From the January 2009 Issue, Brit queen ADELE sends a festive message to her people, looking back over her annus amazingus…
“I’m writing this at Little Noise in Union Chapel, waiting to go on. It’s exactly a year since I last played here. We were just thinking about how much stuff happened this year. The best thing was the album going to Number One here, definitely, and then being able to go on the road and tour and visit people. I’ve become a little bit immune to the hugeness of it, but it has been an incredible year.
One highlight of my travels was when I did a gig in Moscow. Russian gangsters and women wearing glamorous diamonds. I felt like a tramp there. Of course, it’s always nice to go to America and go to places that aren’t New York and LA. Things have been really taking off for me in America. We released the album back in June, and it was doing alright, but it was really underground. Then we did Saturday Night Live a couple of weeks back, so this success has really happened overnight. I’m not just going to take on America next year; I really don’t want to let my fans down at home and in Europe. I’m going to be writing, and hopefully the next album will be done by autumn.
I don’t have any regrets from this year. I don’t really regret anything. I think I’ve made a few mistakes. Sometimes I say things the wrong way that I don’t mean, but I don’t regret saying them because you’ll beat yourself up if you regret things for no reason.
If I had any goal for next year I’d just want to make sure I don’t write my first record again for my second. You have so much time to write your first record. It’s a bit of pressure but not a lot. Luckily, since the record did better than everyone thought it would do, I’m not being pressurised as much as a lot of other artists are. I’m very lucky and fortunate, but I want to make sure I can write. I find it really difficult to write when I’m on the road because I have a short attention span and my head’s always full up with other stuff. I really want to grow with my second album, and that can be quite hard to do.
There’s some great music I’ve been listening to this year. I love Santogold; she is by far my favorite. I love her so much; I just think she’s really innovative and special and I love that she’s not twenty-one-years-old like everyone else seems to be. She’s coming out and she’s just amazing. I love Sam Sparro. Laura Marling I’ve loved for many years and my love for her just gets bigger and bigger with time. Angus And Julia Stone are playing with me tonight. I really like them. I like The Ting Tings too.
The most memorable gigs for me this year were probably the two Shepherd’s Bush Empire dates because I did those around my birthday. I had four thousand people at my birthday party; I’ll always remember that. And the Somerset House gig I did in July. I was there last year and I got to meet Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen, and my friend Jack [Penate] opened for Lily. I remember saying to my manager, “Imagine how amazing it would be to play here”, and then we were offered the slot this year. That was quite amazing. All of my shows are memorable for me because I remember every single one.
This Christmas is going to be fun. I live on my own now – I am renting a flat in West London – so my mum is coming over and for the first time I am going to try and cook a Christmas dinner. I think it will be awful, to be honest – my kitchen’s tiny and I’ve only got one pan. And then in the evening my mum is going to her boyfriend’s and I’m going to my friend Michael’s house to play Monopoly and watch repeats of X Factor and Sex And The City.
If I could wish for anything to happen in 2009, I’d like a brand new British artist, or a band, that is doing something groundbreaking. I don’t think we’ve had one of them for many, many years. The equivalent to Kings Of Leon or something. I think Britain’s had an amazing year anyway, don’t get me wrong, but to find someone that is really, really fresh? I don’t think we’ve had one of them.
I’m not going to write any New Year’s Resolutions. I always fail them on the third of January. I don’t see the point. Everyone fails on them really. I’d like to cut down smoking, but I don’t want to give it up yet. I’d like to write a diary. Not that I would publish it or anything – I wouldn’t do that to everyone!
Thanks for all your support in 2008. See you again in 2009!”
