After four years, eight Grammys and 30 million albums sold since her blockbuster “21,” Adele is finally back.
Londoner Adele Adkins toiled over her new album “25” (out Friday), enlisting a small army of producers and songwriters, as well as drawing from figures in her personal life for inspiration. Here are the key players involved in making “25” a reality.
Adele’s son, Angelo
Adele scrapped an album’s worth of songs about being a mom to Angelo, explaining to Radio 1 in the UK that it was “boring.” But one song about the pleasures of parenting has remained, called “Remedy,” which she co-wrote with OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder. “Everything I do, in every channel of my life, is part of a legacy that I’m making for my child,” she told the Observer of London. “I want my child to see his mum running a proper business.”
Madonna
Adele’s creative and emotional life turned upside down following the birth of her son, Angelo, in 2012. “I was so all over the place after having a child, just because my chemicals were just hitting the f–king roof,” she told Rolling Stone in October. For solace and inspiration, she turned to Madge’s 1998 album, “Ray of Light.” “That’s the record Madonna wrote after having her first child, and for me, it’s her best.”
Tobias Jesso Jr.
On Jan. 21, 2015, the social media-shy Adele tweeted a link to a video of “How Could You Babe” by the virtually unknown singer-songwriter Tobias Jesso Jr. It instantly put the bewildered Canadian in the spotlight, and Adele subsequently asked him to write with her. The two came up with “When We Were Young,” a huge ballad that seems likely to be a hit.
Simon Konecki
Rumor had it she ain’t got his love anymore. But don’t believe the hype, because Adele and her partner, 41-year-old British philanthropist Simon Konecki (father of Angelo), are still together. It’s Konecki who convinced her to put the final nail in the coffin of the mystery relationship that inspired the heartbreak of “21” — which she sings about on the track “Send My Love (To Your New Lover).” She told the Observer, “My love is deep and true with my man, and that puts me in a position where I can finally reach out a hand to the ex. Let him know I’m over it.”
Ariel Rechtshaid
Adele also employed the production know-how of Ariel Rechtshaid (whose credits include Sky Ferreira and Vampire Weekend) for “When We Were Young.”
“I think [the song] is yearning for simpler times,” he tells The Post. “Having a front-row seat when she’s singing to you is unreal — she has a great way of emoting. She’s a badass! You don’t run across a voice like that very often, so I tried to preserve it.”
Rick Rubin
“25” would have sounded completely different were it not for Rick Rubin (a trusted collaborator from the “21” sessions). The producer and mogul heard Adele’s first batch of songs and bluntly told her they were no good. “I went back to the drawing board,” Adele told London’s Observer Music Monthly. “Worked my arse off.”