Adéla is on her way to world domination
You may know Adéla as a “Popstar Academy” alum, where she competed for a chance to debut as part of Hybe x Geffen’s global girl group Katseye. But as they say, rejection is only redirection because her early elimination from the show revealed something she ought to have known—she was never meant to be part of a girl group.
She was a born soloist.
Most recently, Adéla made her festival debut at Lollapalooza, where she performed “KGB,” her newest track “Ain’t in LA,” and her hit song “Superscar.” Earlier this year, she opened for Demi Lovato across Lovato’s North America tour, marking a significant milestone in her career.
When asked about her reaction to receiving the support of one of pop music’s major players, Adéla says she cried when first meeting the former Disney Channel star.
“I cried because she, along with Miley [Cyrus], Selena [Gomez], and Ariana [Grande], truly raised a generation. They’re the reason why I know pop stars exist and were my first introduction that I can sing, dance, and be on a show for a living. I literally learned English by watching their interviews,” she told Cosmopolitan.
A small-town girl goes global
Adéla often talks about her experience growing up in Slovakia. To grow up in that small country in Eastern Europe is to navigate a post-communist conservatism that runs counter to one’s dreams of pursuing art for a living. But Adéla knew very early on who she was, and had exposed herself to American pop culture that had given her a more “liberal point of view on the world.”
At just eight years old, she taught herself English by immersing herself in the world of Disney Channel shows and American YouTubers. Within a year, she had developed an American accent that left her parents in utter shock.
She began her career as an artist learning ballet. She tells Hunger Magazine how she had entered a nationwide audition for a full-time ballet academy and ended up achieving first overall in the country. “It’s the more socially acceptable art form, and [Slovaks] are really good at it,” she shares. Eventually, she decided that she didn’t want to do ballet all her life, and began to proactively pursue a music career.
Adéla always makes it happen for herself. On Netflix’s “Pop Star Academy,” she was a standout for her bold personality and highly sophisticated dancing ability. She had landed the show simply by coming across an interview where she had discovered Olivia Rodrigo’s childhood vocal coach. She emailed her and began taking lessons over Zoom. When it was time, they both decided to take Adéla’s career to the next level.
Now she has amassed more monthly listeners on Spotify than the entire population of her home country. But Adéla never fails to recall where she’s from.
Performing at Lollapalooza for the first time, she gives a special shoutout to her sister and mother watching her from Slovakia, celebrating her sister’s 14th birthday without her. She then urges her fans to greet her sister from afar before singing the lyrics, “Maybe tonight, we don’t gotta run away / It’s all a lie, the baddest bitches ain’t in LA.”
Hyperpop and her signature pink
As Adéla gains global recognition, she joins the likes of Billie Eilish for their grimier, edgier head of hair than your usual blonde or brunette. Her most recent dye is a dirty hot pink that complements her smudged eyeliner aesthetic and contrasts against her pale vampiric skin.
Having studied pop stars extensively—citing Beyoncé, Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Britney Spears, and Janet Jackson among her influences—she has not only mastered English, but the visual language of pop ascendance, too.
Her EP “The Provocateur” came out last August, and just recently she announced her upcoming album “Prima,” which is set for September of this year.
