In the amusingly intimate venue of a studio at London’s the Church, Adele performed the next single off 25 that’ll surely get tens of millions of hits in its first few days, and be the #1 pop cultural subject on the intimacy-antithesis of the Internet. It was staged through 60 Minutes Australia, was previewed yesterday, and earlier today Adele released the full, nearly-six minute performance. The track, a collaboration with Tobias Jesso, Jr. called “When We Were Young,” starts off somewhat limply, but slowly escalates until it allows for Adele to hit a note that gives singers the type of victoriously pained facial expressions you see above.
Yesterday, Adele gave an interview on SiriusXM, where she detailed the inspiration for the track:
It was based on us being older, and being at a party at this house, and seeing everyone that you’ve ever fallen out with, everyone that you’ve ever loved, everyone that you’ve never loved, and stuff like that, where you can’t find the time to be in each other lives. And you’re all thrown together at this party when you’re like 50, and it doesn’t matter and you have so much fun and you feel like you’re 15 again. So that’s the vibe of it really.
Watch the performance: