19 | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 28 January 2008 | |||
Recorded | May–October 2007 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 43:41 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | ||||
Adele chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
Singles from 19 | ||||
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19 is the debut studio album by the English singer-songwriter Adele,released on 28 January 2008 by XL Recordings. Following Adele's graduation from the BRIT School in April 2006,she began publishing songs and recorded a three-song demo for a class project and gave it to a friend. They posted the demo on MySpace,where it became very successful and led to interest from the record label. This led to Adele signing a recording contract at age 18 with the label and providing vocals for Jack Peñate. During this session for Peñate's song she met producer Jim Abbiss,who would go on to produce the majority of her debut album.
Four singles were released from the album,with "Chasing Pavements" and "Make You Feel My Love" reaching the top ten on the UK Singles Chart,while the former became Adele's first entry on the Billboard Hot 100. The album also contains her first song,"Hometown Glory",written when she was 16,which is based on her home suburb of West Norwood in London.
Named after the age of the singer during its release and production,19 is a blue-eyed soul album with folk rock,indie pop,and jazz influences and lyrics describing heartbreak,nostalgia and relationships. [2] 19 received positive reviews from music critics,who praised Adele's vocal prowess and songwriting talent at such a young age and noted her as having the "potential to become among the most respected and inspiring international artists of her generation." [3] 19 was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize. [4] At the 51st Annual Grammy Awards,Adele won Best New Artist alongside Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Chasing Pavements". [5]
19 became a global success,reaching number one in the United Kingdom,while also reaching the top 10 in fifteen other countries,including the United States. [6] [7] The album has sold over 8.5 million copies worldwide [8] [9] and has also sold over 2.5 million copies in the UK to become one of the best-selling albums of the 21st century. The album was listed in the top 20 best-selling debut albums of all time in the UK. [10] In support of 19,Adele embarked on concert tour An Evening with Adele across North America and United Kingdom which received critical acclaim.
Adele graduated from the BRIT School for Performing Arts &Technology in Croydon in April 2006, [11] where she was a classmate of Leona Lewis and Jessie J. [12] [13] Adele credits the school with nurturing her talent [2] even though,at the time,she was more interested in going into A&R and hoped to launch other people's careers. [12] Four months after graduation,she published two songs on the fourth issue of the online arts publication PlatformsMagazine.com. [14] She had recorded a three-song demo for a class project and given it to a friend. [12] The friend posted the demo on Myspace,where it became very successful and led to a phone call from Richard Russell,boss of the music label XL Recordings. She doubted if the offer was real because the only record company she knew was Virgin Records,and she took a friend with her to the meeting. [13] [15]
Nick Huggett,at XL,recommended Adele to manager Jonathan Dickins at September Management,and in June 2006,Dickins became her official representative. [16] September was managing Jamie T at the time and this proved a major draw for Adele,a big fan of the British singer-songwriter. Huggett then signed Adele to XL in September 2006. [16] Adele provided vocals for Jack Peñate's song,"My Yvonne",for his debut album Matinée ,and it was during this session she first met producer Jim Abbiss,who would go on to produce both the majority of her debut album,19, and tracks on 21. [17] Adele recorded a cover of Bob Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love" on the recommendation of her manager Jonathan Dickins,who loved the song. [16]
The first single released from 19 was "Chasing Pavements",which Adele wrote in collaboration with Eg White. [18] "Chasing Pavements" was inspired by an incident Adele had with a former boyfriend of six months. [12] After learning he had cheated on her,she went to the bar he was at and punched him in the face. [12] After being thrown out,Adele walked down the street alone and thought to herself,"What is it you're chasing? You're chasing an empty pavement." [2] She sang and recorded it on her mobile phone and arranged the chords when she got home. [12] Adele and White co-wrote two other songs for the album:"Melt My Heart to Stone" and "Tired". [18] She also collaborated with Sacha Skarbek on the single "Cold Shoulder". [18] However,most of the songs were written solely by Adele,including "Best for Last","Crazy for You","First Love",and "My Same",as well as her debut single,"Hometown Glory". [18] That song was written by Adele in 10 minutes after her mother tried to persuade her to leave her home town of West Norwood in London for university. [19]
In July 2008,Adele informed noted UK soul writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning Blues &Soul that the reason for naming her debut album '19' was to reflect her age while she was writing it:"I just kinda remember becoming a bit of a woman during that time. And I think that is definitely documented in the songs." [20] The Taiwanese edition was released on 5 March. As well as the standard track list,the album features three bonus tracks:"That's It I Quit I'm Movin' On" ("Chasing Pavements" B-side),"Now and Then" ("Cold Shoulder" B-side) and "Painting Pictures" ("Make You Feel My Love" B-side). [21] The Indonesian special edition was released on 3 March. As well as the standard track list,the album features a bonus video for "Chasing Pavements". [22]
By 2008,Adele had become the headliner and performed an acoustic set,in which she was supported by Damien Rice. [23] [24] She embarked on a short North American tour in the same month, [25] and 19 was released in the US in June. [2] Billboard magazine stated of it:"Adele truly has potential to become among the most respected and inspiring international artists of her generation." [3] The An Evening with Adele world tour began in May 2008 and ended in June 2009. [26]
She later cancelled the 2008 US tour dates to be with a former boyfriend. She said in Nylon magazine in June 2009,"I'm like,'I can't believe I did that.' It seems so ungrateful.... I was drinking far too much and that was kind of the basis of my relationship with this boy. I couldn't bear to be without him,so I was like,'Well,OK,I'll just cancel my stuff then.'" By the middle of October 2008,Adele's attempt to break in America appeared to have failed. [27] [28] But then she was booked as the musical guest on the 18 October 2008 episode of NBC's Saturday Night Live. The episode,which included an expected appearance by then US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin,earned the program its best ratings in 14 years with 17 million viewers. Adele performed "Chasing Pavements" and "Cold Shoulder", [29] and the following day,19 topped the iTunes charts and ranked at number five at Amazon.com while "Chasing Pavements" rose into the top 25. [30] The album reached number 11 on the Billboard 200 as a result,a jump of 35 places over the previous week. [31]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 68/100 [32] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [33] |
Entertainment Weekly | B [34] |
The Guardian | [35] |
The Independent | [36] |
NME | 5/10 [37] |
The Observer | [38] |
Q | [39] |
Rolling Stone | [40] |
Spin | [41] |
The Times | [42] |
19 received generally positive reviews from critics who praised Adele's vocal prowess and songwriting talent. The album holds a 68 out of 100 rating,based on 19 critical reviews,at Metacritic. [32]
The Observer 's Caspar Llewellyn Smith wrote in his review,"The way [Adele] stretched the vowels,her wonderful soulful phrasing,the sheer unadulterated pleasure of her voice,stood out all the more;little doubt that she's a rare singer,which another track first available on her MySpace site,'Daydreamer',confirmed" they gave the album a five-star response. [38] "Pitching up somewhere between blues,folk and jazz,she's included something for everyone without ever pandering to a particular trend",wrote Chris Long from BBC Music . "Her melodies exude warmth,her singing is occasionally stunning and,in the dramatic Hometown Glory,the spiky cool of Cold Shoulder (which is unexpectedly reminiscent of Shara Nelson-era Massive Attack) and the piano epic Make You Feel My Love,she has tracks that make Lily Allen and Kate Nash sound every bit as ordinary as they are." [43] Chuck Taylor said in Billboard that "Adele truly has potential to become among the most respected and inspiring international artists of her generation." [3] Mikael Wood was less impressed in Entertainment Weekly ,writing that "Adele's songs aren't as sharp as Duffy's...Still,her singing throughout is a thing to behold." [34] Uncut was more critical,believing that "Adele can certainly sing,but '19' reeks of some A&R trendhound making it his/her biz to sign The New Amy and not resting till s/he's found the right chick from South London to fit the bill". [44] According to NME ,"as '19' reveals itself,it's clear that the Amy associations are little more than empty mediaspeak without any real weight. Despite the early indicators,there's precious little on the album that prevents it from collapsing under the weight of its own expectation". [37]
In the United Kingdom,the album debuted at number one. [45] In the same week as 21 was released,19 climbed to number four on the UK Albums Chart with sales of 25,419 copies. [46] On 6 February 2011,the album remained on the chart at number four,with strengthening sales of 27,660 copies. It was the second best selling album of 2011 in the United Kingdom,behind 21,as it tripled its 2008 seven non-consecutive week-long top 10-visit with 21 straight weeks. As of March 2016,19 has sold over 2,309,000 copies in the United Kingdom. [47] In Ireland,due to the success of 21,the album returned to its peak position of number 3 on the week ending 18 March 2011,three years after it originally peaked,just to set a new high at number two on the following week and to stay there for six non-consecutive weeks,behind 21. The album debuted at number 16 on the New Zealand Albums Chart,due to the success of 21 and has peaked at number three. [48] In March 2017,19 returned to No. five in its 58th charting week with her other two albums in the top five as well. [49] 19 has sold over 2.5 million copies in the United Kingdom and over 8.5 million copies worldwide as of 2022. [10] and was named in top 20 best-selling debut albums of all time in the United Kingdom. [10]
In the United States,19 debuted at number 61 and remained in the lower ends of the Billboard 200 for many proceeding weeks. After a performance on the US show Saturday Night Live,it rose to number 46 and a week later to number 11 with 25,000+ copies sold. In 2009,after winning two Grammy Awards,the album rose to number 10 on the US Billboard 200 and total sales reached 843,880. In February 2012,19 reached a new peak of number 4 on the Billboard 200,and the album is now a certified double platinum by the certified (RIAA) in the United States. [50] As of the week ending 24 April 2011,19 was a number one on the Top Pop Catalog Albums for nine weeks,making it only the third album by a female artist to top that chart at least that long in the past 20 years. [51] On the following week,it stayed at number one on the chart,making it the first studio album doing so since Michael Jackson's Thriller 25 was at number one for 11 weeks in 2008. [52] Months later,it had moved up from number 27 to number 16 on the Billboard 200,topping the Top Pop Catalog Albums for the sixteenth week. [53]
In Australia,the album returned to the top 10,at No. 9,in its 74th charting week in March 2017 with her other studio albums 25 and 21 placed at No. 2 and 4 respectively.
Adele became the first recipient of the Brit Awards Critics' Choice and was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2008 in an annual BBC poll of music critics,Sound of 2008. [54] [55] The Times Encyclopedia of Modern Music named 19 an "essential" blue-eyed soul recording. [56] The album was nominated for the 2008 Mercury Prize in the category of Best Album. [57] She also won an Urban Music Award for "Best Jazz Act". [58] She also received a Q Awards nomination in the category of Breakthrough Act [59] and a Music of Black Origin nomination in the category of Best UK Female. [60] On 3 December 2008,the album spawned four Grammy Award nominations:Best New Artist for Adele,and Record of the Year,Song of the Year,and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Chasing Pavements". [61] The following year,she received a second consecutive nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance,for "Hometown Glory",but lost to "Halo" by Beyoncé.
Year | Organization | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | Mercury Prize | Album of the Year | Nominated | [62] |
2009 | European Border Breakers Award | Best Album | Won | [63] |
2012 | Billboard Music Awards | Top Pop Album | Nominated | [64] |
Her success occurred simultaneously with several other British female soul singers,with the British press dubbing her a new Amy Winehouse. [12] This was described as a third British Musical Invasion of the US. [13] However,Adele called the comparisons between her and other female soul singers lazy,noting "we're a gender,not a genre". [2] [27] [65] AllMusic wrote that "Adele is simply too magical to compare her to anyone." [66] Following the release of her debut album 19,Kanye West and Beyoncéwere among the artists vocal in their praise of her music. [2] Beyoncécited Adele as one of the influences for her fourth album, 4 . [67] Revisiting Adele’s debut album,15 years on,Virgin Radio said 19 truly cemented Adele’s status as one of the most powerful voices and performers in the industry,and that her debut release was just the tip of the iceberg on one of the most incredible careers in music. [9]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Daydreamer" | Adele Adkins | Jim Abbiss | 3:41 |
2. | "Best for Last" | Adkins | Abbiss | 4:19 |
3. | "Chasing Pavements" |
| White | 3:31 |
4. | "Cold Shoulder" |
| Mark Ronson | 3:12 |
5. | "Crazy for You" | Adkins | Abbiss | 3:28 |
6. | "Melt My Heart to Stone" |
| White | 3:24 |
7. | "First Love" | Adkins | Abbiss | 3:10 |
8. | "Right as Rain" |
| Abbiss | 3:17 |
9. | "Make You Feel My Love" | Bob Dylan | Abbiss | 3:32 |
10. | "My Same" | Adkins | Abbiss | 3:16 |
11. | "Tired" |
| White | 4:19 |
12. | "Hometown Glory" | Adkins | Abbiss | 4:31 |
Total length: | 43:40 |
No. | Title | Director(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
13. | "Chasing Pavements" | Mathew Cullen | 3:41 |
Total length: | 47:21 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Cold Shoulder" |
| Ronson | 3:12 |
2. | "Now and Then" | Adkins | Abbiss | 3:24 |
Total length: | 6:36 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
13. | "Painting Pictures" | Adkins | Abbiss | 3:34 |
14. | "Now and Then" | Adkins | Abbiss | 3:24 |
15. | "That’s It, I Quit, I'm Moving On" |
|
| 2:12 |
Total length: | 52:50 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Right as Rain" (live) |
| 3:28 |
2. | "Melt My Heart to Stone" (live) |
| 3:21 |
3. | "My Same" (live) | Adkins | 3:02 |
4. | "That's It, I Quit, I'm Moving On" (live) |
| 2:21 |
5. | "Chasing Pavements" (live) |
| 3:49 |
Total length: | 15:21 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Chasing Pavements" |
| 3:52 |
2. | "Melt My Heart to Stone" |
| 3:21 |
3. | "That's It, I Quit, I'm Moving On" |
| 2:07 |
4. | "Crazy for You" | Adkins | 3:43 |
5. | "Right as Rain" |
| 3:32 |
6. | "My Same" | Adkins | 3:06 |
7. | "Make You Feel My Love" | Dylan | 3:52 |
8. | "Daydreamer" | Adkins | 3:41 |
9. | "Hometown Glory" | Adkins and Stephen Thomas | 3:48 |
10. | "Many Shades of Black" (with The Raconteurs) | 4:29 | |
Total length: | 33:31 |
Notes
Adapted from AllMusic and 19's liner notes. [68] [69]
Musicians
Production
Chart (2008–2021) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA) [70] | 3 |
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [71] | 29 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [72] | 9 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [73] | 38 |
Brazilian Albums (ABPD) [74] | 5 |
Canadian Albums ( Billboard ) [75] | 18 |
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI) [76] | 10 |
Danish Albums (Hitlisten) [77] | 14 |
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts) [78] | 1 |
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [79] | 26 |
French Albums (SNEP) [80] | 15 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [81] | 15 |
German Independent Albums (Top 20 Independent) [82] | 6 |
Greek International Albums (IFPI Greece) [83] | 12 |
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ) [84] | 25 |
Irish Albums (IRMA) [85] | 2 |
Italian Albums (FIMI) [86] | 20 |
Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico) [87] | 35 |
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [88] | 38 |
New Zealand Albums (RIANZ) [89] | 3 |
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [90] | 7 |
Polish Albums (ZPAV) [91] | 9 |
Portuguese Albums (AFP) [92] | 27 |
Russian Albums (2M) [93] | 15 |
South Korean Albums (Gaon) [94] | 52 |
Scottish Albums (OCC) [95] | 1 |
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [96] | 5 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [97] | 11 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [98] | 15 |
UK Albums (OCC) [45] | 1 |
US Billboard 200 [99] | 4 |
US Independent Albums (Billboard) [100] | 13 |
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [152] | 2× Platinum | 214,000 [153] |
Belgium (BEA) [154] | 2× Platinum | 60,000* |
Canada (Music Canada) [155] | 4× Platinum | 400,000‡ |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [156] | 3× Platinum | 60,000‡ |
Finland (Musiikkituottajat) [157] | Gold | 15,709 [157] |
Germany (BVMI) [158] | Platinum | 200,000^ |
Italy (FIMI) [159] sales since 2009 | Platinum | 50,000* |
Mexico (AMPROFON) [160] | Gold | 40,000^ |
Netherlands (NVPI) [161] | 3× Platinum | 350,000 [162] |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [163] | 2× Platinum | 30,000^ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [164] | Platinum | 80,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [165] | Platinum | 30,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [166] | 8× Platinum | 2,550,000 [47] |
United States (RIAA) [167] | 3× Platinum | 3,100,000 [168] |
Summaries | ||
Europe (IFPI) [169] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000* |
Worldwide | — | 8,500,000 [8] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Format | Label |
---|---|---|---|
Europe | 25 January 2008 | XL | |
Australia | 26 January 2008 | ||
United Kingdom | 28 January 2008 | ||
United States | 10 June 2008 | Columbia | |
Poland [170] | 24 November 2008 | XL | |
Brazil [171] | 6 June 2011 | Sony | |
China [172] | 13 March 2013 | CD | 星外星唱片 (Starsing) |
Frank is the debut studio album by English singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse. It was released on 20 October 2003 by Island Records. Production for the album took place during 2002 to 2003 and was handled by Winehouse, Salaam Remi, Commissioner Gordon, Jimmy Hogarth and Matt Rowe. Its title alludes to the nature and tone of Winehouse's lyrics on the album, as well as one of her influences, Frank Sinatra.
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"Chasing Pavements" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Adele for her debut studio album, 19 (2008). Written by Adele with her producer Francis "Eg" White, the song was released as the second single from the album on 14 January 2008. Its lyrics describe questioning whether or not to keep chasing something that is not going anywhere. Adele was inspired to write the song after a public argument and subsequent break up with an older man.
English singer-songwriter Adele has released four studio albums, one video album, two extended plays, 17 singles and eleven music videos. Adele has sold over 72 million in pure album sales and over 100 million in album equivalent units worldwide over four studio albums and one video album as of December 2021. She was named the best-selling album artist of the 2010s decade in the US and worldwide. She has also sold over 100 million in single sales with total sales records over 170 million as of December 2021. She also became the best-selling female artist of the 21st century in the UK. Her album 21 became the best-selling album of the 21st century.
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Greatest Hits... So Far!!! is the first greatest hits album by American singer-songwriter Pink. It was released on November 12, 2010, by Jive Records, in celebration of Pink's first decade on the music scene. The album features Pink's biggest hits from all her studio albums. Its track list differs depending on region, with four new tracks, only two of which are included in the North American edition.
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"Set Fire to the Rain" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Adele for her second studio album, 21 (2011). The song was written by Adele and Fraser T. Smith while the production was handled by the latter. It became Adele's third consecutive US number-one single from 21 and reached the top ten in most of other foreign markets. It is a pop power ballad with lush instrumentation and a swelling string arrangement, in contrast to the understated production of most songs on the album. The song has received acclaim from various critics with many complimenting on Adele's vocals. "Set Fire to the Rain" was voted by readers of Billboard as their favorite number one hit of 2012. Though no official music video was released for the song, a live performance from the DVD Live at the Royal Albert Hall was uploaded to video-sharing website YouTube. This rendition won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards.
Our Version of Events is the debut studio album by Scottish singer Emeli Sandé. The album was released on 13 February 2012 by Virgin Records, following Sandé's winning of the Critics' Choice Award at the BRIT Awards 2012. Though Our Version of Events is her first album release, Sandé has been active in the industry since 2009, most notably appearing on singles by Chipmunk and Wiley. The album features R&B, soul and pop music.
"Skyfall" is a song recorded by English singer Adele for the James Bond film of the same name. It was written by Adele and producer Paul Epworth and features orchestration by J. A. C. Redford. British film production company Eon Productions invited the singer to work on the theme song in early 2011, a task that Adele accepted after reading the film's script. While composing the song, Adele and Epworth aimed to capture the mood and style of the other Bond themes, including dark and moody lyrics descriptive of the film's plot. "Skyfall" was released at 0:07 BST on 5 October 2012 as part of the Global James Bond Day, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the release of Dr. No, the first James Bond film.
25 is the third studio album by the English singer-songwriter Adele, released on 20 November 2015 by XL Recordings and Columbia Records. The album is titled as a reflection of her life and frame of mind at 25 years old and is termed a "make-up record". Its lyrical content features themes of Adele "yearning for her old self, her nostalgia", and "melancholia about the passage of time" according to an interview with the singer by Rolling Stone, as well as themes of motherhood, new love, and regret.
30 is the fourth studio album by the English singer and songwriter Adele. It was released on 19 November 2021 by Columbia Records. Her first studio album in six years following 25 (2015), 30 was inspired by Adele's experiences and anxiety following her divorce and its impact on her son's life, along with motherhood and fame. Adele had begun working on the album in 2018 and collaborated with producers such as Greg Kurstin, Max Martin, Inflo, Tobias Jesso Jr., Ludwig Göransson, Shawn Everett, and Shellback. Musically, 30 is a pop, soul, and jazz album, which incorporates dance-pop, gospel, and R&B elements. The album was promoted with the television specials Adele One Night Only and An Audience with Adele. Three singles were released from the album. The lead single, "Easy on Me", reached number one in several countries, including the US and UK. The follow-up singles, "Oh My God" and "I Drink Wine", charted in the UK chart's top five simultaneously with it.
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