# Achieving Peak Adele: are we there? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 23, 2015, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achieving-peak-adele-are-we-there/738351 "2015-11-23T13:18:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achieving-peak-adele-are-we-there/738351/21 "2015-11-23T23:35:04Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > I bet you have, you just didn’t know the name of the singer. > > Play these and you’ll probably say, “Oh, I’ve heard that on the radio or somewhere”. > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLQl3WQQoQ0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLQl3WQQoQ0) Yup, You’re right, I have heard both of those. I don’t like her singing style, so I probably changed the station when I heard them. I mostly listen to classic rock. Thank you, now I now who it is at least. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achieving-peak-adele-are-we-there/738351/22 "2015-11-23T23:52:04Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > I don’t want to rain on anybody’s parade, and I strictly see it from a artistic angle, because I’m not very interested in Adele as a cultural phenomenon and don’t know much about her personally other than her hits from the radio, but I REALLY don’t get the appeal of her voice or her songs. There was some kind of British soul revival some years ago, with two really good female singers and well-produced and written songs with Amy Winehouse and Duffy, but we know what happened to Amy, and Duffy somehow inexplicably vanished. And all we got left is Adele, with her bland voice and boring songs? It’s just so predictable MOR that it’s no wonder it sells like shit, but it gives nothing to me, quite opposite to the two singers I mentioned before. > > Sorry, this sounds like a rant, and as person I find her quite pleasant, but I just can’t understand her artistic appeal. You and I have a different definition of “bland voice.” I am not an active listener - I hear her plenty without seeking her out - but her voice is truly wonderful, and, obviously, central to her success. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achieving-peak-adele-are-we-there/738351/23 "2015-11-24T00:20:33Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > You and I have a different definition of “bland voice.” I am not an active listener - I hear her plenty without seeking her out - but her voice is truly wonderful, and, obviously, central to her success. See, I have heard many others rave about her voice, and I see that many people appreciate it, but I just don’t get it. For me it just sounds bland compared to more gifted soul singers like the aforementioned Winehouse or Duffy, and comparing her to Aretha is almost sacrilege to me. I really like good soul voices, but there’s nothing about her’s that stands out for me. It’s a soul voice without much soul, I can’t describe it better. In the end it’s probably a matter of taste. ---
**Author:** ![Ionizer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5daacb/32.png) [@Ionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ionizer)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achieving-peak-adele-are-we-there/738351/24 "2015-11-24T00:53:33Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > I bet you have, you just didn’t know the name of the singer. > > Play these and you’ll probably say, “Oh, I’ve heard that on the radio or somewhere”. > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLQl3WQQoQ0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLQl3WQQoQ0) THANK YOU for posting those links, **Lemur866**! Just a day or two ago, I heard “Rolling in the Deep” on OKC’s KATT radio (hard-rock/heavy-metal format basically) and really, really wanted to know who the band/singer was. It sounded oddly familiar yet I knew it was something new to me. I wanted to say it was Bonnie Raitt but just not quite Raitt-ish enough, so to speak. I have been itching to know since hearing 🙂 I only first really heard of Adele when little snippets of news stories recently (a week or two ago??) pointed out that her first single from newest album was (by far, IIRC) the most downloaded single of all time in one day or something similar. She definitely now has my attention musically speaking - and I think there’s lots more she will/can do. Looking forward to her future…prolly gonna be a great one, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achieving-peak-adele-are-we-there/738351/25 "2015-11-24T01:21:08Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > See, I have heard many others rave about her voice, and I see that many people appreciate it, but I just don’t get it. For me it just sounds bland compared to more gifted soul singers like the aforementioned Winehouse or Duffy, and comparing her to Aretha is almost sacrilege to me. I really like good soul voices, but there’s nothing about her’s that stands out for me. It’s a soul voice without much soul, I can’t describe it better. In the end it’s probably a matter of taste. Hey, I prefer Aretha, too. That doesn’t change the Phemonenon that is Adele™. **Ionizer** her last album, from 5 years ago, sold 25 million copies. Her today is huge. Her future - ah, that is the question! ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achieving-peak-adele-are-we-there/738351/26 "2015-11-24T01:44:17Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achieving-peak-adele-are-we-there/738351/27 "2015-11-24T01:59:20Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > Please tell me your attention span is not that short. > > Adele is sill years away from being thirty. Aretha Franklin became “The Queen of Soul” and cranked out hit and made the other stars of her day look like peons for longer than Adele’s been alive. > > We need that kind of star again. You want her to retire that voice at age 27? To be fair 27 is not “years” away from 30, she’ll be 28 in May 2016, so two and a half years away. In terms of number 1 singles, Adele is ahead of Aretha Franklin. She had one number 1 singles in 1967 with " **R.E.S.P.E.C.T** and then nothing until twenty years later in 1987 when her duet with George Michael went to the top-" **I Knew You Were Waiting For Me"**. Adele scored three number 1’s in 2011-2012, then now in 2015. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achieving-peak-adele-are-we-there/738351/28 "2015-11-24T03:24:01Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I think he means that she’s widely recognized to every man, woman, beast and child and yet no one has much of complaint with her. > > I’m sure now someone will list off a series of anti-Oprah complaints but there ya go. Well, Oprah’s all right, but she’s no Adele. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achieving-peak-adele-are-we-there/738351/29 "2015-11-24T05:31:12Z")
[ > [@](#): > > Adele’s new album “25” has sold more than 2.3 million copies in the United States alone during its first three days on the market, a stunning number for a music industry that has seen sales steadily fall in the digital era. > > To put that into perspective, only Taylor Swift’s “1989,” (released late last year) Drake’s “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” (released in April) and Ed Sheeran’s "x’’ (in June 2014) have sold as much as one million copies all year so far. Adele’s disc went on sale Friday. > > Nielsen Music said Monday that Adele will almost certainly break the one-week record for album sales, set by 'NSYNC in 2000 with 2.4 million for “No Strings Attached.” ]([http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US\_MUSIC\_ADELE\_SALES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-11-23-18-21-58](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MUSIC_ADELE_SALES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-11-23-18-21-58)) Gotta give her a lot of credit for those kind of numbers, eh. Still that means there are over 320 million Americans who don’t yet have a copy (I’m one of them). ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achieving-peak-adele-are-we-there/738351/30 "2015-11-24T07:19:00Z")
I guess I’m the only one who hates “Hello” and turns the radio channel to avoid it then? I find it trite and precious. I thought “Someone Like You” was a thousand times better and I love “Rolling in the Deep” but if every song she sings is this tempo I’m not buying her album. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achieving-peak-adele-are-we-there/738351/31 "2015-11-24T14:27:26Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > I guess I’m the only one who hates “Hello” and turns the radio channel to avoid it then? I find it trite and precious. I thought “Someone Like You” was a thousand times better and I love “Rolling in the Deep” but if every song she sings is this tempo I’m not buying her album. I’m just the opposite. _Someone Like You_ just grates, whereas I’ve grown to really like _Hello_. In fact, I didn’t like _Hello_ the first couple of times I heard it and I can see why some still don’t like it. The verses are kind of monotone, stream of consciousness drivel but the chorus, to me, is gorgeous. I haven’t heard anything else from the album and I’m kind of bummed to hear that they’re all ballads because I think she’s at her best doing uptempo soul. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achieving-peak-adele-are-we-there/738351/32 "2015-11-24T15:20:06Z")
> [@Honey](#): > > I don’t think I’ve ever heard a song she’s sung. I wouldn’t know the woman if I fell over her. Yeah, well, this is SDMB where no one “has no idea of what a Kardashian even is” or has eaten a fast food burger in the last decade. The SDMB is a lot of stuff but, according to its self-reporting, it doesn’t exactly have its fingers on the pulse of mainstream American culture 😃 ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achieving-peak-adele-are-we-there/738351/33 "2015-11-24T15:24:54Z")
> [@Honey](#): > > I don’t think I’ve ever heard a song she’s sung. I wouldn’t know the woman if I fell over her. > > Edited to add: I just went and asked my mom if she knows who Adele is. She said, “No, I’ve never heard of her”. I’m with you, she’s the flavor of the month and will disappear eventually like all the others. I think I’ve heard a couple of songs by her, but so what? And I haven’t watched Saturday Night live in decades. I’m just so out of it, it’s not funny ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achieving-peak-adele-are-we-there/738351/34 "2015-11-24T15:42:59Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I’m with you, she’s the flavor of the month and will disappear eventually like all the others. I think I’ve heard a couple of songs by her, but so what? And I haven’t watched Saturday Night live in decades. I’m just so out of it, it’s not funny Hasn’t data already shared in posts in this thread demonstrate you to be hugely incorrect? You may be “out of it” and therefore not exposed, but note the facts. Her achievements are already in the “just how legendary can she get” range. A poster is welcome to not like her songs and vocal style, but the point to starting this thread was because, clearly, she has _already_ achieved “legend” status. ---
**Author:** ![CGav8r](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@CGav8r](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CGav8r)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achieving-peak-adele-are-we-there/738351/35 "2015-11-24T15:58:27Z")
> [@Nema98](#): > > To be fair 27 is not “\*\*years” \*\*away from 30, she’ll be 28 in May 2016, so two and a half **years** away. [Snipped and bolded by me] Not to be pedantic, but… ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achieving-peak-adele-are-we-there/738351/36 "2015-11-24T16:00:37Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > I guess I’m the only one who hates “Hello” and turns the radio channel to avoid it then? I find it trite and precious. I don’t care for her work myself - not “Hello”, not “Someone Like You”, not anything else I’ve heard from her. I understand her appeal, and I get that she is hugely successful. Good for her. She has a great voice and a distinctive style - I just don’t care for it. If “Peak Adele” means she has to appeal to **Shodan** then she better not hold her breath, but I don’t think that’s what “Peak Adele” means. There’s no accounting for taste, especially mine. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achieving-peak-adele-are-we-there/738351/37 "2015-11-24T18:15:38Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I’m with you, she’s the flavor of the month and will disappear eventually like all the others. I think I’ve heard a couple of songs by her, but so what? And I haven’t watched Saturday Night live in decades. I’m just so out of it, it’s not funny Seriously? Flavor of the month? Look, there are a couple of reasonable responses here. Nobody says you have to listen to Adele, or like Adele, or care about who Adele is, or have an opinion about Adele. But if you haven’t listened to music since 1977 why are you jumping into a thread about an singer from 2015 just to tell us that you don’t listen to that crap the kids are playing? Saying that Adele is the flavor of the month is simply ridiculous. You don’t have to care about music made after you graduated from college, that’s fine. But you admit you have no opinions about the music of 2015, so then why are you giving your opinions about the music of 2015? ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achieving-peak-adele-are-we-there/738351/38 "2015-11-24T19:43:08Z")
She is part of the American-Idolization of music. She is big now because Amy Winehouse died, and she is positioned as the survivor with a safer sound. It’s so bland, and the “husky” affectation gets old immediately. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achieving-peak-adele-are-we-there/738351/39 "2015-11-24T20:00:47Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > She is part of the American-Idolization of music. > > She is big now because Amy Winehouse died, and she is positioned as the survivor with a safer sound. > > It’s so bland, and the “husky” affectation gets old immediately. What does Adele have to do with American Idol? She started getting big in the US about the same time as Amy Winehouse and they share a similar sound in that they’re a departure from the usual pop vocalists but I think the similarities end there. Not sure about your “husky affectation” comment. That’s just the way she sings. Or have you heard other recordings where she sang differently? Not trying to sound like some fan girl who can’t stand criticism of her, I just don’t get where you’re coming from. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achieving-peak-adele-are-we-there/738351/40 "2015-11-24T20:13:40Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > I guess I’m the only one who hates “Hello” and turns the radio channel to avoid it then? I find it trite and precious. I thought “Someone Like You” was a thousand times better and I love “Rolling in the Deep” but if every song she sings is this tempo I’m not buying her album. You’re not the only one. It’s been nearly 5 years since “Someone Like You” and she’s still not over that fucking relationship with “Hello”… ugh. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achieving-peak-adele-are-we-there/738351.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/achieving-peak-adele-are-we-there/738351.md?page=3)