20 minutes ago, Resident of Gag City said:

It's not just the success of these albums. I am baffled when people undermine and undervalue her influence/impact on 2010s music. 21 debuted in the peak of the dance pop/electronic wave of pop music in 2011, when nearly everything topping the charts at the time was about living it up, dancing and partying. Music was fun but rather impersonal to succeed. The theme of pop prior to Adele's peak was maximalist visuals with crazy outfits and party songs

 

After the success of 21, and particularly SLY, there was a wave of artists succeeding with piano ballads (JGMAR, Stay, When I Was Your Man, All of Me all benefitted from Adele) and the cool thing to do in music after 21 was making more minimalistic songs and visuals that were more focused on being raw and emotional than fun.  There were other artists who also inspired this era of music IE Bruno w/ Doo Wops & Hooligans, Lorde w/ Pure Heroine, etc. but Adele was imo the biggest figurehead of the death of dance pop and the comeback of the focus on singing/songwriting in music that we saw really praised for the rest of the 2010s.

At least someone expanded on what I said

(altho Leona Lewis, Susan Boyle,Alicia Keys' successes weren't that long ago before 21 dropped)

 

 

So let me put some points out ~ ~ ~

 

 

 

 

still, is that enough for her to be deemed a Legend?

she made an impact when it was hard for her type of sound to succeed+influenced people around that time to do more ballads (basically what u said)

..

but has it continued? Do artist come out and say 21/25 inspired them? (I dont actually know, but havent heard either)

-is she on some big artists' list of most influential artists? Gaga and even Taylor, in recent years, had artists mention them as such - and they are somewhat peers with Adele (but are still denied the Legend status by ATRL (the later not as much naturally, since she has huge success rn))

 

Like..look at MJ, his influence is still heard today

and u can easily say that today's artists are citing Lana Del Rey and Lorde more, making them write ballads and etc (which recent big acts like Billie and Olivia give props to too)

..which is funny since the 2 Ls, dont have the success that Adele had.. (and I do think most popular slower songs of today sound more Lana/Lorde influenced, if anything)

...

-You can say that she paved the way?

But as I said - Susan Boyle, Amy Winehouse, Leona Lewis ...they had huge eras before her and they were ballad-oriented acts..

so can't we just assume that it was time for ballads and singer/songwriting troupe to just come back?

..We do know that music is shifting constantly after all, especially when we look the previous decade - sugary pop-> more "serious" music-> rap/rnb->rock etc..

 

it's nice to lead one music sound change (that was bound to happen because of the exposure of the party/pop music at the time anyways), but is it enough for the "Big Title", if it's your main thing ?

 

 

so..
look at what fans say about Gaga/Britney: "1-2 hugely successful eras and that's it"

 

won't that be Adele's future? fans already dragged her for 30 (i defended her btw)

Since we DO have to wait a certain amount of time to see how an artist's influence/impact will play out, before they really do feel like a Legend.

 

yup yup yup yup

100% yes

Adele is a legend in the same way Tracy Chapman became one, she has that "mature" sound that sets her apart from popular music but is still more popular than pop music itself and had a handful of sings that will certainly pass the test of time, more so than most of the so-called "pop classics" of her time. She's an anomaly in the industry, of course that's unique and legendaric.

Edited January 3, 20242 yr by TipToe

the sheer magnitude of her success is legendary 

Yes her doing 90s album sales on top of monstrous downloads and streaming for multiple eras is unheard of. 30’s global certs are very impressive too. Shes the most respected pop artist and moved by all generations. 

Is Adele already Madonna ? No. 

Nah. But several of her hits seem on the path to be remembered and played many years from now.

No but like Taylor it’s really only a matter of age and time. Plus she is still somewhat in her prime so calling her a legend will be somewhat aging her imo and she’s done that herself enough.

 

Adele being legendary more lies in her sway over the masses more than obvious impact in the industry. Her 2010s peak was an anomaly and while several attempts were made to recapture that kind i success and praise in other acts, that style of music and image isn’t very sustainable in todays music unless you are content with being an indie act and having a niche audience. I mean even with 30 we see that it won’t always work for Adele either.  But the fact that she is so rare and yet so loved is what makes her on the path of legendary. When you think of future rock and roll hall of famers, future Kennedy center honorees, future songwriter hall of famers- Adele will be among the very first in her generation to be considered simply due to the fact she’s timeless. 

If Taylor and Beyonce are not legends as ATRL claims, I don’t see any way Adele could be considered one. 

She’s a legend. She could stop right now and she’d still be welcome on any stage for the rest of her life.

I personally don't think you can call someone a legend until you can look back on their career as a whole and the impact it's had in the following years, but I think she's on the way to getting there

Is sweat wet? 

She was a legend by 25's release. 

Obviously like she has sales acclaim awards respect recognition fame 

19 hours ago, Rev8 said:

hen someone says why she is a Legend, they mention the success of 21 and 25..

is that all it takes for an artist to be a legend? Success?

21 is universally acclaimed and it’s hits are some of the biggest hits of our time, yall act like she’s female Sheeran sometimes 

2 hours ago, Kimi said:

21 is universally acclaimed and it’s hits are some of the biggest hits of our time, yall act like she’s female Sheeran sometimes 

I am interested to see who else u think is a legend

just because 1 of their albums is acclaimed (industry standard) and has a big hit (success)

18 minutes ago, Rev8 said:

I am interested to see who else u think is a legend

just because 1 of their albums is acclaimed (industry standard) and has a big hit (success)

21 is not just acclaimed or just successful it reached many decade end and all time lists already and it’s one of the biggest eras of all time, not “big hit”. 19 and 30 are also very well received, 30 is acclaimed. Adele is not big artist, she’s a phenomenon that changed pop music. That’s enough to be a legend. 

1 minute ago, Kimi said:

21 is not just acclaimed or just successful it reached many decade end and all time lists already and it’s one of the biggest eras of all time, not “big hit”. 19 and 30 are also very well received, 30 is acclaimed. Adele is not big artist, she’s a phenomenon that changed pop music. That’s enough to be a legend. 

 

I've already written a lengthy post on this matter, so I wont bother going further into it

but acclaim from the industry+success, isn't what makes a Legend - especially not so soon

If you consider Norah Jones as one. 

Nope.