Artist Spotlight - Adéla

I’ve recently stumbled upon a new musician and have decided the world needs to know about her too. Adéla is a young, pink-haired singer/songwriter from Slovakia. She made her debut in the Dream Academy (the academy that created Katseye). While she didn’t make the main girl group, she has risen to fame as a solo artist.

Adéla’s second album, Prima, is set to release on the 4th of September, with her song Ain’t in LA already trending worldwide.

Ain’t in LA is a song for all the girls who moved out of their small, unknown towns and cities in pursuit of something great. As an immigrant myself, the song struck an extra chord with me. My parents took me from my home city in Poland to the UK in pursuit of a better life. I was granted opportunities I wouldn’t have had back home, and while I am immensely grateful for my life here, part of me always wonders what life would have been like if we'd never moved.

The music video features Adéla dressed in what is considered typical LA artist fashion, while she's surrounded by “commie blocks” that many Eastern Europeans would have grown up in, as well as featuring a scene where she dances in front of a Hollywood sign poster with children dressed in traditional Slavic attire. The juxtaposition of the two really adds to the meaning of the song.

Many of her songs are influenced by her life in Slovakia and the politics of Eastern Europe, with the main song for Prima being called KGB, which was the name of the main committee for state security and secret police agency of the soviet union from 1954 to 1991. The video ends with a quote from Adela saying, “Growing up in Slovakia, it was impossible to escape the harmful influence of the soviet union. KGB and its video are not an endorsement of the organisation or their actions, but an acknowledgement of where I’m from. I do not support the Russian Government and stand with the people of Ukraine.”

Vogue has said that Adéla was born to be a pop star. Her on-stage presence is honestly show-stopping. With a background in ballet, she often contorts her body while wearing pointe shoes, still hitting every note. Her songs are fun, provocative and powerful. She also claims she and Madonna have the same tits.

For an artist who has only recently launched her career, she has the skill and intent of a fully formed pop star. She knows what she wants, and she goes for it, with little regard to what people think of her. Adéla has said, “People either really love me or they really hate me—and now, I’ve come to enjoy that. I’d much rather be that than straight down the middle, inoffensive. If you don’t like what I’m doing, great. Why, I wonder? And if you do: again, why? I think that’s what I value in artists, is them being true to themselves.”

Adéla is unapologetically herself, and while the Netflix documentary portrayed her as a bit of a villain (she criticised some of the less disciplined girls), she feels she has nothing to apologise for and doesn’t care if that pushes people’s buttons.

Adéla’s songs are heavily inspired by artists like Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Britney and Madonna. Adéla really came into the spotlight with her song “Superscar”, a catchy Europop banger and early 2000s Gaga-style music video, which she funded and made completely by herself, all while being a full-time university student.

She is a self-made superstar with a bright future as, in my opinion, one of the best pop artists of our generation. She’s the star for all the small-town girlies that dream of making it big.

Written by, Nat Synak