ADÉLA SHINES AS ‘THE PROVOCATEUR’ IN DEBUT ALBUM
With a myriad of singles released over the duration of nearly a year, Adéla has been creating hype and anticipation for her debut album release The Provocateur, released on Aug. 22. Garnering millions of streams on songs like “Superscar” and “MachineGirl,” her musical presence is continuing to expand and grasp all sorts of audiences.
Adéla is known originally for her appearance on Netflix’s Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE to audition to be a potential member of the global girl group Katseye. Since then, the Slovak performer has made herself an entirely new identity. Training for the girl group did not deter her from releasing her own music, with her Spotify bio reading “born to be solo xoxo.”
The Provocateur was preceded by four singles, the first dating back to September 2024 where the excitement for a full project by Adéla was planted.
This first single, “Homewrecked,” shot off her career immediately. The song features a tale of an affair that happened in her family, and is set to a hyperpop instrumental that runs along a consistent beat that builds the emotion of the track. “Homewrecked” solidified to fans that Adéla was meant for a music career after the Netflix show, cementing her seriousness to the craft
“Superscar” is Adéla’s most popular track with 14 million streams on Spotify. This song focuses on the darker side of the industry, specially the treatment of female musicians.
In “Superscar,” Adéla sings:
“Maybe I should count myself so lucky / So lucky / Ooh / And all these dirty hands, they wanna touch me / So touch me.”
Graphic by Paige Firsten (Crave Music Magazine)
The lyrics of “Superscar” discuss blatantly how the industry will take whatever they want as long as they get the product they desire, no matter the emotional, physical or mental toll on the artist themselves. Set to a fun, pop beat, there’s a sort of irony of how the lyrics don’t quite fit the music.
“Tie me up / Pull my strings and make me sing like / Oh-oh-woah / Oh-oh-woah, oh / Bite my tongue / What you need, come take from me.”
“MachineGirl” is a direct call out to all of the hate Adéla received from her actions and words on Pop Star Academy. After watchers assumed she was being unfairly rude because of comments she had made relating to other girl’s efforts during the survival show, they set out to attack her. This track is a more fun reply to the situation, saying: “‘Mean girl, mean girl’ / What’s that even mean, girl? / Said it to your face / So you can see just what I mean girl.”
Adéla follows this up later by singing “Yell at the machine girl,” saying she has no time for hate for whatever image was created for her within an 8-episode show. People can call her a mean girl all they want, but as she says, mean girls make “the world go ‘round.”
The final single for The Provocateur was “DeathByDevotion,” released just over a month before the album was released. “DeathByDevotion” deep dives into not only Adéla’s music, but also her history as a ballerina and her intense devotion to becoming the best she can be, despite the toll it takes. Reminiscent of a club beat, the song is heavier than the previous singles, exploring more of an electronic story that you can feel throughout your body.
The Provocateur not only stands out for the songs encapsulated inside, but through the cover. Adéla is front and center, publicly urinating on a wall in a mimicry of how a man would. The cover is a perfect example of how Adéla wants the title and album to be taken: Unexpected and serious.
Adéla’s career is just beginning, and with the enticing flow and spark of the album, she’s got an entire world in front of her. Check out The Provocateur ASAP!
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