HOLD UP... Is Adele Making A Country Album??

Ready to hear something wild? Adele might be making a country album. Whaaat?? Well, not quite, but almost: Kelly Clarkson told The Wall Street Journal during a recent interview that she's "heard" that Adele's new album is "more country influenced" than what she's done in the past. Whoa. I definitely didn't see that coming! As strange as this development sounds, I have to tell you: I think goin' a little country might actually be a good thing for 26-year-old "Someone Like You" hit-maker. Really? Really. Let me explain...

Adele's last album, 21 , launched three No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also won six Grammy Awards (including Album of the Year) and has reportedly sold over 11 million copies in the United States alone. Whew. Needless to say, the bar has been set pretty high for the British singer's next project (which may be called 25 ). She'll need to put out some seriously good music if she wants to even come close to seeing that kind of commercial and critical success again.

That being said, I think it's possible that experimenting with a different genre — like country — could help push Adele into new and exciting places creatively. Don't get me wrong, "Rolling in the Deep" is great, but after four years of waiting, fans are expecting a lot more from her new project than just retreads of past hits. We want material that's fresh (and I suspect she knows that).

Further, while it might seem crazy for Adele to even entertain the idea of trading in her elegant piano ballads for twangy, steel guitar–filled mid-tempos, at its core, country is about storytelling — something she's proven herself to be quite good at over the course of her career (see: "Someone Like You," "Hometown Glory," "Turning Tables," etc.)

So, when you think about it that way, Adele's music and country music really aren't that different, after all. If anything, country could end up strengthening the narratives in Adele's songs. There's nothing to worry about here. It's not like she's going to go full Miranda Lambert on us or anything. (Although, to be honest, I might kinda be into that... I love Miranda Lambert.)

I hope Adele really has dabbled in country on her new album. I mean, Clarkson worked with some super talented country songwriters on her new, primarily pop LP, Piece By Piece, and it worked out great! It's always important to keep an open mind.

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