Chances are, if you follow pop music to any extent, you have heard about ADÉLA.
ADÉLA initially was introduced to the public as a contestant in the reality show “Dream Academy,” the show that eventually led to the start of the girl group “KATSEYE.” While being the first one eliminated after receiving the lowest fan votes of the 20 contestants, you can arguably say ADÉLA is currently doing better than the group she was competing to be a part of.
As KATSEYE loses members seemingly by the month and is being critically panned for its music being either uninspired or pure brainrot, ADÉLA has been blowing up online with “Ain’t in LA.” The hit is basically inescapable on Instagram or TikTok. Her praise is not just from a casual fanbase, with critics calling “Ain’t in LA” an anthem and Variety naming it one of the best singles of the year so far.
All this brings us to “PRIMA,” the debut album by ADÉLA. Of the three singles released before “PRIMA” dropped in its entirety, I agree with the general fan consensus that her third single, “Ain’t in LA,” is the winner. “Ain’t in LA” hosts a catchy beat and themes reminiscent of massive hits from the early 2010s, with “We Can’t Stop” by Miley Cyrus, “Who Says” by Selena Gomez & The Scene and “Team” by Lorde coming to mind. The song reminds its audience that success is not confined to one location, and you can still be a world-famous star even when you “Ain’t in LA.”
The album’s lead single “KGB” works as a perfect introduction to ADÉLA as a person, being a fast tempo electro-pop track revealing her excessive training and studying to become a pop superstar. “KGB” refers to the Soviet Union’s secret police agency, a reference of itself to ADÉLA’s origin as an immigrant from Slovakia.
The second single and title of her current tour promoting “PRIMA,” “Red Bottoms” is what I personally believe to be one of the least interesting tracks on the album. While not inherently bad, it sounds very similar to a Tate McRae song, who is an artist I dislike and believe to be the embodiment of generic dance-pop music.
The album’s release came with a fourth single, “Nicole Kidman,” and a music video to go along with it. “Nicole Kidman” is one of the highlights of the album, having a fun early 2000s hip-hop beat and lyrics filled with fun lyrics referencing Kidman’s career. The music video also directly ties into this, with ADÉLA recreating famous Kidman films, such as “Moulin Rouge,” “Birth,” “Eyes Wide Shut” and “Babygirl,” as well as her famous AMC Theaters commercial that most Gen Z people think of when they hear Kidman, including myself.
A non-single highlight on the album includes “Boys,” which is a super strong dance-pop song featuring Lara Raj of KATSEYE. The song showcases no hard feelings between the two former Dream Academy participants despite the very different paths their careers took. “Fantasize” and “Starving Artist” are also great dance songs and probably make my top three on the album with “Nicole Kidman.”
The ballads on the album are its main misses. I already mentioned “Red Bottoms” being generic and uninspired, but of the three ballads, I would significantly prefer it over “Hitachi” and “Therapy.” While none of the songs are terrible and I can appreciate ADÉLA for her vulnerability on these tracks lyrically, so many great female singer-songwriters dropped heartbreaking albums this year. I cannot imagine listeners deciding they want to listen to these ADÉLA ballads over fantastic slower songs off “Lost Weekend” by Phoebe Bridgers, “Nothing’s About to Happen to Me” by Mitski and some of the slower songs from “You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love” by Olivia Rodrigo.
While certainly not perfect, I still believe it to be an incredibly strong debut album, and I am excited to see what ADÉLA has to offer in the future. I think I can say both for the fanbase and ADÉLA herself that we would much rather have her release works like this than be stuck singing “boba tea, Tesla, fried chicken, gnarly” to a bunch of 10-year-olds at a music festival.
Rating: 3.5/5