Everything is happening so fast that I haven't really had the chance to absorb anything. I take one day at a time, really. I think it'd be a bit silly if I get carried away because of everything that's happened. I'm enjoying it. Sometimes it's a bit difficult, but I wouldn't want to be doing anything else at all.
A lot of singers feel that they need to have a glamorous look when they make their American debut. You, on the other hand, have a down-to-earth vibe, which resists subscription to pre-defined molds. What industrial pressures have you faced along the way?
I didn't make music to become a sex symbol. I make music to inspire people and make a good record and be part of the music industry. To me, the image isn't part of music. Music is in your ears, not on your eyes. So, no, I never felt pressured. I knew people would ask me - especially here with the whole Hollywood thing - if I felt pressure to lose weight. I don't think it is important. I think it used to be more important, and I think there are aspects of it now where people will talk about what you look like, not what you're doing. I made a record. I don't want to be on the front cover of Playboy. I want to be on the front cover of Rolling Stone with my clothes on.
You have often described your music as "heartbroken soul." What's the spin on that?
19 is a breakup record. It's more pop than anything - more popular in commercial than contemporary - but the album is actually from my soul. It took a lot from me to write the album. Instead of going off and asking people to write songs for me, I kind of put my head down and tried my hardest to admit things to myself and to put it into songs. It's a heartbroken soul - it's a breakup record from the very bottom of my soul, as cheesy as that sounds.
When writing your songs, is there a particular process you undertake?
It varies. Sometimes I force myself and wake up and say "Today, I'm going to write songs." That never happens. If I try and make myself, nothing ever comes. Sometimes I come up with the melody first, or a lyric or a phrase or a chord. But it's usually at, like, 4:00 in the morning when I get up to use the toilet or get a glass of water that an idea comes and I have to sit down to pursue it.
Since a lot of your songs are about heartache and pain and your reaction to them. What particular song do you find hard to sing live, one that brings back a lot of emotion?
"Melt My Heart To Stone." I wrote that song straight off a breakup with this boy who the album's about. I still find that difficult to sing sometimes.
The first single off of 19 was "Chasing Pavements." What life events served as inspiration for the lyrics?
I had a fight in a club with the boy the album's about, and then I ran off down the street. It was really late – it was 6 in the morning. There was no one chasing me and I wasn't chasing anyone. I was just running away. I remember saying to myself, "What you're chasing is you're chasing an empty pavement." It's a metaphor. It's impossible to chase a pavement but I was chasing that pavement.
Article comments
1 - dug
Dear Adel, I am a science teacher at a facility for young women with eating disorders. Thank you for your confidence in yourself just the way you are. You don't seem to have any of the concerns about being skinny, a notion which bombards the youth of today. Thank you for being such a fine role model in this regard; the impact of your personality is incalculable. I admire and support you in all of your future endeavors.
Thank you.
dug
2 - orignal fishcake
shes amazing i absolutely love her . JEr abluim 19 is bloddy brilliant, she too harsh on hersekf about her album. I no it aint her full potential but it better than most people album now wa days. But like dug i also love how she manages 2 accept being plus size. She isnt bothered. she a true inspiration. She knows shes isnt perfect and dat y shes greats. REALLY HUMBLE & TALENTED