# Why is behind the Adele phenomenon? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 7, 2012, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-behind-the-adele-phenomenon/612056 "2012-02-07T06:49:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-behind-the-adele-phenomenon/612056/1 "2012-02-07T06:49:14Z")
This week, Adele’s 21 [topped the charts for the 18th week](http://blogs.detroitnews.com/poptropolis/2012/02/01/charts-someone-other-than-adele-is-no-1-just-kidding/). It nearly doubled the sales of the No. 2 album and if she (as expected) sweeps the Grammies, could easily run 20-25 weeks at the top. Why? It’s not that it’s a bad album, but it’s that she violates nearly every rule chart toppers are supposed to have. Her voice isn’t heavily AutoTuned, she doesn’t do a flood of media stunts like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, and she doesn’t “brand” herself by doing TV competitions or releasing a perfume. Plus, although I think she’s gorgeous, she’s definately not the same size as all the other pop singers out there. So why has the album touched such a public nerve? And do you think her massive success will change the music industry’s thoughts about pop music? ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-behind-the-adele-phenomenon/612056/2 "2012-02-07T06:58:50Z")
She has a great voice, so that’s part of the reason. Also, she’s the new Amy Winehouse, but relatively healthy (she had some throat thing), and we loved us some Amy Winehouse. ---
**Author:** ![PrettyVacant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/49beb7/32.png) [@PrettyVacant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrettyVacant)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-behind-the-adele-phenomenon/612056/3 "2012-02-07T07:02:21Z")
Pretty straightforward image; pleasant young woman in a nice frock singing her own sing-a-long tunes about her ex-boyfriend. There’s a space for that on the mp3 player of most 14-30-year females. ---
**Author:** ![PrettyVacant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/49beb7/32.png) [@PrettyVacant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrettyVacant)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-behind-the-adele-phenomenon/612056/4 "2012-02-07T07:05:49Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > She has a great voice, so that’s part of the reason. Also, she’s the new Amy Winehouse, but relatively healthy (she had some throat thing), and we loved us some Amy Winehouse. Possibly the dumbest thing to be posted on the internet anywhere today. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-behind-the-adele-phenomenon/612056/5 "2012-02-07T07:08:31Z")
> [@PrettyVacant](#): > > Possibly the dumbest thing to be posted on the internet anywhere today. ??? Care to expand on this statement? ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-behind-the-adele-phenomenon/612056/6 "2012-02-07T07:18:25Z")
> [@PrettyVacant](#): > > Possibly the dumbest thing to be posted on the internet anywhere today. Well, that’s a shitty thing to say to someone. And it says a lot more about you than it does about me. ---
**Author:** ![PrettyVacant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/49beb7/32.png) [@PrettyVacant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrettyVacant)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-behind-the-adele-phenomenon/612056/7 "2012-02-07T07:18:39Z")
If you understand this, you understand the difference: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_OFMkCeP6ok/maxresdefault.jpg "Tony Bennett, Amy Winehouse - Body and Soul (from Duets II: The Great Performances)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OFMkCeP6ok) ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-behind-the-adele-phenomenon/612056/8 "2012-02-07T07:21:07Z")
Are you drunk? I don’t know if you’re trying to say that AW is way better than Adele- that’s not in question here. I’m a huge Amy fan. Adele is what we still have. Still, quite an aggressive way you have of trying to make a point. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-behind-the-adele-phenomenon/612056/9 "2012-02-07T07:31:11Z")
I’m with you Alice, I have no idea what the fuck PV is on about. ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-behind-the-adele-phenomenon/612056/10 "2012-02-07T07:33:57Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > Her voice isn’t heavily AutoTuned, she doesn’t do a flood of media stunts like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, and she doesn’t “brand” herself by doing TV competitions or releasing a perfume. Plus, although I think she’s gorgeous, she’s definately not the same size as all the other pop singers out there. So why has the album touched such a public nerve? And do you think her massive success will change the music industry’s thoughts about pop music? I think you’ve already hit on it. She’s fresh in a sea of homogeneity and recalls music of earlier eras, so she has wide appeal. Hopefully it’ll spark a shift, not because copycat acts are good but because present styles are stale. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-behind-the-adele-phenomenon/612056/11 "2012-02-07T07:58:12Z")
I’m a 33 year old heterosexual male. I don’t listen to commercial music radio if I have a choice. I couldn’t tell you a Ke$ha or Lady Gaga song(except “Poker Face”), or whatever is popular these days. My favorite albums of 2011 were _David Comes to Life_ by Fucked Up and Middle Brother’s self-titled. Even someone like me digs Adele. She is just that damned good. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-behind-the-adele-phenomenon/612056/12 "2012-02-07T08:28:08Z")
I will just reiterate that she is a damn good singer and she’s likeable. No, she’s not a drop dead gorgeous wafer thin model type but I think she is beautiful and classy. Every time I have seen her she is dressed, coifed and made up nicely. When I have seen her on talk shows she comes across as friendly and bright and not full of herself. She does evoke music and singers or a bygone era but she also has a modern sound. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-behind-the-adele-phenomenon/612056/13 "2012-02-07T08:28:51Z")
> [@PrettyVacant](#): > > pleasant young woman The audio video department I work next to had to turn off one of her live performances because she was cursing so much every time she spoke between songs. Her singing is pleasant but she’s got a potty mouth when she talks. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8797f3/32.png) [@The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Universe_Lashes_Out)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-behind-the-adele-phenomenon/612056/14 "2012-02-07T08:31:00Z")
I actively avoid pop music, but “Rumor Has It” is a damn good song. If she can get someone like me interested, that might help explain how she’s managed to be so popular for so long. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-behind-the-adele-phenomenon/612056/15 "2012-02-07T08:43:43Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > The audio video department I work next to had to turn off one of her live performances because she was cursing so much every time she spoke between songs. Her singing is pleasant but she’s got a potty mouth when she talks. In the paradigm from which she comes, having a potty mouth doesn’t exclude niceness. ---
**Author:** ![PrettyVacant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/49beb7/32.png) [@PrettyVacant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrettyVacant)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-behind-the-adele-phenomenon/612056/16 "2012-02-07T09:23:04Z")
Indeed, it really doesn’t. > [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > Are you drunk? > > I don’t know if you’re trying to say that AW is way better than Adele- that’s not in question here. I’m a huge Amy fan. Adele is what we still have. Still, quite an aggressive way you have of trying to make a point. It was too aggessive, I’m sorry. But I’m not sure how to equate the above statement with “she’s the new Amy Winehouse”. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-behind-the-adele-phenomenon/612056/17 "2012-02-07T11:45:21Z")
Amy Winehouse brought back blue-eyed soul, and Adele is definitely carrying that torch. So of course, the comparison is apt. And she’s doing it whole lot better too, IMHO. I’m jumping on the AW bus late, and while I think the child was talented, she was also poofed up with intentional persona. Don’t particularly care for that or the drama. I didn’t even know who Adele was a few months ago. I don’t listen to pop radio and she wasn’t on my Pandora radio, so it was like she didn’t exist to me. But I was driving around in Texas one afternoon, listening to an independent radio station. They kept playing things songs that were jammin’, and it turns out it was Adele. Usually I have to listen to songs a few times before I like them, but not that time. There’s another Adele-esque singer that I like. Duffy. I believe she’s also from the UK. If Adele spurs more copy-cats, I don’t care. Neo-soul welcomes all. (I heard a fantastic remix of “Rolling in Deep” and Aretha’s “Respect”. I wish I could find a copy of it. That’s the kind of thing I need to get through the day.) ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-behind-the-adele-phenomenon/612056/18 "2012-02-07T11:55:31Z")
I tried jumping on the Adele bandwagon after so many people recommended I give her a listen, and while I’m glad I did, I’m not completely sold. She’s got an incredible voice, and I like some of the songs on her “21” album, but a lot of them don’t work for me. “Rumor Has It” is probably my least favorite of the whole thing - why add the annoying backup singers? Just my opinion, of course. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-behind-the-adele-phenomenon/612056/19 "2012-02-07T12:45:09Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > In the paradigm from which she comes, having a potty mouth doesn’t exclude niceness. Indeed, and part of the reason I like her is that she’s a normal girl who behaves like the girl from Tottenham that she is and doesn’t try to behave how her record company would probably like her to. She isn’t manufactured (yes, I know she went to the [Brit School,](http://www.brit.croydon.sch.uk/page/default.asp?title=Home&pid=1) but I regard that as being trained, not manufactured by record execs). ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-behind-the-adele-phenomenon/612056/20 "2012-02-07T13:31:49Z")
I’ve listened to her and she sounds like a blues singer of the 60s (which I like). I think the novelty of it is a big plus for her – few other singers work in this genre,\* so it sounds fresh and new. She’s also a good singer who does some good songs and is a contrast to other female pop singers. \*Though I have heard Lady Gaga doing some blues-based numbers. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-behind-the-adele-phenomenon/612056.md?page=2)