Adele Explains Why 25 Was So Difficult to Write

Singer talks with Matt Lauer on the Today Show

By Kendall Fisher Dec 07, 2015 4:32 PMTags
Adele, Adele Live in New York CityNBC

In the past, Adele's incredible albums have been a reflection of where she is in her life—typically a little sad and heartbroken—but something's different with 25, and it's not just her age.

Sitting down with Matt Lauer on the TODAY Show Monday, the Grammy Award-winning singer admits the birth of her son, Angelo, completely changed her life, including her music and writing.

After releasing her sophomore album 21 a few years ago, she described her life as "uncertain" to Lauer. But now? "I've never been happier," she told him. "And I've never been healthier. So I'm good."

In fact, that sort of happiness actually made it incredibly difficult to write 25. "I found it impossible for a while," she explains. "I didn't know what I wanted to write about. ... What's wrong is I wasn't sad."

She admits she began "overthinking everything," and only moved forward once she "chilled out" and figured out how to write more than just heartbreak. Her hit single "Hello" is a big message regarding that.

"'Hello' is just about reconnecting with everyone else and myself," she explained. "From the other side, I couldn't get over my guilt of leaving my kid to go and write a record and stuff like that. So [it's] getting over that—getting on the other side of that. It was just, you know, it's in general, just hello to everyone."

She says she wants to remind everyone that she's still the same person. "I'm still here, in myself. I haven't changed," she explains.

Part of who she is obviously includes writing amazing albums, but it also includes her constant disbelief at her acclamations that come with them.  For example, having 21 named the No. 1 spot on Billboard's top 200 albums of all time.

"I'm beyond grateful, but it's a bit ridiculous," she said of the honor that put the album ahead of the soundtrack to The Sound of Music and Michael Jackson's Thriller. "I should be like No. 50 or something. Or not even that!"

For more from her interview with Matt Lauer, head over to TODAY.