Artist Analysis - Adele

Adele is a singer-songwriter who was first established in 2008 with her debut album, 19, which had critical success. She was first signed with XL recordings, but is now also signed with columbia records who solely distributes Adele's albums in the United States and Latin America. She makes mainly soul/pop music with deep, emotive lyrics over a soft and slow instrumental. The themes of her songs are mainly about love or heart break.

You can see the conventions of the genre present in the music for her single Hello - a piano ballad that reached number 1 in almost every country it charted in. The video consists of a series of slow motion as well as normal speed shots of what seems to be Adele's memories of a past lover. These shots combined with the melancholy lyrics, the dull green filter that inhibits any colour to be present in the video and the minor key piano chords all identify this songs genre as soul music. However, the simplicity of the chord sequence add pop aspects to it.

The narrative of this music video is further evidence of its genre. The story that Adele tells of her and her past lover gives the audience some sort of perspective of how she can relate to some of the problems to do with love that most of her audiences might encounter. This type of narrative is definitely a convention of soul music as it is honest, deep and sparks emotion in the audience.

The setting of this music video is mainly within a small, homely house that seems to belong to the ex lover that she is sharing her memories of. This setting makes the audience feel comfortable and understand there are memories here which Adele is singing abut. It also adds to the melancholy tone to the song as the camera pans in slow motion as if reflecting a nostalgic past that Adele misses. Other locations include an open woods which may be used to represent how Adele has been shut out of his life and is no longer with him. She appears in the setting as she sings "hello from the outside" which emphasises this point. Both locations add emphasise to the emotion of the song itself and allows the audience to understand her story better.

The representation of Adele here is very human and honest. her lyrics allow audiences who have experienced similar heart break and love interests to relate to her and find themselves in the story she shares. It makes her seem down to earth and relatable as she shows she experiences problems and heart break like everyone else.