Adele first made it big with her gut-wrenching songs about a broken heart and a bitter breakup. In the wake of the smashing success of her last album, 21, Rolling Stone asked her about what would happen if she "were ever in a stable relationship."
Adele laughed: "No more music! My fans will be like, 'Babe! Please! Get divorced!'" the singer said at the time. But Adele, who is now in a serious relationship and has a 3-year-old son, is defying her own predictions and continuing to make music — even if there's no breakup involved this time.
As Adele readies her newest album, 25, out November 20, she's still worried about what her fans will think. "Do you think everyone will be disappointed that I'm happy?" Adele asks in her most recent interview with Rolling Stone.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"If my music can heal anyone's heart, then that is, like, the most satisfying thing ever," she says. "I don't think the record has a vibe of 'Whoo-hoo, I'm totally happy!' But with me being in a brighter space with my love life, will my fans be disappointed in me that I can't fix their broken hearts with a song that is brokenhearted? I don't want to disappoint them. But at the same time, I can't write a sad record, like, for everyone else. That's not a real record, unless I am sad." [Rolling Stone]
"It would be a bit tragic to do a heartbreak album again," the singer added. "It'd be such a cliché. What if I was heartbroken? What the f--k would I write about? 'Cause I can't write a f--king heartbreak record again! So just flip and reverse it."
Read Rolling Stone's full cover story on Adele here.