Don”t hold out for “23” from Adele. Billboard”s 2011 artist of the year is not only recovering from throat surgery, the musician, whose first two albums were called “19” and “21,” says she has not even started writing for her third album.
The 23-year-old tells Billboard that, furthermore, she has no idea when she”ll start. “I’m really looking forward to some time to do nothing,” Adele says, in the email-conducted interview. “I imagine I’ll be 25 or 26 by the time my next record comes out, as I haven’t even thought about my third record yet. I’m just gonna lay some concrete, set up home and just ‘be” for a bit. I’ll disappear and come back with a record when it’s good enough. There will be no new music until it’s good enough and until I’m ready.”
She also talks about what she learned from the late Amy Winehouse, whose posthumous album, “Lioness: Hidden Treasures” debuted at No. 1 in the U.K. this week: “She created herself. That’s what inspired me. I see no appeal in having a very specific plan as an artist. Who fucking cares if people don’t get it or don’t like it? I’d rather trust myself, to like what I’ve done and stick to my guns than make music I don’t like, wear clothes that don’t suit me and flutter between genres because I’m scared I won’t be relevant if I pass my ‘sell by” date. Amy tattooed that in me!”
Adele stays remarkably grounded because she surrounds herself with her friends from before she made it big, she says. “When it comes to staying myself — my career isn’t my life, it doesn’t come home with me…Of course I’m bowled over by people’s response to ’21,” and when I meet artists I love, it blows my mind. But it baffles me as well. I go home and my best friend laughs at me, rather than going to a celebrity-studded party to rub shoulders with people who know me but who I don’t know. I’m Z-list when it comes to that shit.”
Adele candidly admits hat she hasn”t found love again since she split with the subject of “21,” and that there have been times that “not having someone to share all this with made me miserable…to be honest. I wanted nothing more than to be in love and be loved back. That was until I remembered I was sharing it with millions and millions and millions of people!! I haven’t been ready to be in love again since summer 2009… until now. And I hadn’t met anyone along the way who has changed that.”
While she has not been announced as a Grammy performer yet, the six-time nominee says that her voice should be ready by February. The Grammys take place Feb. 12.