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| Lauren Dufoff |
A half an hour before her second album goes on sale in the United Kingdom, Adele is in a mellow state of mind.
"Everything's less frantic than it was the first time around," she says from her home in London, winding down after a night out with friends. The singer is referring to the promotion of her hit 2008 debut, "19," which, with worldwide sales of nearly 2.4 million copies, turned this recent graduate of London's BRIT School into one of England's brightest young pop stars. "I was nervous and uptight because it was all brand-new. The reception was so unexpected that everyone just sort of went along with it." She lets loose one of her frequent gut-deep chuckles. "Not that I'm saying I'm a professional now. But I've learned to sit down and enjoy it all. I feel more free than I ever have."
That sense of freedom is audible throughout "21," Adele's bold sophomore set, due Feb. 22 in the United States from Columbia Records. (It came out Jan. 24 in the United Kingdom.) Created collaboratively by a transatlantic dream team of A-list writers and producers including Rick Rubin, Paul Epworth, Ryan Tedder and Francis "Eg" White, it expands upon the delicate folk-soul sound of such "19" cuts as "Chasing Pavements" and "Hometown Glory" with headstrong forays into fiery disco-gospel, stomping blues and '70s-styled R&B.
This week the album's lead single, "Rolling in the Deep," debuted in the United Kingdom at No. 2 (ahead of Britney Spears' "Hold It Against Me" and behind Bruno Mars' "Grenade") on the Official Charts Co.'s singles tally; the groove-heavy kiss-off also soundtracks a fresh Nike spot featuring tennis star Maria Sharapova.
"As much as I love '19' -- and I do -- this is a giant leap forward for her," says Tedder, the OneRepublic frontman who's written and produced hits for Beyoncé ("Halo") and Leona Lewis ("Bleeding Love"), among others. "With a couple of exceptions, "19" was very subdued," Tedder continues. " '21' isn't."
"She's got a little more swagger now," adds Rick Krim, executive VP of music and talent relations at VH1. The network selected Adele as a You Oughta Know artist in 2008, and will premiere "VH1 Unplugged: Adele" on March 4. "A lot has happened to her since her first record, so you expect to hear some growth. The first single, it's just instantaneous -- it doesn't sound like anything on her debut."
A MASTER PLAN
Born Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, the singer comes by that swagger honestly: In 2006, England's super-hip XL Recordings signed Adele on the strength of a three-song demo a friend of hers had posted on MySpace; within two years she'd won the BRIT Awards' Critics' Choice prize and been tipped by the BBC as the "Sound of 2008." In 2009 she beat out theJonas Brothers (as well as fellow U.K. import Duffy) for the best new artist Grammy Award, and capped her world tour in support of "19" with a sold-out show at Los Angeles' 17,000-capacity Hollywood Bowl.
Adele says much of the inspiration for "21" came from the country and roots music she heard while on the road in America; she singles out Lady Antebellum and rockabilly pioneer Wanda Jackson as particular influences.
"She'd definitely been exposed to things that opened her eyes musically," says Epworth, who co-wrote and produced "Rolling in the Deep." "So much of the music from the United States over the last century was formed from various trials and tribulations, and I think that's reflected on Adele's record -- that she identified with these artists singing about their lives."
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