men we know nothing about. We only know about her current partner because it is impossible to hide from the paparazzi. Yes she has taken him out in public but that is her right… And he was virtually unknown until he was connected to her… at least in the US. Adele Is a brilliant artist and cherishes her privacy….that I respect.
They’re only 2 years apart. If they were 15 and 17, would you really say that a 17-year-old should never subtly criticize a 15-year old? At 25, Taylor is a fully grown adult and her brain is fully developed. Far harsher (and problematic) things have been said here and elsewhere about celebrities as young as 15 by people decades older than them, so some 27-year-old thinking some 25-year-old’s ‘friend’ group is a little silly doesn’t exactly make me go, “That poor baby!”
@la juice: the irony. You see Adele as a grown woman and swift as a child….yup. There’s a reason for that!!!
I like both Taylor and Adele in different ways. It may not be true, but the media presentation is Adele is older and more mature than Taylor career wise as well. A lot of Taylor’s fans are the teens, whereas Adele’s are all over the board. I don’t think it is a mean swipe against Taylor, nor do I think Taylor would be upset by it. It is kind of funny that Taylor has the posse of supermodel friends, and I think even she knows that and Taylor makes fun of the celebrity situation all the time in her songs too. I know it is fun for some to bash Taylor as a light weight, but Taylor is a brilliant businesswoman, as some of her handling of her music has changed the music industry. Now I know you could say it was her people, and maybe it is but she hired them.
Not that it is hard to sound profound compared to Taylor..
But yes, Adele is back and everyone else should sit down.
Smart woman, and she’s absolutely right about calling out Albarn for his “insecure” claims.
How dare a woman asking for advice !!! What a prick.
You go Adele, you don’t need him.
lol, Adele is two years older than Taylor Swift, and 25 is not barely older than a teenager.
Nope, she is 1 year older.
Taylor is born 89 and Adele 88.
‘When I got my tax bill in from 19, I was ready to go and buy a gun and randomly open fire.’ – Adele
I’m not a very big Taylor fan but better vapid and plastic than ungrateful and insensitive.
I so don’t get the outrage with that one, it was funny and self deprecating. Perhaps to an American it could be but it’s not her country shooting itself up.
I’m not American. It’s crass IMO.
It was a light hearted comment about the gigantic amount of tax she had to pay on her huge earnings, I thought it was amusing. I also think people are WAY too sensitive these days and need to get thicker skin.
I like both but even though there are only a few years between them , Adele seems far more mature . I do not buy this whole ‘squad ‘ thing with Taylor . Smacks of Mean Girls and anyone who has been bullied by groups of girls who were considered more popular /prettier will understand . Adele doesn’t need to bring god knows who onto the stage with her .
The woman’s face is mesmerizing.
I love this cover.
Yes! It really is. Loved what she said about smoking and Rhianna. She has a good sense of humor along with everything else wonderful about her.
Her face is beautiful, she has great bone structure and her eye colour is amazing.
She looks really pretty and refreshing.
I really like her bone structure. She’s gorgeous.
Wow. I had no idea that guy from Blur dissed her so bad.
i sort of did a little cheer when she threw a dig back. i know she said that she’s a little bit misunderstood by Damon Albarn but she didn’t go the whiny special snowflake poor miss-understood route but gave as good as she got? *sorry i know i’m not making any sense*
Insecure isn’t really a diss. It was an observation. I wouldn’t say her music is middle of the road but her music isn’t much different from other pop music.
Damon is a very straight to the point person. That just the way he is. Personally, I like that and appreciate his comments but its not for everyone.
Meh. I think Damon is straight to the point on a lot of things, but in general he’s as much a bitchy diva as anyone else. The way he shades practically everyone that doesn’t follow the celeb path he has and even his shade at ben makes me sideeye the hell out of him. Dude’s smug.
Surprisingly though I will admit to being way harsh on him during the project greenlight fiasco. I just get annoyed that his words are not put up to the same level of scrutiny as other people because he’s everyone’s dream of *insert here*.
Damon Albarn is not Matt Damon.
@Saphana hahahahahaha! My bad, my bad. I was reading Effie’s glamour interview and then the Matt Damon/Affleck thread and had major wires crossed. I’m a dumbass. Thanks for pointing that out.
Ignore everything I’ve said guys!
He’s not on my gossip radar (so I had no preconceived notions of his persona), but I l still love Blur, and was sad to read that. She’s not my cup of tea musically, but she sounds so smart and cool.
What? He just said she should not be insecure. That guy is a legend, one of the most influential musicians. What she said is beyond silly, she sounds like a little, whinny girl. And very insecure one. Damon made his career based on the music not hype. He still talks about the real stuff, not just ex lovers. Educate yourself. Do not be Adele. Women like her are the reason I am ashamed of being a woman.
Yes I know the lyrics of Feel Good (where ‘shake it shake it’ is repeated about 40 times) are poetry for the ages. Come off it already, Albarn is good but he’s nowhere near that kind of legend. He’s certainly not above being called out for his initial rudeness to Adele. Even if you think someone is insecure why broadcast it publicly? I only hope I’m half as assertive as she is.
Are you a troll? Because that last sentence is over dramatic to the power of 10.
If you only know Gorillaz songs (btw there are more lyrics to the song), then it is your loss. Damon, like many other great musicians, from Mozart and Beethoven to Mercury and Bowie, did a lot to push himself, not to let get stuck in rinse, repeat. He did opera, music for theater, movies, his solo and blur and gorillaz stuff are completely different. also, every blur album was a whole new chapter. he has big ego, but he is in the business since the late 80s, he always comes back with something brand new and you do not see him in the media. his ego helped him survive, which is the same you can say about the greatest rocknroll stars. besides, he told her not to be insecure. how is that bad? she is a baby, only on her second album and if she continues to write the same stuff, same tunes, same lyrics, will people care? no room for ego when you only have few hit songs.
It sounds like you have no problem with Damon being blunt about his feelings but not with Adele doing the same. You might want to examine why that is.
Pfft, I know plenty of his other music but I’m pointing out he’s not above the shallow stuff when it suits him and that’s ok.
Adele is on her third album and with her status in the industry as it is now she’s earned the right to speak up for herself. Why you seem to think the man can but the woman can’t is a mystery.
On feminism: “If there’s a movement, that’s great. Who’s doing it? Will you ask me if I’m a feminist? I don’t think many men in interviews get asked if they’re feminist…I’m a feminist. I believe that everyone should be treated the same, including race and sexuality.”
*dies of shock*
A thousand thank yous to her being the first celeb I’ve seen to call out interviewers for not asking men this question. I love that she’s not really afraid to talk sh-t….or really just be honest.
I’ve been WAITING for a woman to answer that question that way!!!
+1 000 000
I shrieked a little bit when I read that answer. TOO GOOD, ADELE!!!
I don’t mean this in a whingey or nasty way but I’d love a question put to a woman about feminism to be able to pass the Bechdel test and have the answer NOT be about men.
@Jonathan
But feminism IS about men.
Equality between the sexes (MALE and female).
(Have said this before in other threads so apologies if anyone has already heard this): @ Umm- Feminism is about giving women the rights men already have, not about equality for the sexes as such. It’s certainly not about making men equal to women- it’s all about women’s rights.
@Johnathan: But giving women the rights men already have is equality for the sexes.
Hey Otaku Fairy! I’d say “results in equality for the sexes” rather than “about equality for the sexes” but I’m probably splitting semantic hairs….my original point was I wouldn’t mind seeing more answers about feminism that were unconcerned with what a man thinks or whether a man would be asked the same question or where men weren’t mentioned at all.
Which I know is rich coming from a man, but I’m a feminist first.
I love how she specifically says she doesn’t want to be pitted against other women in the industry and then we turn around pit her against Swift.
Way to respect her wishes, y’all.
She looks absolutely gorgeous on that cover.
..and please leave Adele alone. She doesn’t want to be part of the childish girl vs. girl elementary school bullsh*t and she doesn’t have to be. She has TALENT.
Well said, Kitten.
There’s nothing to be gained from taking sides and slinging mud at other people.
*applauds*
I have to admit that did give me a bit of a chuckle.
I think the conflict comes up because of how women are treated in the media. So much of how we judge women isn’t necessarilly just about their talent or what they produce. It’s also their looks, are they pure, do they talk about sex/look like they enjoy it, can they be a role-model, do they dare to speak up and command attention and refuse to back down? I don’t think we should aim for a part in our world where we don’t look at what women do critically but we SHOULD be sure our judgements aren’t about some patriarchy-based BS about a woman not managing to be a magical unicorn nun, sex kitten, mom, ceo, and wife who never sags or ages.
Society definitely has its favorites and I can understand why after months of trumpeting up Swift as some amazing musical muse (her lyrics are so dreadful) it’s refreshing to listen to someone who isn’t aiming for a Top 40 by the book pop career.
Agreed I didn’t take that as a swipe at all. I think she is just saying her friends are different. I think she was at most making fun of the question more then people having a squad.
+1 I don’t know why there isn’t room for multiple successful women? I don’t think she was taking a swipe at anyone- just laughed at a silly question that was asked of her & answered it.
I think it’s because Taylor mean girls other women.
I’d imagine Adele has no interest in Taylor’s squad. It kind of what she says here.
It’s refreshing that not everyone aspires to be bff with katdashians and hadids.
@kitten: Yes! I love (and can relate to) the fact that she doesn’t like to be used as a slut-shaming tool against other women (and as I typed that, I remembered that both Adele and Taylor Swift have been used against women in that sexist way. There’s something they have in common.) I’ve noticed that people even do that with Amandla and Zendaya too. It’s like, why is it that in 2015 people can’t even compliment a woman’s intelligence, talent, empathy, or activism without making it about the ‘chastity’ of that woman vs. her female peers? Why don’t we do that to men? (I’m not really saying we SHOULD do it to men.) People don’t realize that when they ‘compliment’ these female stars that we like in that way, they’re actually objectifying them and perpetuating the virgin-whore dichotomy. “Gee, thanks for reminding me that because I’m not a man, the good things about me only matter because I’m not too ‘impure’ for you, and that if I ever cross your line, every positive thing about me is suddenly lowered in value like I’m a used car. #Yayprogress?” It’s easy to see why that would piss her off.
i didn’t know Simon is that much older than Adele. 41! he looks so young? and looks like someone whp gives teddy bear hug.
i guess being in a completely different industry also helps manage his exposure. if not jealousy then another thing that made love partnerships fail is often “the nonfamous” half couldn’t handle the pressure of fame. then again Adele is pretty low key.
Eh, he looks his age, it’s just that Adele looks a lot older than her age. (Nothing wrong with that btw lots of people do, like Blake Lively, Margot Robbie, and that 50 shades of grey girl).
Yesss. Thank god someone threw some shade Taylor’s way. I’m guessing the reporter asked her about “squads” specifically because Taylor won’t stop shoving hers in everyone’s face, so that was a perfectly appropriate response.
“I’ve heard about a squad,” she says with an amused snort. “I wish my squad was all supermodels. We are, in our brains. I guess I have my own squad.”
Haha, that is her second jab at Swift. The first was when she pretended to like Swift’s song “Trouble” and said that she like the co-writer of that song. I took it as her way of saying Swift is lying about writing her own material.
That cover photo doesn’t look so nice. What’s with either the open mouth pose or the wet, grease hair look.
i’m taking it as RS and Adele’s compromise version of a naked cover. as we know RS covers of females has them semi-nude and sexually posed.
Interesting side note to Swift’s cowriter: Max Martin was listed as cowriter for TROUBLE. Adele explains her interest in him based on a PEOPLE interview from the end of October.
Adele was eating lunch with OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder when Swift’s “I Knew You Were Trouble” started playing. “I was like, ‘I love this song, who did this?'” Adele told Vice’s i-D. She soon found herself working with Max Martin, the hitmaker who helped Swift with several of her signature songs, including 1989 singles like “Blank Space” and “Shake It Off.” Now Martin has helped Adele craft a new song called “Send My Love To Your New Lover.” Speaking of the collaboration, Adele said, “I love it, it’s f—— sick. Straight away, a million people in my life will be like, ‘Oh s—, what have I done …'”
Key words :”Who did this?” The answer was Max Martin, not Taylor. Clearly pointing out that Taylor didn’t write the song, Max did.
Max Martin always seems to “help” Taylor write the songs about the men that she has bearded for (harry styles, gyllenhaal, etc).
That is Adele? I thought it was Emily Blunt.
Right?
Thank god. I thought it was just me.
I love it. She’s honest, straightforward, genuine, thoughtful, and kinda bitchy too (haha Albarn must be pissed).
Adele is so much more grounded. As far as the squad goes, if you have a real honest to god, pick you up during your most darkest of moment friendship, you respect the friendship not exploit it. A friendship isn’t about the persons status, or what they can do for you. Adele is just a real, no bullsh*t person, who happens to have a voice of an angel. She would be someone I’d want to hangout with.
I’m really impressed with this interview, she’s clever and witty.
Oh how can anybody compete with Adele. I swear if she took a dump in the street people would call her ‘so relatable/down to earth/no airs and graces’…
zzzz
She’s relatable, real and über talented what’s zzzz about that?
I don’t even buy her music, not my thing really but I like her as a person.
Oh i love her too, Hannah. But i also know that the internet holds her to a different standard than every other artist in town and it’s really ridiculous.
‘relatable, real and über talented ‘
See, all things that have been assigned to Ed Sheeran by many fans, the Grammys, Brits, Ivor Novellos, 20 million album sales etc … yet weren’t you dissing him in another thread?
I rest my case.
worshiping celebrities is like a nightmare these days. sure, good voice, but lets talk after she makes something out of it. like Amy did. like Janis or Debbie Harry did. staying in your comfort zone is so not artistic. Attacking Damon or even Swifty for publicity is bellow lame. I am done with her until she grows up.
@milla
How is she attacking Damon? He’s the one who talked first, dissed her music and her person.. I am probably a bigger fan of blur than Adele but come on the man is known to have a huge ego. At almost 50 he’s the one who needs to grow up and stop slagging off singers half his age.
@ Lou
I don’t think people consider ed to be über talented. I am not sure he’s that relatable either. He very much hangs around with celebs, the whole thing with Adele is that she’s not seen unless he promotes stuff, her “squad”are just normal people.
How is responding to Damon’s PUBLICLY MADE statements slagging him for publicity when he made the comment first? She just smashed a ton of records with her new single – why the hell would she need him for publicity?
For that matter, if he really thought her work was “middle of the road,” why did he make time to work with her in the first place? Because the implication there is either condescending (“Why not use my superior work?”) or petty (“It’s not fair she utilized her creative control to cut MY work!”). The guy has been in the industry long enough to know how it works. Plenty of great musicians have seen the axe in favor of a cohesive album – that’s the whole reason bonus tracks became a thing! Damon knew creative control ultimately laid with her and came with the risk of being cut – why would he assume his contributions would overrule hers? What’s wrong with Adele making Adele’s album the record she wants it to be when she’s got the sales to back her decision making process? Frankly, the fact that most of the artists and executives openly criticizing her creative process are men is very telling to me. It’s more telling than anything she herself has said.
I still remember her on the Graham Norton show telling her knicker-less poncho story and cackling away….
She’s fab.
God, I remember that story too!! She was running to the local store for some milk and it was either a bus or wind, and then her dress blew up!!! Hysterically funny. She’s great.
Adele doesn’t have to package herself because she’s got talent
There’s no drama, no worries about doing a dance number on stage or who your connections should be.
When there’s talent, you don’t need to act like a teenager or flash your body or bodyshop yourself to sell your music
You’re missing her point. It’s nonsense to compare that aspect of female artists because it needlessly pits women against each other.
It does pit women needlessly against one another. Everyone is entitled to their own style, and if they want to gyrate about the stage with their t*ts out, more power to them. That is what feminism is all about. However, what a refreshing palate cleanser Adele is, she is all about her music, and doesn’t need to get her kit off to attract attention. She just IS, unapologetically.
Having said that, what have Rolling Stone done to her face. Photoshop much? What a travesty, there is no need to gild this particular gorgeous lily. Shame on them.
“When there’s talent, you don’t need to act like a teenager or flash your body or bodyshop yourself to sell your music”
Artist can still have talent and if they chose to flash their bodies it’s their choice. Not every singer likes to stand on stage and just sing. Some people like artist who dance. Janet Jackson was one hell of a dancer and people liked going to her concerts because they knew they were going to be entertained and get some great dance numbers; what’s wrong with that.
Exactly. Dancing is also art.
@Dhavniya: So Sarah Brightman, Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, and Jessie J all lacked talent or are less talented singers than Adele then?
She is great. She *does* remind me of myself. I’m not quite plus sized (almost) but I adore that she is so respected and loved and its not because she has her tits out. She is beautiful, smart, head on her shoulders, and seems lovely. A great idol for my girls for sure.
Adore this chick, down to her Rihanna Love.. .also love that she is like Don’t use me to bash other singers like she’s been on a celebitchy board where “so and so is so classy and doesn’t have to ____ to sell a ________” is constantly a much tut tutted sentiment ( I see ya’ll Beysus Bashers, Amy Adams Lovahs and so on LOL)
also I bet her Squad Pronunciation was a really nasally long SQUAAAD
Exactly. If life is like a box of chocolates then I’m gonna need folks to stop trying to make every woman a Kit Kat Bar when for a proper sugar rush we need the Milk Duds, Butterfingers, and M&M’s too.
She knows who she is and that’s cool. She’s never gonna be a Swifty and I doubt she’s much interested in trying. She’s got a specific cool girl vibe that I can get down with. She’s the type of woman who leaves the Girl’s Night Out early to get back to her kid but calls you the nxt morning asking for all the details and cackling all the way.
This is one of the best covers I have ever seen. Her face is stunning. I kept rolling up to take another look. And the interview was also amazing. Everything she said (especially re: the squad) was on point.
I’ve always said I don’t want to meet the musicians/singers I love and have loved their music or concerts for years, because I might be disappointed by rudeness or whatever. Then it would ruin for me still listening to their music or attending their tours. I feel for her regarding the Blur situation, for him to have dissed her publically.
Great interview. Thanks, Rolling Stone, for not putting an airbrushed-to-oblivion photo on the cover and with light makeup. We get to see Adele.
The one superstar in music today I like because she made it purely off her talent. I also love her feminist quote. That’s how simple it is. You want equal treatment. The press constantly ask this question to get a headline.
All the try-hards & wanna be’s take note. You’re fakery is beyond obvious when a real artist steps to the mic
I’m kind of disappointed in Damon Albarn — in the sense of him being stupid enough to talk to the press about Adele. I don’t think he’s wrong to have his own impressions, but I do think it’s dumb to go to the media, and then not expect the woman to stand up for herself if she feels his assessment is wrong.
It feels like he was a bit miffed that his contributions didn’t make the album. He’s was like I took time out to work with her. It’s too middle of the road wouldn’t be if I was involved was kind of the gist.
Bigger songwriters, producers than him have their songs scrapped from the final product for whatever reason.Mark ronson worked with lana del rey none of his contributions made the new cd. This is part of the business no need to bitch about it in the media.
Where and when did she take a swipe at Taylor Swift. You’re reaching aren’t you?
I don’t know if you would say it’s a swipe but she is clearly referring to Swift’s squad of skinny and beautiful friends (and Lena Dunham) that pop up in her videos and Instagram pics.
I smiled at the ‘I guess we’re all supermodels in our heads’ part.
I wouldn’t say its a swipe but there is some clear reading between the lines happening there.
No one’s reaching; it was a swipe.
Does any other pop star have a “squad of supermodels?” Hahah no. That was shade and it was pointed at Swift. It’s funny. I like Swift but I laughed at that. Why would any musician need a bevvy of supermodels following them around, unless they are a 70/80s rock star or Adam Levine?
Yeah, it’s not really reaching, she clearly referred to Taylor when talking about a “squad” with “supermodels”.
Agreed. It sounds to me like she’s just having a laugh, not shading anyone.
I love her. I loved everything about this, apart from calling her job her hobby. She obviously works incredibly hard, why call it a hobby?
And God, I hope she doesn’t start hanging out with Rihanna.
I guess it’s a paying hobby (insert sarcasm) . A hobby would be if she didn’t collect the checks. No Adele this is your job unless there is a another job you do on the side that pays you well enough to earn a living.
I see what she meant. That she has a big life and her music is only a piece of it. I wonder what percentage of her time in the past 4 years has been dedicated to making new music? 10%? 18%? Not much. She seems to have been more focused on FT mommyhood than music, therefore making anything else seem like a hobby.
Music is a large part of why her life is so “big,” though. I like her a lot, but I did side-eye that statement a little. Having a career you can put on hold for years to raise children and still return at the top with millions under your belt is an ENORMOUS privilege. Not one that most women in the world have.
Very cool. I like to hear her opinions on things and how she represents herself, it’s refreshing to see someone who isn’t trying so hard or trapped in their own head. I really really loved what she said about the smoking. Little mature things like that really get me.
Goodness gracious, Adele is everything.
Love her, love her music. It is not middle of the road, it’s classic. There’s a difference. She has a great voice but more than that she is a great singer, she knows how to use her voice. She’s like Aretha Franklin.
I was never an Adele stan but I think I could be after reading this interview and looking at this picture of her.
Adele is gorgeous and talented. But I didn’t recognize her in the cover.
Anyway… Can we please talk about how Effie Brown is amazing? Her comments were all on point, if only they had listened to her…
I love her. I think going out for drinks with her would be so fun.
In music, to be successful, there always needs to be some confidence of ego, some element of selling the self and an image, some comparative discussion re: other artists and musical inspirations and references. It always comes together best, though, when there is actual music at the root of it. There are times Adele has mildly irritated me with some of the added extra aspects, but I’ve never doubted she has the music and that’s where it will always come back to for her personally. And music that, although not always pushing boundaries (but not MOR either), has already stood some test of time and I reckon has the legs to keep playing (non-ironically) years from now.
Adele seems to be a music fan and appreciate being audience to others as well as being an artist in her own right. For all Swift does the “welcome to the stage… ” schtick, in an apparent appreciation of other artists, I always get the impression it’s more a ‘look at the pull I have and I’m being generous allowing others to bask in the glow of my after burn’. I don’t think of Swift (and some others btw, she’s just key obvious example right now) as a music fan; she’s a Taylor Swift superfan who contrives to appear to enjoy being an audience to others for PR. Similar dynamic with the Squad thing.
Adele puts Adele’s music ahead of Adele; Taylor puts Taylor ahead of (or wrapped up with/in) Taylor’s music. It’s a kind of inversely proportional thing. The greater the talent, the less need for Squads/social media/and a recognisable discrete media-image beyond the music output.
Also, Adele lets her songs go once she puts them out there. Yes, they mean something to her and come from her experiences but she then offers them for every listener to find their own hook in them (they are well written that way). Taylor Swift writes songs that effectively become Taylor Swift canon; it’s much less generous song-writing and, unless you’re a Taylor life experience doppleganger (including down to physical description at times), you’re pretty much always singing Taylor’s life first and foremost… fun for a while but rarely something which’ll stay with you as something you relate to as your own over time too.
I don’t have anything to add but this is a great post – excellently thought-out and well argued.
I disagree Taylor Swift was plenty successful way before she friend collected. I think they both write about their personal and emotional experiences. And I’m pretty sure Taylor’s songs will stand the test of time, her song writing is under-estimated, which probably has something to do with her need to over-sell her image.
@ Ally.M Fair play, and it’s always going to be a very subjective thing to have a take on. And, having a then early-ish teen daughter, I knew of Taylor Swift back at ‘Teardrops on My Guitar’ so I don’t knock her “plenty successful”.
AND, whilst I can (do) dance around the kitchen to some Taylor Swift to this day – thank goodness for having windows which are not overlooked by neighbours, I know I’m always singing along to Taylor’s life NOT (without getting too arty-farty about it) songs a bit more widely resonant and giving.
I’m early ’40s so not Taylor Swift’s key demo, but I have eclectic tastes so it’s all grist to the mill to my ear.
Not a direct compare and contrast, but to take a slight leap back from ‘my days’ :D… I happily enjoyed (bought) Madonna and Cyndi Lauper then (amongst many others). I’ll happily have both on random playlist shuffle to this day BUT that Madonna will be singles mainly (odd exception) and be enjoyed with a certain nostalgia (it’s Madonna and part of my youth). Cyndi Lauper stays with me (full albums – B-sides, odd quirky but lyrically brilliant non-commercially recognised songs and all) deeper and with an everlasting currency.
AND Madonna always ran the reinvent image thing, Cyndi Lauper was (is) always Cyndi Lauper. Not necessarily knocking either approach, just expressing a preference over the course of the body of work. But, yep, subjective. 🙂
1. Good for her on quitting smoking.
2. I’m glad she called out the guy from Blur. She asks him a basic question about work and life balance, and he publicly calls her insecure, he is a douche.
I love her and everything in this interview. She’s gorgeous, but that cover photo is very unusual. Not sure if I like it or not.
SOOOO glad she quit smoking. It killed me that with that gift of a voice, she smoked at all, but I’m glad she stopped.
I adore this woman, and her music. So glad she’s back.
I loved what she said about smoking. That really hit home for me as my father is basically at his end, all because of smoking.
I’ve never really paid too much attention to Adele if only, she’s not really a gossip staple but I loved so many things she said here.
Can we pleaaaaaase stop asking every damn celebrity in every damn interview if they consider themselves a feminist and what is their definition of a feminist and blah blah blah!! I am so sick of the same old question, and I’m even more sick of the answers!
Enough! Don’t these journalists have anything else to ask???? Is this it? Feminism and pay gap??? I get these are important topics but I feel like its just the same thing over and over and they are sort of waiting to get a really dumb answer from someone so that could be their story…enough!
Amen. She should have said, ” Of course, I am. You’re the great Rolling Stone magazine, and you are coming out with the trendy stock question of 2015 for singers or actresses? How lazy and unimaginative. You can do better.”
I wanna be a member of her squad!!!!!!!
I haven’t read the article, yet. I just want to say that I’ve been a good sport, singing along with all the Taylor Swift songs on the radio – they’re catchy, I’ll admit – but the moment Adele’s voice hit the airwaves again, body heart & soul, I remembered what I actually really need music to be. Everybody adds something, of course, but I wish we had more artists like her.
We do have more artists like her, they are just not as mainstream. nd Adele is good, but she’s not the God almighty of music.
She is so pretty sans fard, and her lips and chin are to die for.
Love her. Love her voice and I like what she says. I didn’t think she was taking a swipe at Taylor Swift. Maybe on the media how they handle women singers/celebrities.
Well, she was swiping at Swift then she said not to pit women against each other so…? Not really impressed with the interview.
Have you seen this: Sir David Attenborough narrates Adele’s video Hello… Awesome…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enu-qR0H_uk
I don’t think Rihanna would be in her squad either.
She is not impressed with Taylor Swift, and probably not much more with Adele.
I just don’t get why anyone is impressed with Rihanna. Seriously.
So shes not about pitting women against other women but then pokes fun of Taylor Swift for having supermodel friends. Ok then.
Exactly. And I think ‘Hello’ is middle of the road but that’s what sells.
making a jab at Taylor’s ridiculous squad has nothing to do with pitting women against each other. you don’t have to support everything someone else does just because they’re also a woman.
Except it kind of is. Because a)she must have known that people would have picked up on the quote (kind of like this website did). And b) Its almost like she’s making herself out to be better because she doesn’t have famous supermodel friends.
But she didn’t take a swipe. She was talking about her close friends from way back and that when she goes on the road she wants to bring some of them, that she really needs them. That veered into, so you have a squad. And her joking that she had heard about a squad, saying, I wish I had a squad. We are all super models in our minds type jokey answer. Maybe Rihanna can be in my squad. How people take that as a diss I have no clue.
People can’t joke anymore. Everyone takes everything as some insult, takes it out of context. She has a sense of humor. Later in the interview she mentions a song she really liked by Taylor and used that producer because she liked what he did.
LOVE her saying she wouldn’t’ show her body because her body is hers. I think women get to do what works for them, but she describes this in an interesting way. if you give it all away, show it all, what’s left for you? everything of miley cyrus is for sale. every single thing
@Meg: Something doesn’t have to be kept private in order to belong to someone. The idea that without modesty, a female has nothing left or that once a woman gives up modesty, she also gives up ownership of her body are both definitely patriarchal myths that promote victim-blaming and violence against women.
Why is Miley lesser because she utilizes her sexuality to sell records? She’s an adult woman using her body for purposes of image. I get that Adele is more talented, but don’t get it in your head that she doesn’t work to sell a very specific image of her own. Modesty does not mean profundity.
Beyond that, I’d point out that Justin Bieber has shown up in underwear ads, frequently performs shirtless, and in general has no problem playing up his looks to sell records. Do you feel he feel that he’s already “given everything away?” Or is that only something women can do?
She is so heartbreakingly beautiful.
Wow, I always assumed that make up was a big thing for her, and that she wouldn’t be as striking without it, but I think I prefer her without make-up! She has a beautiful vulnerability about her, and her features are so beautiful they don’t need any make-up.
It’s a pretty gentle swipe if it’s even that – more like a gentle poke and tease. I do like really enjoy how thoughtful her answers are here, though I admit eyerolling a bit at describing her career as a “hobby.”
“I’m a feminist. I believe that everyone should be treated the same, including race and sexuality.”
OMG, finally. See, Sarah Jessica Parker, Meryl Streep, Zoe Kravitz and countless other twits, it can be said in 16 words. You just have to keep two ideas in your head at the same time. I can even say it in three:
Feminists want equality.
She’s awesome, but it’s so easy to say your career is a “hobby not my life” when you’re the most successful pop artist in the world.
Oooooh ADELE …a private life
Please
I might take some heat for this, and I realize we’re talking about meatier subjects in her interview right now, but…
It’s looking to me like A) she’s lost weight, and B) she’s had a nose job since we last saw her. Those two things are not terrible for her to do, mind you, but given her profession and the level of criticism she’s been exposed to for not “fitting in”, I can’t help but see it as a way in which hollywood’s pressures have gotten to her. And it makes her claims of being “the least insecure person I know” seem suspect. Of course I realize that the problem is the way the media is hyper-focused on every woman’s looks, and I don’t blame women for feeling that pressure or succumbing to it. But it makes me sad all the same. She was already awesome and beautiful the way she was. I wish it was ok for us women to accept our uniqueness. Instead we all try desperately to prescribe to the standard of beauty readily accepted in our particular year. Which makes us all homogenized and bland, in effect. 🙁
Not saying the interview is bad (it’s actually good), but the comments make one think she’s a genious. And yes, from all the pop singers around, she’s easily the best.
I didnt read that as a swipe to Taylor, I see it as a swipe to the Media. Why ask that? because it was embarrassing to read…. a journalist thought that was such a great question for Adele? Kinda sad…
Honestly, you could argue the journalist was really the one “swiping” at Tay-Tay be creating a question with such a blatantly directed lead. They were looking for a sound bite – because who else would first come to mind but Taylor?