10 things we learned from Adele's 'Vogue' issue
Who wants some Adele?
She's on the cover of the March issue of Vogue and as we'd expect from her, the interview is full of the honest, comfortable-in-her-own-skin vibe we've come to expect from her. Along with a little bit of what she calls "dirt mouth." (We expected to type the word "expletive" a few times in this piece.)
A sampling of what we picked up:
1. Her other baby is a wiener dog
She named her dachshund Louis Armstrong. And he has one advantage over her biological son Angelo:
"Pets don't talk back."
Look for him around the 1:06 mark
2. She suffers (hand cramps) for her art
Not only has she suffered heartbreak in order to produce those lyrics of loss and redemption, she's put herself at risk for carpal tunnel syndrome because she writes them all out longhand in a notebook. And she notes her age at the time of each writing. Which produced a "whoa" moment this time around.
"I was just shocked that all of a sudden I was 25! But actually, I like myself more than ever. I feel so comfortable in my own skin. I really like how I look, I like who I am, I like everyone that I surround myself with."
3. She knew we couldn't miss her if she didn't go away
She took ample time off to enjoy her new family (partner Simon Konecki and Angelo), whom she credits with deleting the personal drama that fueled her songwriting.
"My main thing is Mum, then it’s me, then it’s work. I think I had to take the right amount of time off to let people miss me."
4. Fame redefined her idea of power
"I used to define power by age: Respecting your elders and authority figures like teachers ... That's kind of (expletive), really. I define power now as having the confidence to make your own decisions and not be swayed by other people."
Take for instance her first high school music teacher:
"My music teacher was (expletive). Unencouraging."
5. She says she's in the best shape of her life and she's given up smoking
She swore off Marlboro Lights after her throat surgery and barely touches booze now. That's saying something for a woman whose love of wine would have fit in on Cougar Town.
“I was trying to get some stamina for my tour so I lost a bit of weight. Now I fit into normal, off-the-shelf clothes — which is a really big problem for me!”
The surgery had another unintended side effect:
“I’m an absolute germaphobe because of my surgery. I can’t sing at all if I have a sore throat."
But it was all totally worth it: Her contralto range was extended by four notes.
6. She keeps her Oscar -- and her Jenny Packham dress from that night -- on display in her dressing room
In a glass case. Packham is also behind the gown she wore for her Radio City Music Hall show.
But she credits Burberry's Christopher Bailey as her fashion patron saint:
"He has been really hands-on ever since I started showing an interest in fashion."
7. She's a good cook
“Mum went to Italy for a few months just before 21 came out, so I was left to fend on my own. I I got really bored of takeaways, so I thought I would learn how to cook. I actually started from Jamie’s 30-Minute Meals.” She specializes in pan-global comfort food, “but right now it’s boring. It’s just panfried sea bass and spinach!”
8. Her admiration of the Spice Girls isn't ironic
Seeing them live was the highlight of her childhood. Plus, remember how she told James Corden that she was devastated when Geri left?
"People always think I joke about this, but the Spice Girls blew up when I was seven. And seeing them coming from a humble background—it here was hope in it. It was really a massive part of my life when the whole Girl Power thing happened.”
9. She has a policy about seeing her favorite acts live
“Any record that’s ever moved me, when the artist is alive, I’ve seen them live. I’d get pissed off if that artist was still alive and I never saw him.”
10. She has named her performance look
“Borderline drag ... Can you see the amount of paint going on?”