ADÉLA’s Fame Comes As No Surprise

“This career is actually happening,” ADÉLA (Adéla Jergova) tells me, stonefaced over Zoom from her Los Angeles apartment. She just got back from her sold-out mini tour, which produced a cornucopia of viral videos of her now small, but growing fan base singing along to every word like she’s already a Billboard chart topper.

“I'm going to sound pretty arrogant saying this, but there's a big sense of, ‘We’re here early,’” she says of her fans. “[They] want me to win so badly, and they're also so excited to be there in the small rooms right now, because the goal is to do much bigger rooms one day.”

It does feel inevitable that the Slovakia-born, LA-based pop star will be leveling up to bigger stages soon. She alludes to some plans, her self-described “eastern European bluntness” showing for just a moment: “There's these things lined up and realistically, I'm going to kill all of [them] … I'm not going to let myself not do well.”

ADÉLA is clear, though, that the group wasn’t meant for her.

“My best friends are in that group,” she says, referring to members Daniela, Lara, Manon, Megan, Sophia, and Yoonchae. “I know how it functions … If I would have made it into the group, I would be really unwell mentally. It wouldn't be in the right place for me. I wouldn't be on the correct path.” She cites the disconnect as being related to the level of corporate control, which defines the group’s creativity and day-to-day activity.

“When I did the Dream Academy stuff, that was not the real representation of me, because you get told what to do,” ADÉLA shares. “On the show, they choose the outfits for you, they're like, ‘Be like this,’ so when [Dream Academy] started, and we started to get attention, it did not penetrate my psyche. I was like, ‘This doesn't really feel like mine.’”

The moxy she displayed in the video is a heightened performance of a popstar, of course, but there is a truth to her blood, sweat and tears toiling. Something fiery was forged in the strange aftermath of Dream Academy.

“I got off of a show where for two years we were literally getting told by music executives what to do. We were getting molded,” she shares. “So it was really fucking weird coming off of that. I was just really lost and quite depressed … I dropped out of high school for the show, too, so I had to get my GED. It was a mess. It was the most terrifying year ever. But it was a necessary evil.”

Maybe she applied her ballerina training, or her pop star lessons from the HYBE and Geffen team. Either way, she got to work and wrote a Google Doc exploring every facet of what she wants her career to be while she was stuck in Slovakia as her U.S. visa was sorted. Then, she came back, made, and released her debut single, “Homewrecked.” If this were a biopic, it would already have its first 30 minutes set out just a few years into her career. When it comes, we’re seated.

PAPER chatted with the busy rising popstar after her short, but hectic tour to discuss her inner faith, life after Dream Academy and her debut EP.

Hi! How are you? You’re in LA?

Yes, I'm in my apartment for the first time in weeks so it’s a scary vibe. I have to unpack. I’m super excited to be back and make music. I really want to make this album.

How was your tour experience? I know tour can be excruciating.

It was a really mini tour, so I don't think I understand the full extent of what that can be, but I really love performing. The shows are the best part. If it was a show every night, I'd be so happy. It’s everything in between that's exhausting.

Do you have a Stan army name yet?

I don't. In general, I hate stan names. There are only a couple that I think are really great.

Like?

I was curious about what stood out to you, seeing all the fans who are coming out to your shows?

They're just so passionate. I'm going to sound pretty arrogant saying this, but there's a big sense of like, “We’re here early.” My fans want me to win so badly, and they're also so excited to be there in the small rooms right now, because the goal is to do much bigger rooms one day. It was a really cool, intimate experience with the ones that are tapped in already. Everybody felt that, and I just felt like everybody really wants me to win.

It must feel moving to have these strangers ride for you so hard.

You imagined and expected it to happen, but does it feel different in your body than how you imagined?

I’m starting to pick up on things, even knowing what I'm gonna do next year. It's quite surreal when it's actually happening. There's these things lined up and realistically, I'm going to kill all of these things. I'm going to do really well, because I'm not going to let myself not do well. This will actually happen. This career is actually happening. Because I've been wanting it for so long, it's very calm to me. I just know it'll work out, and it's working slowly, and it feels really satisfying.

Well, I don't even know if it's “slowly” … but I’ve always been working for this. To some people, [my career] is not really happening slowly, but to me, it's been like 20 or 18 years, since I've been able to perceive things. [Laughs] It feels right. When I dreamt of it, I imagined it to feel a lot more turbulent. Maybe we'll talk in a year, and I'll be in a completely different place, and I'll be like, “Whoa, it's been turbulent.” But right now, it feels good.

I sometimes watch those Billie Elish Vanity Fair videos where they do the yearly check-in on how her fame has grown and changed her. Thinking about that level of fame really freaks me out at times. Do you have any trepidation about where this could be heading, even though it’s your dream?

Not at all, because I'm a very grounded person. As much as I'm really young, I also have a really strong sense of self. I've honestly had a tough upbringing, with my personal life, ballet and being on a reality show when I was a teen. I’m also surrounded now by people that are going through getting famous, or are already super famous when I meet them, and I see that there's ways to navigate it. You have to be centered, and you choose what you make of it. I'm not a rash person. I'll be fine, and I'll be pretty chill about it when it happens.

How do you remain centered?

I'm really hard on myself. You need to just love what you do. It's interesting because when I did the Dream Academy stuff, that was not the real representation of me, because you get told what to do, right? On the show, they choose the outfits for you, they're like, “Be like this.”

When that started, and we started to get attention, it did not penetrate my psyche. I was like, This doesn't really feel like mine. Right now, it’s my self-expression that is getting me attention, and it's getting me way more attention than I got on the show, but it’s like a separate thing, like a character. And then I'm from Slovakia, and I go home, and I talk in Slovak with my family, and I'm somebody's little sister, or a daughter, and they don't give a fuck.

Given what I know about you personally and your artistry, it’s almost impossible for me to imagine you being in the final group, KATSEYE. Do you ever have a moment reflecting on what would have happened if you “made it” in the group?

No. I genuinely never do. My best friends are in that group. I'm friends with all the girls, I know how it functions. I knew when I was in the show that that wasn't the place for me … Obviously, because I didn’t make it. I never think about it. I’m so happy where I am. I thought about it when I was on the show. If I would have made it into the group, I would be really unwell mentally. It wouldn't be in the right place for me. I wouldn't be on the correct path.

I know everything worked out for the best, but do you ever get mad about the experience?

No. I don't. It was a great experience, I'm being completely honest. I am a person that takes something and squeezes every single positive [thing] that I can from it. I would have never gotten to move out of my country if it wasn't for that show. I would have never gotten to do music on the level that I do now. Well, maybe, but I don't even know how I would have gotten there. It introduced me to an audience. It gave me amazing training. It showed me what I liked and what I didn't like. And knowing what you don't like, is equally as important. It shows you a path that makes you understand more. It made me grow up. It was literally like a college experience for the music industry and pop stardom, but in a bubble. It wasn’t real life, but it was. I’m forever grateful for it. There's things that I wish didn't happen, or happened differently, or were further explained, but that's not really how the cookie crumbles, and that's okay.

I love the EP. You were starting from scratch after Popstar Academy. Did you have a clear vision of what this record was going to sound like?

No, I didn't know who the fuck I was. I was 20. I got off of a show where for two years we were literally getting told by music executives what to do. We were getting molded. So it was really fucking weird coming off of that, I was just really lost and quite depressed. I was like, what the fuck do I do? I dropped out of high school for the show, too, so I had to get my GED. It was a mess. It was the most terrifying year ever.

But it was a necessary evil. It was tough, but you have to push through. I started making indie rock music at first, because I was like, “Fuck pop.” It was emo, and I then I listened back to it, I had to go home to get my visa sorted for a couple months, and I was like, “Fuck no, Why am I making rock music?” I took a look inwards, and I was just like, What did I listen to as a kid? I did this Google Doc of things where I was like: This is who I want to be as an entertainer; this is what I want to represent; this is the audience that I want to capture; this is the color; this is the personality; this is what's important to me; this is what I like about this artist; Why do I like that song more than that song? Why do I like that video? Literally just hyper-analyzing myself.

I came back, and I made “HOMEWRECKED.” I was like, okay… good enough. I wanted to have something to put out when the show was coming out. That was my whole plan for the year. I made the song and was like, This my first good pop song that I've written. I made a video with my friend Emily [Oreste]. It's really fucking bad looking back, but it's kind of camp. I love it. It's always gonna live on my YouTube page, because I think it's sickening. We laugh about it all the time. It was just a grassroots organization

Did you have a team at all?

No. It was me and two friends that were just helping cause they wanted to? And then, I was also in college full-time when it was happening, so it was so tough. It was so tough, and I had no management, no team, nobody. And then people started reaching out after the song, and they wanted to help. After SUPERSCAR, I got signed, I got a management team, a creative director. So the team was building as the EP was getting made.

How did you navigate getting signed?

I had a team at that point. I had a management team that was helping. Being a pop artist is hard, and I needed money. I needed a budget to make the videos happen and to make the music happen. I also needed the right people to buy in so that other people would buy in in the industry. That's how the industry works. If somebody cool is behind you, then other people are like, “Oh, okay, she's cool.” It’s like an avalanche. It’s a network that you’re building and I simply needed the budget.I’m excited for the album. What are you dreaming about as you build this world?

I know, but I don't know. I just came back 2 days ago. I'm really excited to have a week off.

Where I get to huddle up and make my mood boards, make my musical boards. We already started making some songs, and there's a direction, a mission statement, but I want to build everything else around it. It's hard when you have a vision. You need to put it on paper, you need to give people pictures, you need to give people references, because they don't see into your mind. I have a very dedicated team of creatives that want to help me, but you need to make it easy for them to help you, and to communicate as clearly as you can. So that's what I'm going to be doing this week. Super excited.

Photography by Andrew Angel