Adele on Turning Down a Beyoncé Collab: "I'd Never Disrespect Her Like That"

Adele talks the defining moment of '25,' "Hotline Bling," and more.

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Image via Complex Original
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Adele is having a monstrous return. Her comeback single "Hello" debuted No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and broke the Vevo record for the most views in 24 hours. Her new album is projected to sell between 1.3 and 1.8 million copies in its first week. She even took over NYC last night for a "One Night Only" sold out show at Radio City Music Hall last night where she performed new music including one track called "Water Under The Bridge." A mere few days out from the release of her highly-anticipated new full length 25, Adele met up with Beats1's own Zane Lowe for an exclusive, uninterrupted 60 minute sit down interview.

After they each take a moment to congratulate each other on their accomplishments, the two reminisce back to the last time they spoke in 2010 before Adele dropped her record-breaking, top-selling album 21. The duo then dove into a timeline of 25. “I started a couple of years before I actually started. I had nothing to write about, I had no inspiration, no chords were moving me. My mind was with my kids. If I don’t care, I’m not going to sing. "Remedy" was the beginning of 25; I wrote it with Ryan Tedder in New York. It came really fast.”

She also explained the defining moment of her new album came from her boyfriend telling her to write about whatever she wanted. “With my other albums, because I was so candid, and so honest in my interviews… I didn’t really think about anyone else. I was only thinking about myself and I hurt people’s feelings do that. For a long time I was trying to write songs about my kid, which is the biggest thing in my life. But it was boring. I was trying to write songs about other people’s experiences or made up things because I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings again. But when he said that, he was like, ‘do your thing, own it, do you what you want." 

She even discusses that rumored Beyoncé collaboration.“There’s a rumor going round that I turned Beyoncé down. Which I would never be so disrespectful as to do," Adele told Zane. "I’d never disrespect her like that. Obviously, like, Queen B ’til the day I die.” The interview ends with a play of Adele's new song "When We Were Young." Listen to the full interview right now over at Beats1 or watch the full video interview on Apple Connect.

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