I’ve put it off for as long as I can, but now I have to join in with all the other music bloggers. I have to write about Adele.
Needless to say, Adele is back. After a hiatus of 3 years since he last single, “Skyfall”, and 5 years since her last album, ”21”, she’s back with a new album, “25”, and a tour. But, you already knew that.
Ever since it’s been released, it’s rare to find a country world wide, in which she hasn’t been topping the charts. And, admit it, you were one of the many thousands of people who just missed getting tickets to her shows, which have all sold out between 3 to 20 minutes after the pre-sale started.
Adele has receive much praise for the way she’s launched her comeback. Amazingly, the only thing that was leaked prior, was the release date of her album. But, Adele was mums the word about everything, until that moment she sang the first words of “Hello” during a commercial break.
Her marketing strategy has been keeping marketing professionals talking the way that Psy did when he took everyone by surprise with “Gangnam Style”. Not that the two have anything in common.
Psy broke the Internet. He showed the world you can take over YouTube first and then the charts. Adele used the Internet, breaking it too, but managed to direct everyone to a record store, or a digital music store, to buy the album. That’s a remarkable achievement that only Adele could do, but that’s exactly what’s got marketers wondering.
Even when it comes to her tour, she’s trying to keep control over the craziness around her, by threatening to cancel tickets that are sold on secondary websites. A strategy she’s also received critique for. Still, it’s interesting to see how she’s making the music business work for her, and mostly her (and her team of course)
As an artist myself, not at all in Adele’s league, I wouldn’t want to be in her shoes. She must have been under an enormous amount of pressure, during the writing and recording of the album. Maybe she could’ve recorded anything and people would’ve loved it, but it’s mainly the support she’s been getting from peers that has contributed to creating more hype.
That’s always a dangerous position to be in. Where you have people wanting to make you larger than life, there are also people who just don’t want to kick it with the mainstream. People, who in fact, think achieving commercial success is always a sell out of some sort.
I’m sure, it’s the same pressure that has buckled Rihanna with her new “Anti” album. Rumors of her redoing the album are still going on, days before it’s alleged release. Expectations are high. What if you don’t deliver. I, too, would probably be constantly tweaking.
So, with all this pressure on Adele, what are the chances of her taking another 5 year hiatus after the album and tour are done? Is this comeback a permanent one or will she continue doing on album every so many years? What are the chances we need her to do that after this Adele overload? There’s not a day that passes by without news about her. What do you think?
