Slovak pop singer ADÉLA first rose to fame after appearing on — and being quickly eliminated from — the reality TV show “The Debut: Dream Academy.” While the winners of the show went on to form the highly successful girl group KATSEYE, ADÉLA carved out her own niche in the music industry as a solo artist. Her debut album, “PRIMA,” released on Sept. 4, establishes her place in the modern pop scene — albeit with room for improvement.
The record was co-produced by Dylan Brady and Blake Slatkin, with contributions from artists such as The Dare, Cashmere Cat and Julia Michaels. Notably missing from these collaborators is Grimes, who helped produce ADÉLA’s first EP, “The Provacateur,” in 2025. Grimes’s absence from “PRIMA” may explain the record’s departure from her previous release’s more electronic and experimental sound.
The album has many fresh-sounding and entertaining tracks, including its opening song, “KGB,” a nod to Slovakia’s Soviet history. Starting off the album with high-energy, the lyrics highlight the singer’s strong work ethic and hunger for fame. In the chorus, ADÉLA sings “I was, like, eight, working the nightshift to learn English / I’m like a spy, I studied this shit, call me the K-G-B*tch.”
While “KGB” is characterized by its fun electro-pop backing, the following track, “Nicole Kidman,” is much slower. The album’s second song is one of the most commercially successful on the album, featuring glamorous synth and a haunting chorus in the background.
But despite excelling sonically, the song introduces one of the record’s largest problems. While trying to be honest and expressive, the lyrics ultimately feel vapid, such as when ADÉLA sings, “My bra should probably be a bigger size (Size) / Maybe that’s why they can’t look me in my eyes (They’re up here).”
Next, in “I’m The Man,” ADÉLA sings about preferring a relationship dynamic where she is the main decision maker — in her words, wherein she is “the man.” With amusing lyrics like “His face is so androgynous / We kinda look alike / I’m kinda into that, is that weird?”, the track doesn’t take itself too seriously, much like the rest of the album.
ADÉLA once again explores gendered expectations in “Boys.” Although the song has an interesting and energetic instrumental, it also feels somewhat juvenile. At times — if one were to ignore the lyrics’ subject matter — the song feels better suited for a “Troll”s movie than a pop record. Even the way ADÉLA describes male attention in the track, singing “I got boys, like a vendin’ machine / I just press the right buttons and they fallin’ for me / I got boys, and they’re stuck in my teeth,” sounds childlike.
“Red Bottoms” and “Hitachi” both explore ADÉLA’s anxieties and insecurities. In “Red Bottoms,” she sings “Nobody wants dirty shoes / Nobody wants dad issues.” Through her enunciation, the two phrases sound nearly identical — just one instance of the few witty lyrical phrases found on “PRIMA.” “Hitachi” has the most acoustic sounding instrumental on the record, highlighting the singer’s dynamic voice. The song, which may sound out of place, is a nice break from the rest of the album.
In “Marijuana,” the singer references multiple pop culture icons, singing “Playin’ Nirvana, ride you in your Honda / I like how you look at me like I’m the next Madonna.” While ADÉLA’s frequent references to American pop culture — as in “Nicole Kidman” — are fun nods at first, they soon begin to feel overdone. For a moment, it seems as if the singer cannot create something unless it is heavily inspired by something else. Luckily, ADÉLA breaks this trend in “Therapy,” addressing something deeply personal to her as she sings of her relationship with her family.
The final track, “Ain’t in LA” is the standout of the album for both its popularity and sound. Heavily playing into the recent wave of 2016 nostalgia, the track feels bright, summery and inspiring. ADÉLA emphasizes the talent and beauty that lives in underrepresented parts of the world, singing “All of the girls in them unknown cities / You’re so unique and your face so pretty,” and “Maybe tonight, we don't gotta run away / It’s all a lie, the baddest b*tches ain't in L.A.”
Overall, “PRIMA” is a strong debut album that fits well with the current pop music landscape. But despite its witty moments, the tracks’ lyrics leave much to be desired and overshadow the album’s fresh instrumentals.
