Action Items

Album Production and Release

• Adele: Mentioned that she is excited to put her new album out.
• Adele: Stated she is ready to go on tour as soon as possible, dependent on COVID-19.
  • Adele: Advised fans to keep wearing masks and not spread the Delta variant.

Childhood and Early Career

• Adele: Discussed realizing she had a great voice after getting signed.
• Adele: Mentioned her mom is a fan of music but not necessarily musical herself.
• Adele: Recalled touring small London pubs and her favorite venue being Madam JoJo’s.
• Adele: Confirmed she remembers the Tottenham Hotspur chant.
• Adele: Clarified that her friend Linden, not herself, put music on MySpace.
• Adele: Listed her MySpace top eight friends: Jack Piñate, Jamie T, Kid Harpoon, Laura Marling, Lily Allen, Scroobius Pip, and The Maccabees.
• Adele: Considered her surname “Adkins” too boring for a stage name.

Living in Los Angeles

• Adele: Described her home as cozy and designed to feel like the English countryside.
• Adele: Found that her sarcastic humor doesn’t travel well in America.
• Adele: Noted the similarity between London and Los Angeles in their tea and coffee culture.
• Adele: Identified differences in American and British language (e.g., coriander vs. cilantro, movie theaters vs. cinemas, candy vs. sweets).
• Adele: Shared that her typical grocery run includes healthy items for vegetable soup but also sugary cereal, string cheese, and milkshakes for her son.
• Adele: Misses Marks & Spencer’s more than Tesco or Sainsbury’s.

First Album (19)

• Adele: Found the experience of professionally recording music enjoyable.
• Adele: Felt most nervous during her first TV appearance in front of Sir Paul McCartney.
  • Adele: Mentioned Sir Paul McCartney sang “Hey Jude” at the end of her first singing performance on TV.

Saturday Night Live (SNL) Performance

• Adele: Described performing live on SNL as scary due to live TV in America and the increased viewership from Sarah Palin’s presence.

Stardom and Public Recognition

• Adele: Developed a strategy of wearing bigger hair, makeup, and dresses to manage public recognition since the release of “21.”

Books and Reading Habits

• Adele: Recommended “Minari” as the best movie she’s watched recently.
• Adele: Believes people used to learn a lot about a person from their books, but now people primarily use Kindles or read on their phones.

Second Album (21)

• Adele: Described her songwriting diaries from this period as drunk, chaotic, distressed, and very sad.
• Adele: Admitted that her diaries from the “21” era are hidden in a handbag in her London wardrobe room, and she doesn’t know which one.

Challenging Recordings

• Adele: Identified “Don’t You Remember” as the recording that challenged her the most, due to its tender beginning and her wailing outro.

Throat Surgery

• Adele: Received encouraging advice from John Mayer to stay silent and be patient after her throat surgery.
• Adele: Noted John Mayer reassured her that singers’ throat injuries are common.
• Adele: Described her voice pre-surgery as heading towards a Tom Waits sound and becoming very husky.
• Adele: Found her voice post-surgery to be brand new, clean, and pure.
• Adele: Would not release an alternate version of “21” as she would have already done so if she wanted to.

Fashion

• Adele: Prefers heels over slides.
• Adele: Prefers to be barefoot on stage to avoid falling.
• Adele: Considers her Armani dress from the 2012 Grammys (while pregnant) her most iconic style moment.
• Adele: Identifies Cate Blanchett as her fashion icon.
• Adele: Never leaves the house without wearing dear wings.
• Adele: Considers Pat McGrath her favorite eyeliner brand.
• Adele: Advised to prioritize comfort over style.

Third Album (25)

• Adele: Stated making “25” was the hardest thing she has ever done.
• Adele: Found “Remedy” to be the easiest song to write on “25” because it’s about her son.
• Adele: Learned about the importance of hooks from producer Max Martin.
• Adele: Highlighted the difference in working on albums:
  • 19: Had to write an album as she only had four songs after signing.
  • 21: Couldn’t stop writing, with songs pouring out of her.
  • 25: Lacked writing time due to having a newborn baby.

Live Performances

• Adele: Found performing at ANZ Stadium in Sydney (with approximately 100,000 people) intimidating.
• Adele: Considers London her favorite city to play in.
• Adele: Has not found any cures for stage fright.
• Adele: Shared the strangest thing seen at a show: a middle-aged woman drinking too much, passing out, and urinating herself while being carried out.
• Adele: Cries while singing several of her new songs.

Advice to Younger Self and Aspiring Musicians

• Adele: Advised her 19-year-old self that her love life would get a lot worse.
• Adele: Shared the best advice she ever received: “keep your heart safe and your music dangerous.”

Motherhood and Songwriting

• Adele: Becoming a mom has led to less time for songwriting.
• Adele: Her mom’s best parenting advice was to chill out and stop being so regimented with routine.
• Adele: Her happiest memory with her mom was when her mom moved back in with her at 21 and helped her through a difficult time.
• Adele: Her mom does not act as a roommate on tour, but still comes to shows and asserts authority.

Grenfell Tower Fire Support

• Adele: Felt compelled to support victims of the Grenfell Tower fire as it was near her London home and a significant event that “overtook the UK.”
• Adele: Wanted to be a safe and consistent person for the victims.

Friend Descriptions and Impressions

• Adele: Believes her friends would describe her as loyal.
• Adele: Demonstrated a “Hoo-ha” impression from Al Pacino’s role in “Scarface.”

Voice Modulation App

• Adele: Tried out different voice filters on an app, including helium, chipmunk, tunnel reverb, and a “drunk” voice.

Favorite Created Songs

• Adele: Ranked her favorite songs, mixing her own and fan favorites:
  1. “Someone Like You”
  2. A new song from her upcoming album.
  3. “When We Were Young”

Beyoncé’s Albums

• Adele: Ranked her favorite Beyoncé albums:
  1. “Sasha Fierce”
  2. “Lemonade”
  3. “B’Day”

Grammy Incident

• Adele: Found breaking her Grammy in half for Beyoncé easier than expected, due to discomfort and nervousness.

David Attenborough and Music Video

• Adele: Found watching David Attenborough narrate her “Hello” music video surreal and incredible.
• Adele: Believes David Attenborough may not have known he was doing it live and simply read his script.
• Adele: Highlighted David Attenborough’s significance in the UK and as her mom’s hero.

Internet Rumors

• Adele: Rarely reads what people write about her online.
• Adele: Considers rumors about her love life the most ridiculous she’s heard.

Authenticity in Career

• Adele: Has felt very lucky to always be herself in her career.

Possessions

• Adele: Revealed Celine Dion’s framed gum is her proudest possession.
  • James Corden: The gum was given to Adele by James Corden, who obtained it from Celine Dion during Carpool Karaoke.

Next Album Exploration

• Adele: If “25” closed a trilogy, she would explore something new and personal in her next album.
• Adele: Believes that “nothing ever really ends.”
• Adele: Stated her next album is her most personal one yet.
• Adele: Did not reveal the name of her new album during the interview.

Skyfall Theme Recording

• Adele: Recorded the “Skyfall” theme while heavily pregnant, resulting in a lower voice.
• Adele: Noted her baby kicked during high notes while recording “Skyfall.”

Next James Bond Actor

• Adele: Would bet on Jonathan Majors as the next James Bond, but acknowledges he is American.
• Adele: Also mentioned Idris Elba as a potential choice.

Most Sung Song

• Adele: Her most sung song (not her own) is “My Heart Will Go On.”

Dream Duet Partner and Cover Artist

• Adele: Would love for Barbra Streisand to cover one of her songs.
• Adele: Would call a collaboration with Nicki Minaj “Mum Lee.”

Favorite London Spots

• Adele: Kai’s is her favorite restaurant in London.
• Adele: The Lamb & Flag is her favorite pub of all time.

UK Stereotypes

• Adele: Confirmed the stereotype that it always rains in the UK is true.
• Adele: Stated the stereotype that everyone has met the Queen is false.

Television Binging

• Adele: Is currently binge-watching “Ted Lasso” and finds it great and very British.

Beehive Hair

• Adele: Natural hair beehives can get a bit smelly.

False Eyelashes

• Adele: Her best tip for applying false eyelashes (asking for a friend) is to get someone else to do it.

Favorite Fashion Decade

• Adele: Her favorite fashion decade is the 60s.
• Adele: Recommends everyone have a cozy jumper (sweater) in their wardrobe.

Biggest Risk

• Adele: Leaving her marriage was the biggest risk she has ever taken.

Alternative Career Paths

• Adele: If not a musical artist, she would likely still be doing small gigs on her guitar or would have been an English teacher.

Favorite Lyrics and Lyricists

• Adele: Her favorite lyrics are on her new album.
• Adele: Considers Leonard Cohen her favorite lyricist.

Favorite Composer and Duet Partner

• Adele: Han Zimmer is her favorite composer.
• Adele: Chris Stapleton is her dream duet partner.

Most Listened to Album (2020s)

• Adele: Listened to “Show Some Emotion” by Joan Armatrading for comfort, as it reminds her of home and her mum.

Interview Conclusion

• Adele: Participated in 95 questions.
• Adele: Took the TV form.
• Adele: Expected to see the interviewer again in seven years.