ADÉLA — « Prima » (Capitol Records).
Some debut albums feel like business cards; others land like a power grab. “Prima,” the first record by Slovak artist ADÉLA, out September 4 on Capitol, clearly belongs to the second kind. Eleven tracks, barely half an hour, and the calm confidence of a twenty-two-year-old already convinced she’s a star. Our album of the week.
The title says it all: “Prima” refers to the prima ballerina, the highest rank a dancer can reach. Ambition, then, is baked in — a record of taut pop shot through with electropop and R&B, on which ADÉLA speaks bluntly about insecurity, toxic relationships, success and the search for identity. The gap between the harshness of the productions and the fragility of the lyrics is exactly what makes it as gripping as the season’s big pop returns, Ellie Goulding included.
A breakout from Bratislava, top-tier production
ADÉLA doesn’t come from nowhere, but nearly: this is the first time a Slovak artist has broken through at this level on the international pop stage. To build “Prima,” she surrounded herself with a producer roster that reads like a statement. At the helm, the pairing of Dylan Brady — half of hyperpop duo 100 gecs, now one of the most sought-after sound architects around — and Blake Slatkin, a maker of global hits. Around them orbit The Dare, Cashmere Cat and Julia Michaels. The result: saturated, cutting beats topped with pop hooks of ruthless immediacy.
That constant tension — punch and caress, provocation and confession — runs through the whole record. “Prima” never reaches for soft consensus; it would rather bite. It’s an album of persona as much as of songs, with ADÉLA playing the girl who figured it all out before everyone else, without tipping into caricature.
The move is all the sharper because ADÉLA first surfaced with a distinctly more abrasive EP. “Prima” doesn’t disown that raw energy so much as wrap it: the beats still hit hard, but softer melodies now smooth the edges. It’s that balance — rage and pop, posture and communal hook — that sets the record apart from the mass of hyperpop debuts. On stage, she has already launched her first headline run, The Red Bottoms Tour, proof she means to press her advantage without waiting.
“Ain’t in LA,” the hit that started it all
You can’t discuss “Prima” without starting with “Ain’t in LA,” the song that tipped ADÉLA’s career. Released in late July, carried by a video shot in her hometown of Bratislava — American-dream imagery transplanted thousands of miles from Hollywood — the track went viral on TikTok and made her the first Slovak artist to enter the Billboard Hot 100. Number one in the Philippines, Top 5 in the Netherlands: the song circled the globe before the album even landed. Its message — that ambition isn’t Los Angeles’ private property — plays like a mission statement.
“Nicole Kidman,” pop’s knowing high-wire act
The album’s other peak is “Nicole Kidman,” unveiled on release day with a video directed by Hannah Lux Davis. ADÉLA piles up nods to the actress’s roles — from Eyes Wide Shut to Moulin Rouge!, from Birth to Babygirl — to paint a tongue-in-cheek femme-fatale portrait. The wink landed: Kidman herself chose an ADÉLA song for her TikTok debut and said she planned to attend one of the singer’s shows. Few newcomers secure that kind of co-sign.
What strikes you, here as across the album, is the command of persona. ADÉLA doesn’t just sing: she stages a character, wielding irony and glamour the way others wield sincerity. “Nicole Kidman” isn’t doe-eyed homage, it’s a hall of mirrors about fame, image and desire — the kind of song that proves a pop star can be clever without ever ceasing to be instantly effective. It’s also, not incidentally, one of the album’s most quotable choruses.
Eleven tracks, no dead weight
The rest of “Prima” goes the distance without flagging. “KGB” and “Red Bottoms,” the earliest singles, had already set the scene: sharp lyricism, a way with a line, hooks that stick. Between the glitz of “Red Bottoms” and the introspection of “Therapy,” the album carefully balances bravado and vulnerability. Here’s the full tracklist:
- KGB
- Nicole Kidman
- I’m the Man
- Boys
- Red Bottoms
- Hitachi
- Fantasize
- Starving Artist
- Marijuana
- Therapy
- Ain’t in LA
For all its brevity, the record never feels slight. Cuts like “I’m the Man” and “Boys” flip pop’s usual power dynamics with a smirk, while “Marijuana” and “Fantasize” lean into the woozier, more sensual side of her palette. It hangs together as a body of work, not a playlist of singles bolted onto filler — a rarer feat than it sounds for a debut built around viral moments.
You can stream “Prima” in full below.
The takeaway
The critics weren’t fooled. With a 73 on Metacritic, “Prima” drew a broadly favourable reception, praised by Clash (8/10) as well as Rolling Stone and NME. Billboard summed it up in a phrase: ADÉLA “put the entire scene on notice.” It isn’t flawless — the album’s brevity frustrates as much as it thrills, and a few tracks run mostly on attitude — but the essentials are there: a voice, a world, an ambition. “Prima” isn’t the promise of a star; it’s already the coronation, and it lands just when pop needs new faces willing to take a real swing.
