Consider Adele's Songwriting Success

Over the past couple of months I have posted a few thoughts for the songwriters to consider when creating songs that matter to people who listen. I mentioned that we should probably study what makes the top in our industry successful and duplicate it in our own uniqueness. You can read that post here: What Can We Learn From Music Business Top Earners Lists?

When considering a top artist in our industry today that we all can learn from, Adele cannot be overlooked.

BMI recently posted an article by Jewly Hight titled, Why Adele and Her Songwriting Will Always Matter. This article does a good job of explaining, what I think is the secret to the Grammy award wining star’s success. Essentially Adele’s secret is connection.

During a 60 Minute interview with Anderson Cooper Adele mentions that she found it difficult to think that there are 20 million people listing to music that she wrote, “selfishly to get over a breakup.” I on the other hand am not that surprised at all. One issue for a lot of us today is that were trying make hits so we try to think up things to write about that others will accept. That can work, but connection to your work is better.

Using this article on Adele posted by BMI, I will point out a couple of points on how writing with personal connection can help with your connection to a possible audience.

Maximizes Poetry

Fraser T. Smith, who has produced and co-written songs with Adele said that he was struck by, ”how she can deliver lines which are pretty simple yet contain such amazing imagery.”  The lesson here is that situations in life that consume your emotions and your thought life give you the ability to break them down poetically. You have an ability to explain, compare, and give analogies on subjects you experience on a personal level. Chances are that if your going through it, someone else is to. Your strong connection to what you’re going through may directly connect and help someone else explain what he or she is going through as well.

Maximizes Performance

The following quote says it all:

“When I sing ‘Someone Like You,’ I know that every single person in the room will be able to relate to it. That’s where that emotional connection comes from. I have sympathy for myself, I have sympathy for them, they have sympathy for me, and I know that we are all there knowing exactly how each other feels”- Adele

Connection to your music frees you to genuinely display the emotion of your music. It will teach others to display their emotion as they connect with it as well. As you are able to make that authentic connection, you will lead the audience into their own authentic connection. As a result they will feel that same connection every time they hear your song.