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Adele, photographed in 2008

Adele

 Photo: Jay L. Clendenin/Getty Images

Feature
Look Back At Adele's '19' 10 Years Later revisiting-adeles-breakthrough-19-turns-10

Revisiting Adele's Breakthrough: '19' Turns 10

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Take a look back at the build-up to Adele's mainstream U.S. breakthrough as her debut album '19' marks its 10th anniversary
Denise Quan
GRAMMYs
Jan 26, 2018 - 7:02 am

On Oct. 18, 2008, 17 million Americans tuned into "Saturday Night Live" to watch then-vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin make a highly anticipated appearance on the show. The musical guest that evening was an under-the-radar, 20-year-old British singer-songwriter who was introduced by guest host Josh Brolin by just a single name: Adele.

Adele Wins Best New Artist

Standing center stage before her band and half a dozen string musicians, Adele Laurie Blue Adkins hid behind a thick layer of forehead fringe and a low-key dress perhaps more suited for a trip to the corner market. But when she opened up her mouth to sing, her extraordinary vocals suddenly commanded the room — soaring, yet vulnerable; rich in tone, yet husky with emotion.

On the jazz-inflected "Chasing Pavements," she yearned for a boy who broke her heart. On "Cold Shoulder," she channeled vintage R&B, while confronting her beloved's indifference with barbed lyrics and a dash of sass. And when those two performances were over, and the studio audience had erupted into enthusiastic applause, the industry's newest singing sensation hopped around on the stage like a gleeful bunny rabbit. America was charmed.

"I remember seeing her, and just being blown away, and realizing that I had not paid the attention to her that I should have," recalls Billboard West Coast Editor Melinda Newman. "I think I had that realization with several million people at the exact same time. She had a strong command of her singing craft and of her songwriting craft, and she just came on the scene personality-wise saying, 'Take me as I am.' There were no apologies with her."

The day after her "SNL" performance, Adele's debut album, 19, catapulted to the top on the iTunes download chart, nearly nine months after its January 2008 release. The disc would go on to peak at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and earn triple-platinum certification by the RIAA.

Named for her age when she penned most of the songs, 19 was already a smash in the U.K., where it earned the Critics' Choice trophy at the Brit Awards just three weeks after hitting the street.

"It was never my intention to make a record," Adele told Premiere Networks. "I thought, 'What's the point of daydreaming about something that's never going to happen?'"

Although she graduated from Amy Winehouse's alma mater, the BRIT School for Performing Arts & Technology — where she studied music alongside fellow singers Leona Lewis and Jessie J — Adele never dared to believe she could earn a living as an artist.

"I always assumed I would be behind-the-scenes, and be in A&R, or be a manager or whatever — be an assistant," she said.

But after posting some of her music on Myspace, she discovered a few emails from Nick Huggett, then an A&R man with XL Recordings, waiting in her inbox.

"I had never heard of XL, I had never heard of Nick Huggett. I was like, yeah, some creep on the internet," she recalled, her giggle morphing into a conspiratorial cackle. "But I went in, and literally, I got offered a record deal…and then I got writer's block straight away."

At first, she tried to wriggle out of her contract.

"I was thinking that I should just go in and say, 'Well, you should just drop me. I'm not ready to write records yet.' And then I fell in love with a boy. He really wasn't in love with me … and then the record just poured out."

Producer Jim Abbiss, best known at the time for his work with Sneaker Pimps, Kasabian and Arctic Monkeys, recalled meeting Adele when her labelmate, Jack Peñate, needed someone to record a few backing vocals.

"He said, 'I'm actually going to call a friend of mine,'" Abbiss said in an interview with Walden Voices.  "I was kind of unsure about it, and she burst in about an hour later. A really funny girl. She did the [background vocals] in one take. I really couldn't believe how incredible her voice was."

A few months down the road, Abbiss received a call asking if he'd work with Adele on her own album. They collaborated on eight of the record's 12 tracks. For the remaining four numbers, Adele worked with Eg White and Mark Ronson — White on "Chasing Pavements," "Melt My Heart to Stone" and "Tired," and Ronson on "Cold Shoulder." The result was a soulful patchwork of pop, jazz, folk and R&B that managed to be retro, modern and timeless, all at the same time.

Adele wrote or co-wrote every song on the album except for one: a show-stopping cover of Bob Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love," from the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's GRAMMY-winning 1997 LP, Time Out of Mind. While Dylan's craggy vocals lent a world-weary grit to his rendition, Adele's version of his piano ballad was sweetly longing and brimming with youthful promise — a newcomer's yin to the veteran's yang.

"My manager is the biggest Dylan fan, and for ages, he'd been bugging me to listen to the song, because I hadn't heard it before," Adele told Premiere. "I was being quite defiant against it. I said, 'I don't want a cover on my album. It kind of implies that I'm incapable of writing enough of my own songs for my first record.' And then I heard it in New York when he played it for me, and it just really touched me. It's cheesy, but I think it's just a stunning song, and it really just summed up everything that I'd been trying to write in my songs."

"I want to be really good on my third and fourth album … I want people to be interested in me now, and I hope that I still end up being worthy for a GRAMMY nod then."

On the strength of her sterling debut, Adele went on to earn four nominations at the 51st GRAMMY Awards that year: Best New Artist; and Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for her biggest single off the album, "Chasing Pavements." She took home a pair of golden gramophones for Best New Artist, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, winning among a stacked field of nominees that included Sara Bareilles, Katy Perry and Pink.

Pink would later write an essay about Adele for Time magazine saying, "I'm so happy when the world catches onto something great. Especially when it's authentic talent, great songwriting and a unique package. … Her success renews hope in me that the world I live in has good taste — that we still occasionally come back to what's simple, and simply amazing."

Charles Kelley, of Lady Antebellum, told GRAMMY.com, "I think we've seen more and more artists chasing that throwback vibe lately. You can only assume [Adele] has had a huge impact on that being the case."

Billboard's Newman says her impact on pop music transcends gender.

"I'm not sure there would be a Sam Smith if there wasn't an Adele," she says. "He very much followed emotionally in her footsteps, in the kind of vulnerability that he expresses."

Kelly Clarkson — another powerful, emotive singer — praised Adele before launching into a cover of one of her songs at a 2012 concert in Australia.

"Adele might be one of the best singers of all time," she told the crowd, before jokingly adding, "It's very hard to cover people who are rad … I hope I don't suck."

Adele released her second album, 21, in 2011, with her third record, 25, following four years later.  In the years since her Best New Artist win and first trip to the GRAMMY stage, Adele has won a total of 15 GRAMMYs and earned a legion of fans who salivate at the prospects of her next recorded chapter.

"I want to be really good on my third and fourth album, you know what I mean?" she told Premiere in 2008. "I want people to be interested in me now, and I hope that I still end up being worthy for a GRAMMY nod then."

Catching Up On Music News Powered By The Recording Academy Just Got Easier. Have A Google Home Device? "Talk To GRAMMYs"

(Denise Quan is a writer-producer and content strategist specializing in entertainment news and culture. She the former head of music coverage at CNN Entertainment. Her impression of Adele’s laugh is a work in progress.)

For The Record: Adele '21'

Adele

News
For The Record: Adele's '21' Turns 10 adele-21-10-year-anniversary

For The Record: Adele's Icon-Making '21' At 10

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Released in January 2011, '21' expanded Adele's sound across timeless heartbreak songs, including "Rolling In The Deep" and "Someone Like You," and crowned the English singer/songwriter a star
Gabriel Aikins
GRAMMYs
Jan 24, 2021 - 1:54 pm

As dawn was still rising on the New Year in 2011, the music industry was already humming with anticipation. A fast-emerging English songstress named Adele was about to release her sophomore album, 21, and there were signs it could be big. Three years earlier, in 2008, she released her debut album, 19, which earned praise and awards and also gave audiences and the industry just a glimpse of her immense talent and star potential. 19 hinted at a wide sound, a voice unleashed. All of the signs were right.

Taking the promise she showed on her debut album, expanding her influences and showcasing more of her incredible vocal talent, Adele dropped 21 and forever left her mark on music.

Adele's Icon-Making '21' At 10 | For The Record

21, released Jan. 24, 2011, and Adele didn't come out of nowhere. 19 released to good reviews and solid chart performances for single "Chasing Pavements." Sporting a singer/songwriter, guitar-driven sound, the album made a strong first impression: At the 51st GRAMMY Awards, held in 2009, "Chasing Pavements" was nominated for Song Of The Year and Record Of The Year; it went on to win for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, with Adele taking home the coveted Best New Artist award that night.

While 19 hinted at what was to come from Adele, 21 was an entirely different sound. She opened the album with lead single "Rolling In The Deep," a shrewd move that clearly indicated just how disparate this project would be. The low thrum of the repeated acoustic guitar in the intro that might signify a sense of familiarity quickly gives way to a wider, more intense sound. A steady, sharp drum beat builds tension, and the big, flourishing production on the chorus definitively moved Adele past her days as a no-frills songwriter. 

What sticks out years later, though, are the emotions and the colossal talent on display across 21, even just on this opening track. It's no secret that 21 is an album of pain, born from a relationship with intense highs and a devastating ending. "It was horrible. I was miserable, I was lonely, I was sad, I was angry, I was bitter," Adele told The New York Times in 2015 about writing the album. 

"Rolling In The Deep" oozes with that venom, the pleasure of bringing her ex to his knees, evident in the darker sound and pointed lyrics, which Adele belts with all of the considerable power behind her voice. "Rumour Has It" also features a similar sense of satisfaction: The track basks in the gossip that comes from the fallout of a relationship.  The song reflected a continued growth in Adele's sound, too, this time in the form of modern vocal loops and decidedly retro swing. 

Even as the rollout of 21 was happening, the universality of the album became undeniable. Entire features and large chunks of interviews from the time are dedicated to the idea of Adele as an avatar for everyone, from her starstruck nature around other celebrities to her penchant for swearing to the ease of which she captures the truths of heartbreak. 

Listening now, it's still remarkable how there's a song or two on 21 to match any which emotional stage of a breakup. Ready to burn it all down? "Rolling In The Deep" is there for you. Longing for a new love? The funky "He Won't Go" or "I'll Be Waiting" deliver. And for those who just need to scream and cry, powerful ballads like "Set Fire To The Rain" and "Someone Like You" are Adele's emotional gifts to you. 

The methods and avenues of relationships change as society and technology change with them, but the emotions are always the same. In her deepest moments of heartache, Adele understood this and put all of it into 21, ensuring a lasting impact on people's hearts and minds.

Plenty of albums have tapped into emotional truths; few have endured like 21. The timelessness of the music and the hugely broad appeal of its influences round out the album. Producer Jim Abbiss, who worked on 19, maintained some of the more soul-based and acoustic sounds from Adele's debut, while new faces to Adele's process, like Paul Epworth and the prolific Rick Rubin, added wrinkles that appealed to a much wider audience. 

The prominent use of minor keys in the Rubin-produced "Lovesong" stands out, as do the jazz-based horns and rhythm of the Adele-Epworth collaboration "I'll Be Waiting." At the same time, the whole album is accessible to all through its backbone of piano-based arrangements, with a sound still relevant today and into the future.

Read: Revisiting Adele's Breakthrough: '19' Turns 10

As streaming rose to prominence in the 2010s, and as it continues to dominate in 2021, it is staggering to look back at the mammoth sales numbers of 21: 5.82 million units in 2011 and 4.41 million the next year, with the album topping the U.S. sales charts in both years. The only other artist to even crack 4 million in a year in the U.S. in the 2010s? Also Adele: Her follow-up album, 25, sold 7.44 million copies in 2015. 

As of late 2019, 21 had sold 31 million copies worldwide in its lifespan. These are sales numbers that rarely happen in the 21st century—largely due to the large-scale shift to streaming—yet here is Adele putting up massive figures, regardless. The continued commercial success of 21, even within the last several years, is yet another testament to just how deeply Adele connected with audiences, cutting across all generations and musical tastes. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CKcGNxwg1_3

GRAMMYs

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By any metric, 21 accomplished what few albums could in the 2010s. Aside from its mind-boggling sales, the album swept the 54th GRAMMY Awards in 2012: "Rolling In The Deep" won for Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Best Short Form Music Video; "Someone Like You" won for Best Pop Solo Performance; and 21 won for Best Pop Vocal Album and Album Of The Year.

Still, 21 continues to resonate with audiences in 2021 as much as it did in 2011. Boasting a wide array of musical elements, the album pushed Adele's considerable talents to even newer heights. And for millions of people worldwide, it will forever embody the exact feeling of heartbreak in all its complicated messiness. 

Adele Turns '25': For The Record

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Conan Gray

Conan Gray

Photo: Recording Academy

News
Conan Gray On "Checkmate," Debut LP, Lorde & Adele conan-gray-talks-checkmate-feeling-inspired-adele-what-expect-his-darker-debut-album

Conan Gray Talks "Checkmate," Feeling Inspired By Adele & What To Expect On His "Darker" Debut Album

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The Texas-raised, L.A.-based indie-pop star also discusses his self-directed "Crush Culture" video, his love of Taylor Swift and why he wants his songs to be as honest as possible
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Sep 5, 2019 - 1:12 pm

20-year-old singer/songwriter/video director Conan Gray just released his first EP, Sunset Season, last year, but he's already making noise in the D.I.Y. pop world. Spending his teen years growing up in quiet Georgetown, Texas, he began writing and singing songs and uploading them to what swiftly became his popular YouTube channel, which now (at the time of this writing) has 1.4 million subscribers. In 2017, the creative teen left his small-town life for Los Angeles to purse undergraduate film studies at UCLA.

"I started making the EP the second I moved from my hometown in Texas to L.A. I was going to college at UCLA and I was going to classes and I was recording at the same time. I wasn't signed yet, either," Gray recently told the Recording Academy. It wasn't long after relocating to La La Land that he got signed to Republic Records, who released Sunset Season. Despite his fast-growing fan base and rise towards pop stardom, the charismatic artist is incredibly humble and remains in awe of where he is today.

Conan Gray On Adele & Lorde, Music Videos & Tours

The "Generation Why" singer recently stopped by the Recording Academy headquarters for our latest episode of Up Close & Personal to share what he's most looking forward to for his upcoming Comfort Crowd Tour, and how he tends to visualize music videos as he writes songs. He also explains how hearing Lorde's and Adele's music for the first time inspired his own songwriting, what fans can expect on his forthcoming debut album and more. You can watch a portion of the conversation above and read the full interview below. You can also visit on our YouTube page for a longer version of the video, as well as for other recent episodes.

Last time I saw you, you were making your Lollapalooza stage debut, your first festival show. How was that experience for you?

That was pretty crazy. I didn't really know what to expect. I think the seven-year-old, tiny, afraid me would have thought no one comes, but a lot of people came and it was really bizarre. I feel like I have moments every once in a while where I'm just like, this can't be real. That was definitely one of those moments.

And how was the crowd?

The crowd was great. I was like, oh maybe since it's like a festival they won't be as interactive, but they were wild and they did everything that I wanted them to do, their little hands and stuff. It was awesome. I was very much, "I don't know what's going on right now." I think this is just a glitch in the simulation or something.



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how the fuck is this real life

A post shared by Conan Gray (@conangray) on Aug 4, 2019 at 12:39pm PDT

Starting in October, you have a bunch of shows lined up for your Comfort Crowd tour. What are you most excited about performing in all these different places?

I feel like my favorite part about being on tour is just being busy all the time. I feel like you have this unique routine, like you wake up and you do a bunch of things, you meet a bunch of fans and you go to sleep, the whole entire day is packed. And I just love being able to go out there and see all the different kinds of people. I feel like touring kind of just made me realize how people are just so different but also like we're all kind of just exactly the same. Like no matter where you go. So it's pretty incredible. I think it's my favorite thing about being able to do this.

Let's talk a little about one of your most recent releases, "Checkmate." The video is amazingly creepy and hilarious; what's the backstory on that song?

"Checkmate" is a song I wrote about this person who was always playing games with my heart and I just needed to get a little revenge. So I figured, with the song and video, I was like if you're going to play with my heart all the time, if you're going to treat love like it's a game, then I'm going to win the game. So in the video I just tried to get as much of my cathartic revenge out as I possibly could and, you know, kidnapped the people who are cheating on me and sent them to a deserted island to starve to death because, I mean, what else am I supposed to do? I did what I had to.

Speaking of music videos, you edited and directed the one for "Crush Culture." What was your vision going into that video?

With "Crush Culture," I knew that I just wanted to ruin a bunch of couples' dates. That was my main intention. I'm the kind of person where like if I'm not happy, then no one's going to be happy. Or at least I used to be. I think I've gotten a little better hopefully, [I'm] growing up or whatever. But yeah, I just wanted to have a lot of wrecking.

I feel like everyone who's ever been single, especially when you're young, where like every one of your friends isn't single, you just kind of want to punch someone in the face. When they're like talking about, "Oh and then he did this and it was so cute." I don't want to know. I don't care. I don't relate. Like leave me alone, I'm going to punch you. That's kinda what that video is about and what that song is about.

Do you feel like when you're filming the video and creating a visual element for the song, that it kind of creates a new life for it or takes on a different form?

Absolutely. Every time I write a song I usually have an idea of what I want the visuals to be. It's all very much hand-in-hand to me. But I also feel like the second you put out the song or make the video, it's not really yours anymore. People can interpret it how they want to interpret it and everyone has interpreted every single one of the videos in completely different ways, which I feel like is kind of the point, you know, the song is what it means to you and I can only do so much by explaining. Also, that's what makes the song special to someone. I guarantee like all of my favorite songs don't actually mean what I think they mean. But I think they're special because I feel like they're written for me even though they're totally not.

When you were younger, was there an album or artist who really resonated with you?

Well I think the first person that kind of opened me up to songwriting was Adele. I was like 12 probably when that first album [19] came out. And I feel like that was when I first realized that you can actually write a whole song. And before that I was always kinda writing jingles and stuff like that. But I didn't really realize that you could express an emotion. And I feel like Adele was the first person that made me realize that humans have emotions that you can relate to. And then I think, you know, when I was a teenager, the older I got the more into like pop music, I really started to just like grow really fascinated with and I was just obsessed with it.

And then I think when Lorde's first album [Pure Heroine] came out it just blew my mind. Because it was the first pop music that I'd heard ever in my whole life that wasn't about, you know, like this wild fantasy life that I couldn't relate to. It was about being in suburbia and I grew up lower-middle class. So I, you know, I didn't relate to those other songs and that's the first time I was like, oh my God, this song is about me. Like I relate to this. All I do is sit in the car and that's what she wrote about. So yeah, she was a big point for me.

You started songwriting and putting your music online when you were 12. At that time, did you think you were going to be making music professionally in the future?

Honestly, I don't think I really knew what I was doing when I was putting songs up on the internet. I just really loved writing songs. And the second I started writing music, I didn't stop. I had a journal and I wrote a new song every single day. And I think by putting them up on the internet it was just kind of like my way of like spitting them into the void. I wasn't expecting to get signed and I wasn't expecting, you know, everything that happened. I was just really bored and I lived in a small town, and what else are you supposed to do, I guess? And I think, you know, I just was very surprised when people started to listen. It wasn't something that I was expecting or really even wanted. It just kind of happened and then I just kept doing it because it just was very interesting to see the way that people were reacting to these, you know, very weird songs that I was writing as a 12-year-old and just kind of snowballed into a career. But I had no clue, no.

Related: Cuco On 'Para Mi,' Musical Tastes, MC Magic & Lil Rob | Up Close & Personal

What was your dream job when you were a kid?

I really wanted to be specifically a middle school biology teacher. My middle school biology teacher had a pet snake and I was like, if I'm going to be a teacher, I should be a biology teacher that way can have a pet snake. And I've always been really obsessed with science and I'm also such a nerd. I was definitely a big school kid, so that was the route for me. So I guess conceptually I failed at that career and I'm a failure.

I want to talk a bit about the Sunset Season EP, which "Crush Culture" was on. What was your main goal with that, your first EP and first project?

I started making the EP the second I moved from my hometown in Texas to L.A. I was going to college at UCLA and I was going to classes and I was recording at the same time. I wasn't signed yet either. I think that, you know, most of the songs on the album I wrote during my senior year of high school, so basically I wanted the whole EP to be like a time capsule of what my senior year felt like. All of the missing home and also just like not really knowing what's going on and having all these like extreme emotions that make no sense all the time, which I still feel. But I think when you're in high school it's this kind of like very specific feeling that you just never ever have ever again. I wanted to just get it all into a little package, that way I can remember it forever.

"For me, the best way to be good at songwriting is to just tell the truth… I think my goal always is just to be as honest as I possibly can."

Another of the songs on the EP, "Generation Why," stood out to me as kind of a statement on just being a young person and the uncertainty that comes with it. What is your biggest goal right now as a young artist representing other young people?

I feel like my main goal is just to be as honest as I can. You know, "Generation Why" was a song that I wrote literally about me and my friend. I wasn't like, "This is my generation." I was just me and my friend, like "Our parents don't believe that we're going to do anything good with our lives." And that's what I wrote about.

For me, the best way to be good at songwriting is to just tell the truth. Because people relate to the truth and people relate to problems. Sometimes you feel like you're the only person who has them, but you're not the only person who has those feelings. I think my goal always is just to be as honest as I possibly can. I feel like I say so much more in songs than I ever do to people in real life. And I feel like if I just keep my head on and try to be as genuine as possible, hopefully people will keep relating.

If I'm not mistaken, I don't think you've put out any collab songs yet. So if that's something that you're interested in doing in the future, do you have any dream collaborators in mind?

I mean, there's so many people, like all the people that I was raised on. I would like chop off my finger to make a song with Taylor Swift. Honestly, I'd chop off my hand just to sit in a room and write a song with her. She was my big pop music icon growing up. "Teardrops On My Guitar" was the first YouTube video I ever really watched of her. So yeah, that'd be really fun. But I mean, there's a ton of people. I feel like with my [upcoming] album, a lot of the writers that I've really wanted to work with and stuff I've had the opportunity to work with. So I feel like I'm satisfied, I'm happy.

In terms of your debut album, do you have anything that you want to tease about it? I'm sure your fans have already been asking about it a lot, but what can they expect?

I think they can definitely expect the music to get darker. The past year has been really chaotic and I feel like my album absolutely represents how chaotic it was. Also, I think they can expect a good cry and a good little riot. Just a good like package of chaos, is what my album sounds like so far.

Leikeli47 On Honest Storytelling, Performing With A Mask, ‘Acrylic’ & More | Up Close & Personal

Lorde

Lorde

Photo: Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images

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Who Are The Most Influential Women Musicians? lorde-amy-winehouse-lana-del-rey-more-named-most-influential-women-musicians-century

Lorde, Amy Winehouse, Lana Del Rey & More Named Most Influential Women Musicians Of This Century

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NPR listeners voted for the most inspiring female artists, what do you think of the list?
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Nov 21, 2018 - 10:41 am

Three weeks ago NPR asked its listeners who they think are the most influential female musicians currently making waves of change. The question inspired over a thousand fans to participate in the poll and on Nov. 20, they shared the top 25 artists from the responses, which put GRAMMY winners Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Taylor Swift in the top five, along with more current-day sheroes, among them fellow GRAMMY winners Lorde, Amy Winehouse and St. Vincent and GRAMMY nominees Janelle Monáe, Nicki Minaj and Ariana Grande.

Watch Camila Cabello Speak Up For Dreamers

The list also includes GRAMMY winners P!nk, Alicia Keys and Adele and GRAMMY nominees Florence + the Machine, Sia, Halsey, Cardi B, Kesha, Kehlani, Demi Lovato, Lana Del Rey and Katy Perry.

NPR highlighted that while most of these talented artists fall under the umbrella of popstars, their style and influence is far from cookie-cutter, with authenticity playing a prominent role in responders' answers. In NPR's words: "While the majority of the artists you picked are pop singers, your comments show that this commonality doesn't mean they all exert influence in the same way. You remarked on artists' command of their instruments…their inventiveness around genre; their ability to be honest and authentic in their songwriting."

Others on the list include M.I.A., whose hit "Paper Planes" took over the airwaves in 2008, along with Camila Cabello, whose debut single as a solo artist took over the airwaves in 2017, as well as rising star Hayley Kiyoko, who sits at No. 4 on their list, although she only released her debut album, Expectations, earlier this year.

Hayley Kiyoko On 'Expectations' & "What I Need"

The poll also solicited comments from voters. "[Kiyoko] has influenced an entire new generation of youth to be comfortable with their own sexualities and does this with dreamy pop music that lifts spirits," Manpreet told NPR.

Another response pointed to the importance of Beyoncé, who took first place on the list, as a role model for young black girls. "Her mere presence is enough to encourage young black girls to strive for greatness," fan Niharika Palakodety said. "She doesn't shy away from saying things as they are, and her focus on every detail of her music makes it that much more important." 

The superstar herself seems deeply aware of this, which she reflected on during her acceptance speech for Best Urban Contemporary Album for her groundbreaking Lemonade at the 59th GRAMMY Awards. A then-pregnant, glowing-goddess Beyoncé shared during the show:

Beyoncé wins Best Urban Contemporary Album GRAMMY

"It's important to me to show images to my children that reflect their beauty, so they can grow up in a world where they look in the mirror, first through their own families, as well as the news, the Super Bowl, the Olympics, the White House and the GRAMMYs, and see themselves and have no doubt that they're beautiful, intelligent and capable. This is something I want for every child of every race."

Rosalía Shouts-Out Lauryn Hill, Kate Bush And More Women During Latin GRAMMY Speech

GRAMMYs

Janelle Monáe

Photo: Jolie Loren Photography

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Janelle Monáe On Choosing "Freedom Over Fear" janelle-mon%C3%A1e-choosing-freedom-over-fear-creating-dirty-computer

Janelle Monáe On Choosing "Freedom Over Fear" & Creating 'Dirty Computer'

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The GRAMMY-nominated trailblazer discusses her Atlanta roots, taking risks and finding creative community through creative solitude of 'Dirty Computer'
Jewel Wicker
GRAMMYs
Oct 8, 2018 - 2:30 pm

It’s been nearly a decade since most fans got their first glimpse of Janelle Monáe in the back of a pink Cadillac in OutKast’s “Morris Brown” video. The appearance was a fitting nod to the singer’s start at the Atlanta University Center, which houses Spelman College, Morehouse and Clark Atlanta University, and Morris Brown College, the first Historic Black College or University founded by black people in Georgia.  

Today, Monáe is front and center, but her dedication to Atlanta remains as clear as ever. I sat down with the singer in front of an intimate audience of Recording Academy members for an Up Close and Personal program at the Marquee Club inside The Fox Theatre on Oct. 2. The conversation spanned about thirty minutes and delved into Monáe’s artistry, as well as the Wondaland collective she helms.

Early in the discussion, Monáe told attendees she would often get escorted to the children’s church as a kid because she’d break out singing Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” during the Baptist church service. She said she was always inspired by her musically inclined family, including her father and grandmother, but there was one moment in particular that still stands out to her today.

“I remember the first time I got goosebumps when one of my aunts was singing in the church. She was just recovering from drugs and she had an amazing voice,” Monáe said. “When she got out of rehab, she came to church and my grandmother played the organ and I just remember getting chills. I remember her having this testimony and her speaking her truth and that feeling just stayed with me. It felt very magical. It felt transformative.” Throughout her career, this is a feeling she’s strived to give fans with her art.

Citing the quote “culture eats strategy for breakfast,” Monáe said she’s always focused on walking in her truth and contributing something unique to the ever-changing music industry. One of the first times she remembered feeling like she’d achieved this was the day she simultaneously released “Cold War” and “Tightrope” back in 2010.

“I felt in my zone and no matter if it was on the radio and no matter if it got the number of downloads from a business perspective that everyone was hoping for, I felt like I was being very honest and true to where I was,” she said of the two singles from The ArchAndroid.

This authenticity has long flowed through Monáe’s work, from the time she was a child writing sci-fi-based short stories at the Coterie Theatre in Kansas City to when she was performing at the Atlanta University Center (AUC).

“I started my career right here in Atlanta performing on the library steps of Club Woody, shout out to the AUC,” Monáe said. “I probably had like three fans. I loved them and it was a connection. They helped me feel like, ‘Man, I can really do this. People are listening.’”

It’s at the AUC that Monáe also teamed up with several Wondaland leaders, including her creative partners Chuck Lightning and Nate Wonder.

“We challenge each other. They’re amazing at what they do,” she said. “Obviously it starts with me but once we all get into the room I think that’s when the innovation happens. That’s when the magic starts.”

Monáe said she doesn’t have a go-to songwriting or production method, although she says she loves collaborating and getting feedback from Wondaland artists such as Jidenna and St. Beauty, who sat in the front row during the Up Close & Personal program. Monáe says she recorded much of her latest album, Dirty Computer, by herself in Atlanta, however.

Janelle Monáe_gallery_1
Janelle Monáe Up Close & Personal | Atlanta

“With this particular album, I actually recorded a lot of it by myself because I knew that it was going to take me going to some different dimensions of who I am as an artist and I just felt more safe doing it first and then letting everyone hear it,” she said, nodding to songs such as “Dirty Computer” and “So Afraid.”

“It’s all about growth and trying new things and being unafraid to fail in front of people, too,” she added. “I force myself to let people watch me sometimes.”

The collaborative spirit Monáe enjoys is also one of her favorite things about Atlanta’s music scene. When asked why it was important for her to set a company like Wondaland in the city, she responded “Atlanta is the s***” to cheers.

“I love that Atlanta is a collaborative place,” Monáe said. “As an artist who is on the rise has one hand up, they’re taking the other hand and they’re reaching back and pulling up the next artist. That’s what I love and respect about Atlanta.”

Monáe said Atlanta-based LaFace Records, which launched the careers of major artists including OutKast, TLC, Toni Braxton and Usher, was a huge inspiration for her. But, she’s also inspired by the college students in the city who are graduating and building companies in Atlanta. Monáe hopes Wondaland can contribute to the creative atmosphere that’s already thriving in Atlanta. Her goal is to work with artists who have something to say and aren’t afraid of being open and honest. “The real juice is through your vulnerability,” she said.  

The recording process for Dirty Computer may have been mostly isolated, but Monáe said her latest album was created with “community” in mind. When I said her recent Atlanta concert reminded me of a “rally,” the singer said that’s exactly what she was striving for.

“It’s funny that you mentioned [the word] ‘rally’ because that was one of the words I wrote [down]. If you go to Wondaland now it’s on the whiteboard,” she said. “We wanted it to feel like a rally. We wanted it to be fun. We wanted it to feel like a party. We wanted [concert goers] to walk away feeling better about life.”

In order to do achieve this goal, Monáe said she knew she had to be clear about who she wanted to celebrate with this project (“Those of us who want this country to work for all of us and not just some”) and who she wasn’t afraid to “piss off, with love.”

Monáe wants to pass the clarity she has as an artist on to other people in the industry, especially women. She started the organization Femme the Future to create more opportunities for women in entertainment.

“[Creatives] have the power to create the culture and shape it to what we want it to be,” she said. “And we also have the power to undo the culture if it does not serve us well.”

Monáe said she learned early on in her career that, “We don’t all have to take the same coordinates to reach the same destination,” but she also hopes to pass along the importance of self-assuredness to anyone hoping to follow in her footsteps.

“Know what you want to say because if you don’t know what you want to say, somebody else is going to put words in your mouth,” she said. “You’re going to be living someone else’s story until you figure it out.”

“In those moments of fear, choose freedom over fear,” she said. “That’s something else I try to tell myself. I don’t always listen, to be quite honest.”

Getting it right isn’t the point, though. For Monáe, being unafraid to take the risk is what ultimately yields the best results.

Jewel Wicker is an Atlanta-based entertainment and culture reporter who has written for Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, The Fader, Atlanta Magazine, and more.

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