Adele Crossed The Line On ’30’ – The Federalist

Goodbye, Taylor Swift. Hello, again, Adele.Within hours of its release, Adeles latest album 30 replaced Taylor Swifts re-released Red (Taylors Version) at the top of iTunes charts.

While Adele ended her musical hiatus with a heart-wrenching collection of songs, this album gives her audience more than just a glimpse into her recent divorce.Adele . . . now has an album that ups the stakes and nuance of her artistry, said Jillian Mapers, an editor at Pitchfork. Not just in telling a story over the course of 12 songs . . . but by being bold enough to share it all so vulnerably, with the entire world listening.

Adele is undoubtedly vulnerable, but her decision to share as much as she does in 30 is not bold. Its reckless.

The singer overexposes her life, making 30 as an exercise in too much information. Its TMI about her own life, sure, but at least thats her own business. But even worse, its TMI about the people around her.

Adeles worst offense comes on My Little Love, at the expense of her 9-year-old son. She cries out to him: Im so far gone and youre the only one who can save me. Adele is putting all the pressure on her son to be her refuge. Sheshould have stopped there. Instead, she took the extraordinary step of inserting voice memos from what are apparently real conversations with her son into the song.

I feel like you dont love me, says the boy.

Why do you feel like that? she asks.

Do you like me?

You know mommy doesnt like anyone else like I like you, right?

These moments in My Little Love are striking because they are intimate. Its heart-wrenching to hear Adeles son question his own mothers loveand a conversation like that should remain private. Instead, Adele was willing to exploit her sons fears for the sake of selling songs.

Adele, like all artists, constantly faces the challenge of projecting beauty to her audience in an intimate, honest way. Great artists are genuine, and art that lacks intimacy falls flat.But did her son know she was recording him? Even if he knew, can a 9-year-old really consent to such a thing? Growing up as the child of a celebrity must be difficult and when celebrity parents use their children to advance their career, they make it even harder.

Theres a word for Adeles behavior: oversharing.

Across all social media platforms, oversharing is rampant in our culture. People post text message threads with their significant others and TikToks revealing every occurrence of their day.

There is true beauty in the intricate intimacies of our lives. Artists recognize that beauty, capture it, and form it into something for us to see, read, or hear. Maybe some beautiful moments are worth sharing, but many beautiful moments are worth keeping to yourself.

If every ordinary moment is plastered across Instagram for all to see, it becomes habitual to turn your life into a performance. Suddenly you wake up in the morning deciding what coffee to make based on how good the picture will turn out.

Nobody wants to hear a mediocre break-up song from Adelewe want raw, relatable, earth-shattering beauty. Adele hasnt let her art fall flat, stripping it of honesty and intimacy. But shes crossed lines of consent for the sake of her music and success. Oversharing disregards privacy and can damage people in the process.

Though many may applaud Adele for this vulnerability, her transparency reveals a depth to her heartbreak that we just dont need to hear. She can be intimate and honest without exposing another humans insecuritythat sets apart a truly great artist.

Adeles break-up shouldnt be a movie for all to see. Its possible to write beautiful music without exposing too much.This album is possibly the most intimate and emotional music weve heard all year. But dont let Adeles honest appeal hide her blatant oversharing, and dont let her powerful voice influence your own emotions.

Adele ends her story saying, Id do it all again like I did it.Maybe she will do it all again. If she does, she should go easy on usby keeping it to herself.

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Adele Crossed The Line On '30' - The Federalist