Will music industry scramble to find next Adele in 2012?

Date: Sunday Dec. 25, 2011 7:09 AM ET

TORONTO It's no wonder that British neo-soul powerhouse Adele couldn't stop her voice from disintegrating over the past year -- after all, the 23-year-old's robust instrument probably strained through almost every iPod, coffee shop and car-radio speaker in North America at some point over the course of her mammoth 12 months.

In an age where nothing sells like it used to, Adele's sophomore effort "21" was positively retro, a masterpiece of all-ages accessibility that managed to camp out on the charts with such persistent resolve that it seemed to constitute its very own Occupy Billboard movement.

The record has been certified diamond in Canada, where it had sold more than 800,000 copies by November. It moved another 3.4 million copies in Adele's native U.K. -- making it the bestselling album of the young century there -- and reached quadruple platinum designation in the U.S. back in October. And when Adele strides into the Grammy Awards in February, she'll do so with six nominations, including nods in each of the show's three biggest categories.

The best part? No one expected it. Adele's "21" was a runaway freight train that looked as serenely inconspicuous as a Prius. But if the industry was looking the other way when "21" hurtled past, they're watching now. And their response to the most prominent stealth smash in ages could resonate for years to come.

"My idea is that the industry for the last 10 months has been frantically trying to duplicate Adele," said Entertainment Weekly music critic Leah Greenblatt in a recent telephone interview.

"They've given new directives to their A&R guys, like: 'Find this girl with the voice. She doesn't have to wear hot pants, and she doesn't have to make crazy-expensive, sexy videos. She just has to be fantastic."'

But even if Adele's success has prowling music execs humming her catchy chorus in a different context -- "Nevermind, I'll f! ind some one like you" -- most industry observers believe that record companies searching for an Adele double should be learning a different lesson in the wake of her astonishing ascension.

Of course, Adele's sophomore record didn't emerge entirely from the ether. Her 2008 debut, "19," positioned Adele amid a cluster of sassy, hype-heaped British soul throwbacks who breezed onto the scene in the wake of Amy Winehouse's marquee success. Still, Adele wasn't a mere copycat, and her debut marked the arrival of a serious talent, one gifted with a voluptuous voice, promising songwriting skills and the ability to fuse blues, jazz, folk, soul and pop for a mix that was at once skeletal and supple, gritty and glamorous.

The album featured one true hit single -- "Chasing Pavements" -- and sold fairly well, reaching gold certification in Canada (it would eventually surge on to platinum after "21" hit) and wresting more attention in Adele's home country. She earned critical respect, despite persistent comparisons to Winehouse and similarly one-named U.K. crooner Duffy. And she won two Grammy Awards, including best new artist.

So, Adele was one to watch, sure, but certainly didn't seem a pop powerhouse in waiting. Even last November, when she released the first single from "21" -- the thumping "Rolling in the Deep," a swaggering soul number streaked with gospel and disco -- it entered the charts meekly, landing at No. 68 in the U.S. in the week leading up to Christmas.

But like everything Adele did this past year, the song had staying power. Once it got, ahem, rolling, the powerful single eventually hit No. 1 in May. By then, "21" had taken hold. The next single, the anguished torch tune "Someone Like You," was an immediate smash and "21" took up its residency at the top of the charts.

Meanwhile, many industry insiders -- despite loving the album -- were left slightly puzzled. The record had been released on British-owned independent XL Recordings. Adele didn't have a mammoth marketing budget, di! dn't hav e any splashy collaborations and didn't need to trot across television screens with no clothes on to persuade customers to buy her album. She even struggled to gain radio play at first, because the genre-hopping nature of her album made it an uneasy fit in the archaic, narrowly focused world of radio.

Needless to say, she surprised people.

"No one was expecting this," Greenblatt said.

Added Alan Cross, host of the syndicated radio program "The Secret History of Rock": "The interesting thing about the Adele record is that she's not a raving beauty -- she's a pretty woman but I mean, she's not like a kewpie-doll pinup, there have been no flashy videos, there's been no hype, and no tabloid stuff to propel things along, she hasn't done anything outrageous.

"This has all been an organic thing.... So there has to be something genuinely powerful about this record from a music point of view. It's certainly not the image and the hype ... (because) all she's really doing is getting in front of an audience and singing."

Indeed, the central appeal of "21" lies in its music.

Where its predecessor was bittersweet, "21" is downright mournful, a scorching, scornful break-up album during which Adele's titanic singing voice navigates despair, defiance and self-deprecation with power and grace. The record sounds more current than her debut, yet retains an organic elegance uncommon for the modern pop charts, while the infectious compositions are founded on sturdier stuff than the tunes on her first album.

"(That album) is a sensation because she's incredibly talented," said hit-making Winnipeg producer Bob Rock in a telephone interview. "Great records really cut. When it's as good as that record is, with an artist as good as she is, you want to buy it. You want to own it.

"That's the worth of great music."

Greenblatt, meanwhile, pointed out that the honesty of the music -- seemingly generated without crassly commercial goals -- spoke to people.

"For her, it was the! rapy," s he said of Adele. "And I don't think she ever thought: 'Oh man, I'm going to sell 10 million copies of this and be a superstar.'

"She throws up before she performs. She's still not used to it... It hasn't been her life's ambition to be an artist on this scale."

The other major reason for the record's success was its boundary-busting demographic appeal, with fans of all ages embracing the music.

"There aren't a lot of artists who can be enjoyed by the range of people as Adele," Greenblatt said. "A lot of parents, if they're with their kids in the car, somebody has to endure whatever the other person wants to listen to. And Adele is one of those very few artists where mom and dad and the kids -- and throw in a grandma in there -- can probably all enjoy it."

Added HMV Canada president Nick Williams, who said his company sold more than 200,000 copies of Adele's album: "It literally transcends any genre and any age group.... It was a real phenomenon."

So if Adele's record was such a singular success in 2011, it's not exactly difficult to figure out why so many insiders expect the major labels to work furiously to find someone else like her.

"It's a depressing thought, really," said British singer/songwriter Anna Calvi, whose self-titled debut was nominated for the Mercury Prize against "21."

"I guess they'll probably find another person that sounds a bit like Amy Winehouse and a bit like Adele and she'll probably be really successful as well."

While others similarly believe that labels might search for Adele soundalikes, few agree that such copycats could approach her accomplishments.

"I think we're constantly trying to emulate that success," laughed Steve Waxman, director of national publicity for Warner Music Canada.

"(But) the Adele record's a zeitgeist. It's a moment in time. It's a record that everybody wanted to own this year. There's no formula for that.... She made a record that people connected to. That's the bottom line.... You can't bottle! that."< /p>

Added Greenblatt: "Even if you can find a voice and a sensibility that's that distinct and that gifted and with that much potential, there's just no guarantee you can turn it into something like Adele. There's just so many factors that come between that and (selling) 10 million albums."

There are, however, elements of Adele's rise that could provide a direction for unearthing future gems.

Perhaps some extra consideration will be afforded to young female singers who don't fit the typical pop-star profile -- runway-ready beauties with clothing and body-fat in perilously short supply. Or maybe more consideration will be given to musical acts that don't neatly fit the pop-radio format.

"I would hope that it would open their eyes to talent that might not immediately seem commercial ... and that would be the great benefit that would come out of this," Greenblatt said.

Or perhaps the Adele effect will resonate more on the personal level than with the industry as a whole.

Maybe some musicians will look back at the biggest album of 2011 and come away thinking that the best formula for pop prosperity is no formula at all.

"I think (Adele) is very inspiring. It makes me very, very positive about what we do. And anybody that I work with, that's what I put across to them, and she's the perfect example of what you should be doing in your career," Rock said.

"She made a great record, with great songs and performances, and that still counts."