What went wrong with Adele?

[Dr Fudge 8,635]

1 hour ago, AnnaNicoleSmith said:

Lack of melodies in the new album, not the same

Really it’s this. Just compared to her last albums, I thought the melodies got lost on 30. I’ve always liked her and her music, but out of all her albums I’ve streamed 30 the least.

[LOVE JUNKIE 3,299]

I think there were a lot of factors. She had back-to-back hits on 21 ("Rolling In The Deep", "Someone Like You", "Set Fire To The Rain") and then didn't release another album for four years. 21 was also a lot of peoples first Adele album so it was like a huge debut and then this insane amount of anticipation.

"Hello" was that big comeback moment and the track was good enough to live up to the anticipation (went multi-platinum, video hit 1B views in record time, etc.) But then the follow-up singles were no where near the level of the singles off of 21. The singles from 21 have a combined 19 platinum certifications whereas the singles from 25 only have 9 and 7 of those are from "Hello". So imo that's where she started to lose momentum.

If 25 had the same back-to-back hits as 21 I think the anticipation for 30 would have been bigger. Then you take into consideration that "Easy On Me" pales in comparison to "Hello" and "Rolling In The Deep" as lead singles and everything just sort of falls apart right there. It also doesn't help that the whole anticipation + big comeback strategy was already used for 25 so it lost its charm a bit.

tl;dr lost momentum between 21 and 25 + lackluster lead single + repetitive marketing strategy = flop era

Her albums will still sell well and she'll still sell out shows, but I think she needs to switch things up a bit if she wants to reinvigorate her career and bring in younger listeners.

[CannaeDrive 3,412]

From my POV (I don't use Adele) this album and "era", as much as it is a commercial success, feel like a non-event comparatively to her former releases. That Vegas mess also didn't help.

[LadyEnigma 1,291]

She didn't release Wild Wild West as a single

 

[FFXIV WhiteMage 6,007]

I dunno, she still killing it commercially wise. But I do agree that she tends to stay in the same genre but it seems to work on her. 

[Ivannn 1,135]

Her music did not evolve at all, same songs all over again… and personally  I find her very annoying in interviews 

[Yaaaas Gaga 956]

I think the album was just less commercial than her previous releases, and that may well have been intentional. One of the downsides to being a successful artist is that they are heavily criticised if they release a song or album that isn’t as radio friendly as what the general public are used to. We know this feeling all too well when Gaga released ARTPOP. She was heavily scrutinised and the media wouldn’t stop comparing her music to the more radio friendly releases that Katy Perry was putting out at the time. Sometimes artists want to challenge themselves creatively, and I feel Adele has done this more on 30 than any of her other albums. The album is a little more niche and not as catered to the masses, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad album. It’s just something a little different than we’re used to. Personally, I think 30 is a great album and I enjoy the maturer, more creative avenues she has explored this album.

[Bat 6,162]

She feels less authentic than before, living in LA changed her, I can’t bare to look at her interviews with the same programmed answers over and over again.

[2School4Cool 6,453]

Every time an artist doesn’t outperform their previous album(s) it doesn’t mean something “went wrong,” plus this album has been a massive success, most artists work their whole career and never reach the level of success Adele is still currently at. 

[thisguyN 616]

Asking this question implies that she didn’t deliver, when in fact , she did. Yes, it wasn’t astronomical but I mean, check the numbers. 
If the question is why her success wasn’t astronomical this time - then take a listen to the album from start to end. It was designed as a coherent body of adult music. Except for 2-3 songs none were ever created to be a ‘banger’ or commercial hit. Previous albums were full of single material, while this one was more about storytelling.

while I didn’t enjoy it as much as 25, I definitely respected the direction she took. Good for her.

she’s in a point in her career that she doesn’t really need to cater to commercial success. And she knows it.

 

[salty like sodium 2,045]

streaming changed the industry and it outgrew her.

[NCgaga 4,328]

Nothing “went wrong”. This album Is different. She said she had to put out this album on a personal and artistic level- she wanted people to What she went through with divorce. The album is a story about her divorce that does not deviate from that theme. Her last albums, especially 25 had many writers and producers, geared toward making hits. This album, she chose to work with just a handful of people to keep everything simple and on theme to the story of her divorce. She also wrote this album in less than a year, and her other albums took years. The fact she was able to pull out a huge hit with “Easy On Me” with such a personal album says a lot about her brand. 

[HorusRa2 5,005]

I just want to say nothing went wrong and I can appreciate that not everyone has the same taste, but this album came out at the right time for me personally. It's a very special album to me and It makes me a bit sad so many of you were underwhelmed by it. 

[Fanta 5,019]

I think we're just not used to artists not being in our face as much with the rise of Gen Z's icons, who know how to utilize social media platforms to the fullest extent. Adele is not that girl, and even though she's still breaking records it's not the same as someone like Taylor who'd spice if up with yet another controversy to keep the chatter steady.

Gaga is another example, she's following Adele's playbook and even though she technically did provide us with content there is much more left to be desired. It's a pretty outdated method to engage your following, but if she's selling as much as she is I doubt she cares.

[calpky 353]

I think Oh My God should have been the lead single.