There’s nothing crueler in the world than looking at someone else’s hard-earned accomplishments and telling them that they’re undeserved—especially in a society where achievement is so prioritized. However, we also have to qualify achievements; we must ask ourselves if someone truly deserves flattery, fanfare, or even the puppy-love adoration that comes when we throw ourselves at someone’s idolized and airbrushed feet.
In light of challenging the validity of accomplishments, the results of Sunday’s Grammys have been questioned and incurred a heady amount of criticism; everyone wants to know: how did Adele win six times?? The answer is simple: she put it all out there.
Adele is a fantastic woman and an admirable role model for people all over the world. Although she’s avoided paparazzi as much as she can (she recently purchased a huge estate in England for the sole reason that the grounds are so large that paparazzi can’t see her from the fence-lines), the power of Adele’s voice, personality, and refreshing honesty is nearly tangible. Adele deserved those awards for her album, record, and single Rolling in the Deep because she put every ounce of herself out there in her music. After all, who of us can say that we sang until our voice failed? Who of us can say that we used the destructive anger of a broken heart to make some of the most empowering and forceful music of the year? Who of us has the boldness to stand out from the crowd despite chronic stage fright and insecurities—and sing? Perhaps some of us can. But few of us do. So how is anyone justified in accusing Adele of unfair success this year?
We seem almost addicted to measuring our successes and achievements. But why do we value these things when being the best is not even the motivation for most successes? Adele wrote her album Rolling in the Deep to help her overcome a breakup. She wrote it to help heal herself in the most personal and expressive way she could, and yet people criticize this amazing 23-year-old for snatching away too many #1 titles and even for being too pudgy for success! Excuse me, Karl Lagerfeld, but who in your field has been lauded as a safe, confident, and positive influence on young women? Aside from Tyra Banks, little to no one in the past two decades. But Adele has more than a paper-thin model could ever offer up between weak, malnourished limbs; she has a strong voice and a real message to others that resonates in hearts and souls around the world. Even SNL joined the parade of admirers and filmed a skit about how we all cry, laugh, and sing along with this sincere and expressive singer.
Adele did a fantastic job singing at the Grammy’s, and on 60 Minutes right before the Grammy’s program aired, she did an interview with the show and even sang a cappella for a few bars of Someone Like You. She has one of the fullest, richest voices I’ve ever heard, and the fact that she uses that voice to sing about real, non-shallow things adds to her accomplishment and talent as a professional artist. But what really got me about Adele is her voice. She sang her heart out in her songs, career, and album, and she kept up with it even as she adjusted to a life of fame and limelight. Adele had a message for the world, and she sang it with everything she’s got.
Maybe she’s not your style. Maybe you don’t care for her hourglass shape or her forceful, insistent music. Maybe you don’t even like music, or maybe you consider British people anathema, period (I hope you don’t). But don’t be the person who can’t find it in him or herself to respect someone who wears her heart on her sleeve, who isn’t afraid to share her concerns and experience, and who is persistent and creative enough to make this combination of qualities into a global success story. We all have our preferences and aspirations. Perhaps this time, instead of flipping open OK! or People magazine and turning straight to the 100 pound, 5 foot 8, airbrushed model who’s smiling with all her teeth at the camera in an attempt to look sincerely thin and carefree, we’ll all open the page to see Adele—a woman who’s confident, happy, and blunt about it all.
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