AdELA is an up and coming singer hailing from South Africa and is already making a big impact on the music industry. She has been working with Grammy Award winning producer Streetrunner (who has produced Lil’ Wayne). She was also impressively voted Best Unsigned Pop/Rnb artist by DJ Booth Net, who tipped her for imminent success.
Her music is highly commercial Rnb/hip hop with a strong pop influence and this track, I Was Waiting, is a superb showcase for her vocal talents. It starts with a fade in of strings before a phasey synth begins the short verse. Just as the listener expects a slowly building ballad it then launches into a huge, instantly memorable chorus that hooks in the mind upon first listening (“I was waiting, waiting on you…’) and displays AdeLA’s considerable vocal range.
Lyrically, it is standard fare about relying on a lover to save the day, a universal theme that most can relate to. After the second chorus, around the two minute thirty mark, there is a short breakdown section where AdeLA shows off her rapping skills, which adds nice variety to the song. Being able to both sing and rap is a decided advantage in an era of female rappers like Iggy Azalea and Nicki Minaj.
Overall, this sounds like a massive hit in the making. The explosively, catchy chorus hook dominates the track and makes it perfectly suited to mainstream radio play. The flawless production is very much cutting edge, and with female pop stars currently ruling the roost more than ever before it would seem the perfect time for AdeLA to take her place on the big stage and blast her way into the Top 40.
By Alex Faulkner
Exclusive Interview:
EV: How did you hear about Exposed Vocals?
EV: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
AdELA: -I was born in South Africa but raised in South Africa. I have been singing as long as I can remember. It just came naturally so as I got older I started pursuing music on a more serious level.
EV: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
AdELA: -Well that’s easy! I got is from my mama! It’s my legal name…
EV: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
AdELA: -I think in this day and age online music sharing is extremely useful to all artists both mainstream and independent. I always give away free music. For me at this point it’s more about spreading the word about my brand. I do sell around the world as far as iTunes and streaming but if I didn’t give away music for people to have their first listen I wouldn’t have been able to make people aware of me. At the end of the day if you do this just for the money your in it for the wrong reasons!
EV: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?
AdELA: -Well being independent and going after airplay is a monster I will never tackle again! I had about 1000 spins on my first record on radio and it was A serious hustle. Your also going against artists with endless budgets so it’s tough to compete. The next time I go after radio I want the machine behind me aka the label. As far as gigs, go perform everywhere. And most spots will let you perform if your music is dope and you have a presence or following.
EV: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?
EV: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?
AdELA: -I haven’t had the opportunity to tour as much as going to different cities to perform. I have a pretty crazy crew I run with so the shenanigans are always on level 10!
EV: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
AdELA: -My process is quite simple. I work with Grammy award winner producer STREETRUNNER. He has done work with almost every Hiphop artist in the game from Lil Wayne to Eminem. He makes a specific beat for me and says I need this done. I either sing or rap on the beat or sometimes do both. It usually takes me no more that 2 hours to record a record and from there I go into creative mode as far as visuals. It’s vital to have videos today. People’s attention spans have become shorter so they generally like “watching” their music if that make sense. And with platforms like YouTube it has become super easy for an independent artist to build a video fan base.
EV: Do you have a band website? Do you have a Facebook or Twitter? Do you use Bandcamp, Spotify, ExposedVocals or SoundCloud to share your music?
AdELA: -website: www.adelamusicinc.com
EV: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?
AdELA: -I have Everything from Nas to Fleetwood Mac, Madonna, Tupac, Katy Perry, Mary J, ect. Nothing I would consider embarrassing, ok maybe a few early records I recorded waaaay back in the day lol
EV: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
EV: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?
AdELA: -I work on Blue Mic. But honestly I’d record anywhere. As long as I deliver and my crew knows what they are doing technically I’m good.
EV: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
AdELA: -Social networks, but also forming real relationships with fans and people in the industry. I try to be good about hitting as many people back as possible and I don’t burn bridges.
EV: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?
AdELA: -NAS! By far my greatest inspiration. He influenced me on so many levels growing up.
EV: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
AdELA: -Wrapping up my EP “OFF THE BURNER” so just look out for that over the next couple of months. It’s lengendary!
EV: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
AdELA: -Hmmm.. I don’t even know anymore! Lol
EV: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?
AdELA: -I’ve always grown up around music so I can’t remember my first album. But I was obsessed with 90’s hip hop and R&B and Ofcourse I loved Pop too.
EV: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
AdELA: -you just have to prioritize and treat music like a business. I make a lot of lists lol. I keep everything organized as far as the business side of things and then creatively I much more free as far as just going in the studio and being open about what I record.
EV: What should fans look forward to for the rest of 2014 and beyond?
