She's the biggest act in the world. Bigger than Drake, bigger than Taylor Swift, bigger than ANYBODY! Maybe because she goes away, she's not working it all the time, maybe because she has hits, in a genre almost everyone has forgotten about, straight ahead pop, sans the trendy 808 beats, maybe because she's the best live performer out there, she can not only sing, she interacts with the audience, she tells stories, she's riveting...she sets herself apart, she exists in her own bubble. SO WHY DID SHE COME DOWN TO EARTH TO APPEAR ON A SECOND-RATE TV SHOW DOING BAD MATERIAL??
I know, I know, she wanted to show off her newly-slimmed body. Her self-image has improved, great. But this does not add an iota to all the elements that made her a star and kept her shining bright. It doesn't matter how those with true talent appear, hell, I don't want to body shame anyone, but my point is it's what goes into the ears, not what comes into the eyes. Furthermore, true fans have already seen these thin images, they've been all over the gossip sites. So, you've got a coming out on late night television and..?
Why late night television? That's certainly not cool. What self-respecting youngster wants to tune in on a Saturday night, they've got no better options? Hell, they'd rather make a TikTok video using an Adele song than watch her on SNL, where she's not even singing!
Oh yes, she ended up singing a bit, and that was cool, but it was just a wink to those who couldn't fathom that she was not the musical guest.
As for the oldsters... They remember when SNL was truly great, back in the late seventies. If they're watching today, it's out of habit at best, if they're awake to begin with, or on the west coast and viewing the live feed.
The opening bit, the political bit...it would be funny if there were any jokes. We're just supposed to laugh because they're doing it? How low can the bar be?
So low that major media outlets cover the show the next day, as if it matters, but it's Quibi without the monthly charge, with bad short bits that you never want to see again. Oh sure, you get more eyeballs than the competition, there's an imprimatur of importance, if you're the musical guest it demonstrates to gatekeepers that your handlers are committed to breaking you, but few play absolutely live anymore and it's all about as genuine as a Twinkie, with the same nutritional effect.
But this is what happens when legacy media is beholden to publicists, when it still lives in the last century, when it believes one show can reach and impact everybody and change the culture. Come on, when was the last time someone employed a catch phrase from SNL? Yet they were rampant back in the seventies. Back when the show was cutting edge, the anti, now it's establishment, it's what young kids are REBELLING AGAINST!
So, just by going on SNL Adele hurts her image. Bruce Springsteen does an Apple TV+ movie for his stiff on arrival new album, imagine if Adele created something special stamped with her personality, people would be salivating over it. And she wouldn't share the stage with others, she'd be the star, deservedly.
Adele is more than the hits, she represents something, rarefied, why bring herself down to earth, we need people to believe in!
As for ticket sales... She can sell every one available. And that's because you can only get what she's selling at the gig. Each show is different, they're magic, there's no online equivalent.
However, the truth is "25" was not as good as "21," not as successful. So, unless the next album truly delivers, her fans and her business might fall off. You can sell tickets off a stiff album if you've got enough dedicated fans, but how many true fans does Adele have anyway? She's a pop star with hits, without them..? She was more like Barbra Streisand, there's only one of her, hits are irrelevant if you manage your career very closely, keep yourself exotic, don't appear just anywhere, place yourself in your own solar system, above everyone else.
This is where a manager counts.
Then again, not enough managers will say no to an artist.
And probably, Adele had a desire, pushed to do this show. But the truth is she's a Brit, she doesn't really understand it, just like Americans don't understand U.K. television shows, if they know anything about them at all. And eyeball counts only matter if you're selling, trying to extend your reach, AND ADELE WASN'T SELLING ANYTHING! Except for herself.
But watching all you could do was marvel at her appearance. Did she have weight loss surgery, did she have plastic surgery...what she said was secondary. And it was scripted by SNL hacks, who deliver this tripe every week. If you want to make an impression, write your own intro, that you test elsewhere first.
Subtleties. Many people will say the above makes no difference. That people forget. But the truth is image and career management are what separates the legends from the rest of the acts. Come on, those who go their own way, who are sui generis, those are the ones you want to get closer to, the ones you are yearning to understand. Like Neil Young. He's an enigma. You hang on his words. But he didn't give the public what it wanted, he went his own way, and then the world circled back to him and then it left him once again, alone with his fans, who've supported him.
Adele had charisma. I tell everybody her live show was one of the two best I've seen this century.
But now everybody has seen her. And she appears to be nothing special, not so different from everybody else. Another singer.
It's a tragedy.
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