ADELE BLUE ADKINS Music Presentation November 2013

BIOGRAPHY

• Born May 5th, 1988 in London, England• Began showing interest in music at age 3• Was raised mainly by her mother, Penny, as

her father was an alcoholic and was absent during most of her childhood

BIOGRAPHY • Attended BRIT school for Performing Arts • While in attendance she put together a demo of 3 songs for a class assignment

which she later posted on her MySpace page• Executives at XL Recordings heard her demos, contacted her, and in November

of 2006 signed Adele to a record deal

BRIT school for Performing Arts

BIOGRAPHY

• In January of 2008 Adele released her first Album, titled 19, in Europe

• Her album is titled 19 as that is how old she was when she started to record music for it

• Most popular songs from the album are Hometown Glory and Chasing Pavements

• 2009 Adele took home “Best New Artist” at the Grammys

• BBC names Adele the “Sound of 2008”

BIOGRAPHY

• Adele’s second Album, 21, was released in January of 2011

• Within the first week 352,000 copies were sold

• At the Grammy awards show Adele won 6 different times

• Awards won included Album of the Year and Best Solo Performance

BIOGRAPHY

• Has a son named Angelo who was born October of 2012

• It is rumored that Adele will release her next album in mid-2014

COMPOSITION HISTORY – HOMETOWN GLORY

• Adele’s first song, Hometown Glory, was first introduced in 2007

• In October of 2007 Adele said this about Hometown Glory after her mother tried to persuade her to leave London: “I played it to her as a protest song and said this is why I'm staying”

• Song was featured on the season finale of Grey’s Anatomy in 2008 which helped to attract the audience in the U.S.

• In 2009 this song helped Adele to win “Best New Artist” at the Grammys

COMPOSITION HISTORY – SOMEONE LIKE YOU

• Adele wrote the song Someone like you with Dan Wilson

• Along with being the producer and writer of her own music Adele led in vocals, being the composer, and the designing of production

• This song was loved by many as it didn't include any “synthesizers, auto-tune, or any kind of production sheen” (songfacts.com)

COMPOSITION HISTORY – SOMEONE LIKE YOU

• This song was written from the bottom of her heart

• It is described that when recording the song she would constantly find herself on her knees and having to pick herself up from not being too upset

• Adele said the following to Q magazine about the song Someone Like You: it's about my last relationship, which was my first sort of life-defining one. He was a little older than me and he'd had a lot more experiences... No one did anything wrong; we just grew out of each other. But it was so intense”.

COMPOSITION HISTORY – SOMEONE LIKE YOU

• Much success was experienced because of this song

• Song was on the Billboard Hot 100 which was the first piano-and-vocal only ballad to top the list since the charts started in 1958

• Multiple Grammy awards were won including Best Pop Solo Performance

COMPOSITION HISTORY – ROLLING IN THE DEEP

• This song was written within 3 hours the day after she broke up with her boyfriend

• When she arrived at the studio to record the song she wanted to do a lovelorn ballard but her produce, Paul Epworth, persuaded her to write a “more feisty song”

COMPOSITION HISTORY – ROLLING IN THE DEEP

• This song helped Adele to break the record for the most weeks for a woman to be at the top of Billboards album chart

• Sold over 730,000 copies in it’s 21st week at number one

• Contributed to six Grammy award wins

LISTENING GUIDE – HOMETOWN GLORY

Elapsed Time Form Event Description

0:00 Introduction Piano Only. 12 bar introduction is done. Tempo during this portion of the song is slow.

1:06 Verse 1 The tempo includes slow vocals and fast piano. First 3 lines of the song are a heavier melancholy tope. Repeating of chords in 1/8 on the piano is done.

1:40 Chorus Still only uses vocals and piano. Rhythm stays with the 4/4 timing.Crescendo with each line. Dynamics during the last 4 lines of the song is in a transition from mezzo piano to mezzo forte.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW9Fzwuf43c

LISTENING GUIDE – HOMETOWN GLORYElapsed Time

Form Event Description

2:11 Verse 2 Dynamics are in mezzo piano.

2:45 Bridge Change in melody. Dynamics are continuing in mezzo piano. Rhythm stays the same with the 4/4 timing.

3:14 Improvisation Improvisational singing is done. During this part I was able to hear a crescendo, decrescendo, and then another crescendo.

4:18 Closing Dynamics are pianissimo and piano is used to close with no vocals.

LISTENING GUIDE – SOMEONE LIKE YOU

Elapsed Time

Form Event Description

0:00 Introduction Introduction starts with a rhythm of 4/4 timing. Mood is melancholy and is also bluesy. Tempo is slow.

0:13 Verse 1 Timbre is piano with vocals. Tempo stays slow with moderations throughout the first verse. The main melody is introduced.

0:42 Pre Chorus Tempo is slightly faster and this portion of the song is also slightly louder.

1:13 Chrous Chorus is much louder in terms of the piano and vocals. Lyrics here have a brassy tone to them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLQl3WQQoQ0

LISTENING GUIDE – SOMEONE LIKE YOUElapsed Time

Form Event Description

1:51 Verse 2 This verse is quieter and can be expressed as a piano dynamic. Tone feels thicker during the lyrics “bound by the surprise of our glory days”.

3:05 Bridge Dynamics jump to forte. The only harmony in the song is found is this part. The harmony starts between 2 voices.

4:29 Closing There are no vocals but only a piano that fades out. The general texture of the song is piano and single voice.

LISTENING GUIDE – ROLLING IN THE DEEP

Elapsed Time

Form Event Description

0:00 Introduction Rhythm is in 4/4 time. Mood is soulful blues. Tempo is medium throughout the song. Texture is polyphonic. Introduction is using 2 bars with repeating chords.

0:05 Verse 1 Dynamics are mezzo forte. Timbre is guitar and vocals.

0:42 Pre Chorus Dynamics are not forte. Timbre includes vocals, drums, and guitar but adds in a tambourine, piano, and cymbals.

0:59 Chorus Dynamics increase to fortissimo. The cymbals crash to add in dramatics. Backup singers are introduced.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYEDA3JcQqw

LISTENING GUIDE – ROLLING IN THE DEEP Elapsed Time Form Event Description

1:18 Verse 2 Dynamics slow down to mezzo forte. Backup singers are not included in the second verse. There is clapping that continues to accentuate the beat.

2:31 Verse 3 Timbre includes vocals, guitar, clapping, and backup singers.

2:50 Bridge The bridge gets quieter and can be explained as having dynamics of mezzo piano.

3:39 Coda or Closing Timbre is just vocals, the clapping, and a piano.

REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY "Adele." 2013. The Biography Channel website. 03 September 2013< http://www.biography.com/people/adele-20694679>.

  “Adele – 19 Album Lyrics.” LetsSingIt. 03 September 2013 <http://artists.letssingit.com/adele-album-19-f3wjnk>.

  Donnelly, Matt. “Meet Adele's Adorable Son Angelo.” Yahoo! omg! 27 June 2013. 03 September 2013. <http://omg.yahoo.com/blogs/celeb-news/meet-adele-adorable-son-angelo-photo-211500284.html>.

  Lansky, Sam. “Adele Is Recording Her New Album, Due Out In “Mid-2014”. “Music News Reviews and Gossip on Idolatorcom RSS. 26 April 2013. 03 September 2013. <http://idolator.com/7454989/adele-is-recording-her-new-album-due-out-in-mid-2014>.

  "Hometown Glory.” Songfacts. 03 September 2013 <http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=9776>.   "Someone Like You.” Songfacts. 03 September 2013 <http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=21908>.   "Rolling In The Deep.” Songfacts. 03 September 2013 <http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=21312>.