Today’s Jam comes to us from the new Adele album, 21, which is set to release in the US on February 22nd and has already hit No.1 in the first week of its release in the UK. This is only the second album from Adele, who won two Grammy awards for Best New Artist and for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2009 for her debut album, 19. The stellar album can be heard in it’s entirety on NPR’s First Listen. The first track, “Rolling In The Deep,” starts with an arresting chorus that is easy to get swept up into. It’s an excellent starting point for the affecting album, setting the tone for her tales of heartbreak and lost love. She says that both of her albums are about boys and although the subject matter is fairly normal, common even, the voice she tells them in is a powerful force that strikes an emotional chord right from the start. She recently told AOL’s “Sessions” that she “never, ever bothered to dream about being a professional singer” not thinking that her voice ranked among her heroes, Etta James and Aretha Franklin (to name a few). Though those are some lofty heights to reach, I’d say she’s got the potential to get there soon.
Adele – Rolling in the Deep:
(the new “official” video can be seen here)
-Melissa