Adele - 25

[GirlsAloudFan]

Uh yeah, I think she would have easily. Do you honestly think that her looks sell more albums than her voice?

This.

Also, along with the voice, the album was propelled by two MASSIVE and inescapable hit singles.

Actually, hit is an understatement. "Rolling In The Deep" and "Someone Like You" were two of the biggest radio songs of the last quarter century. Why? Because they're great and memorable songs, with great vocal performances.

If any artist had "Rolling In The Deep" and "Someone Like You" on their album they would have sold a shit ton. It's about the songwriting and the performance. Not her fucking looks.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Unfortunately there aren't any Rolling In The Deep or Someone Like Yous on this album.

Still sold a shit ton though, and still has absolutely nothing to do with what she looks like. It may, however, have something to do with her cockney speaking voice.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

And Adele herself actually agrees with me along with the writer of this perfectly timed article that I randomly ran across on Vulture. Maybe next time you can all put away the PC-guns that seem to run rampant across the internet and engage in a discussion rather than simply try to knock somebody down because they said something that could be considered offensive if construed the wrong way.

http://www.vulture.com/2015/11/adele-my-fat-flawless-heroine.html

“Sometimes I'm curious to know if I would have been as successful if I wasn't plus-size,” Adele recently wondered to Rolling Stone. “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.”

 

[Vlad n U 2]

PC PC PC [relentless hollering and hooting]

 

[BigMacPhisto]

Basically. You're U2 fans as well...you likely see the good in people...your politics are likely leftist or at least rational, etc. All I tried to do was make the argument that Adele's unprecedented popularity could be in part because a large swathe of people identify with her on a personal level beyond the music (something the above article goes into, in fact) and people start acting like I was involved in some sort of fat-shaming crusade or act that it's impossible for her to have earned a single album sale for that reason.

I actually had a discussion on this sort of thing with my girlfriend a few nights back about how it's just so unproductive when people sit there on Twitter just waiting to attack someone for something that can possibly be considered racist or sexist or whatever else. It's similar to Jerry Seinfeld's comments months back about how you can't even perform comedy on a college campus nowadays because people are just looking for something to be "offended" by or how I've read articles in many liberal publications such as The Nation bemoaning how students are now wanting "safe zones" on campuses and don't even want to come across anything they can consider could be offensive during their education. It's like some weird holier than thou race-to-the-bottom where millions secretly delight in trying to proclaim themselves as being a good person by subverting any words they can in order for them to go "A-ha! That is wrong!"

I do regret the "Rolling In The Deep" nonsense I posted on here, something I'd done years back even on Interference, in fact, without an uproar or whatever as it undermined a discussion I tried to have later on in this thread. I still think the reaction I got around here would have been the same without making a joke beforehand about the song that was inspired by people identifying with her.

 

[cobl04]

I agreed with you to an extent, I don't doubt that some of her success is due to her being "overweight". But they way you brought it up was a bit crass or hugely speculative. Like "how could she possibly sell that many albums if she wasn't overweight" or "the diet might hurt her sales".

 

[BVS]

Talking about how being relatable helped in her success vs. being overweight was a large part of her success because other overweight women had music to buy, making "fatty" jokes, and comparing her to the "grotesque" Boyle

Is

Having a logical discussion vs. being an ass


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[MrPryck2U]

Talking about how being relatable helped in her success vs. being overweight was a large part of her success because other overweight women had music to buy, making "fatty" jokes, and comparing her to the "grotesque" Boyle

Is

Having a logical discussion vs. being an ass

Bingo!

 

[Mack_Again]

Talking about how being relatable helped in her success vs. being overweight was a large part of her success because other overweight women had music to buy, making "fatty" jokes, and comparing her to the "grotesque" Boyle

Is

Having a logical discussion vs. being an ass


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

I hugely approve of you.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

 

[U2girl]

...and she is smashing records.

Biggest First Week EVER! Adele Absolutely Shatters Sales Records As 25 Flies Off The Shelves! | PerezHilton.com

 

[Batfink27]

Really quite crazy when this sort of album can smash records. She's a great singer and well done to her but the album is pretty bland. It's a sad state of affairs when music and bland as this can sell millions. Oh for the days when music like the Sex Pistols, U2, Bowie, The Clash etc were selling millions. We live in such a boring, manufactured musical era.

 

[BVS]

...and she is smashing records.

Biggest First Week EVER! Adele Absolutely Shatters Sales Records As 25 Flies Off The Shelves! | PerezHilton.com

This can't be, she's lost weight


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[Mack_Again]

i have only heard the intro of Hello so i will form no opinion about this album thingy

 

[iron yuppie]

Obviously I heard Rolling in the Deep everywhere the year it came out, but I had no idea she had gotten as popular as she is now. Maybe my head just has been in the sand.

 

[david]

That's pretty cool. It's neat to see an artist who doesn't suck reach this milestone.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[prbiker15]

Agreed. 3.4 million copies is an incredible milestone in this day and age.

 

[joyfulgirl]

I'm sure the women of the world are just so relieved that there's a guy out there willing to mansplain their music purchasing motives for them.

 

[corianderstem]

I mean, I only buy female artists' CDs if they have an average-woman body type.

 

[LemonMelon]

I make rational and informed purchasing choices because I am a man.

 

[BoMac]

I read from a reliable source once that U2 sold more albums when Bono had long hair.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using U2 Interference mobile app

 

[corianderstem]

I only buy albums with pink colors on the cover. How else am I supposed to know if the content is female-appropriate or not?

I'm still waiting for my copy of Songs of Innocence ... For Her!

 

[Mack_Again]

I mean, I only buy female artists' CDs if they have an average-woman body type.

is that why Kim Gordon is worshipped by bunch of people?

 

[Batfink27]

I read from a reliable source once that U2 sold more albums when Bono had long hair.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using U2 Interference mobile app

U2 sold more albums when Bono was slim!

 

[MrPryck2U]

Agreed. 3.4 million copies is an incredible milestone in this day and age.

That's a great number in ANY day and age.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

Concerning "blandness" and album sales, it was noted in a few articles on her record that her buyers tend to skew older (practically the only people that still purchase music in the first place) and most of her album sales were CDs, so that would explain a lot...the year '21' came out, it actually gave the entire industry a huge boost as so many people purchased the album in brick-and-mortar stores while also picking up other titles in that same trip, thus another ten million or so CDs may have been sold simply because Adele got people into the stores.

 

[MrPryck2U]

So, older folks prefer buying CD's with "blandness" and might purchase more CD's while inside those buildings called stores? The horror!

 

[b_digg]

Bland? U2 would have killed to have this album and its associated reception.....


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[LemonMelon]

Yeah, bland.

"A lot of people bought it" doesn't exactly dissuade me from thinking that either. Every band wants to sell as many records as Adele did, but thankfully most great bands make records that are more interesting than 25. Even as somebody that enjoyed 21's singles, I think 25 is way too conservative.

Also, I don't think BigMac is saying anything negative about Adele's effect on the music industry. I think we can all agree it's a good thing that musicians are selling records. I'm glad that Adele is around, I just wish she would use her platform as an excuse to stretch out artistically. Like, at all.

 

[MrPryck2U]

I've listened to the album several times and I wouldn't use the word "bland" to describe it. Maybe "simple". Maybe "understated". Probably a little conservative. She's selling records which is great considering there are numerous artists who can only sell singles and not entire albums. Actually, the only thing I was disappointed with was that the 25 CD booklet doesn't contain the lyrics. Just a lot of pictures of Adele.

I hope by the next album she expands things a little. Not just a piano and her singing with the band just in the background. Yes, her voice should be out front, but the other instruments should be a little more prominent. She said she doesn't want to be a pop star, so perhaps she can juice things up with a more rock type sound. Plus, get some pictures of the people who helped make the album.