Alasdair McLellan
Awards Songwriter of the Year
The Ivor Novello Award for Songwriter of the Year acknowledges a songwriter that has written an outstanding body of work released during the award year. It has been presented annually since 1969.
Songwriter of the Year Adele’s musical 2015 didn’t actually begin until October, when Hello – her first new song since Skyfall, the 2012 James Bond theme – was teased to X Factor viewers. Her album, 25, didn’t even come out until late November. And yet, when it comes to choosing the year’s outstanding song collection, the work that makes up 25 – Adele’s third album, and her first since the blockbusting international success of 2011’s 21 – still makes its own, undeniable case. It may have only been available for a few short weeks at the end of the year but, in that time, it made more of an impression than most albums do during their entire shelf life. It’s not just the astounding statistics behind the album’s success, although Lord knows they are incredible. The album sold an unprecedented 800,307 copies in its first week on sale in the UK, and an even more incredible 3.38 million in the United States. The video for Hello became the fastest ever to hit 100 million views on video streaming site Vevo. The album has already sold around 20 million copies worldwide. But none of that would mean anything if the songs weren’t making the same impact on listeners as the album was on worldwide music charts. Ironically, Adele found the process of writing the album quite difficult, initially suffering from writer’s block and scrapping several recordings. With the help of songwriting partners such as Greg Kurstin, Bruno Mars and Tobias Jesso Jr she worked through it, however, and resulting songs such as Hello, When We Were Young, All I Ask and Send My Love (To Your New Lover) found her in some of the most inspired songwriting form of her life. If 21 had been a break-up album, Adele billed 25 as a “make-up album”, a more reflective body of work concerning her life, regrets, friendships and motherhood. But anyone who saw the mass weeping that accompanied the more emotional moments of her recent live arena shows would be in no doubt that her lyrics continue to resonate with her audience, whether young or old. This collection of songs continues to set sales records, but it also showcases a bolder approach to Adele’s music and songwriting. To live up to the expectations around the album seemed incredible. To surpass them seemed impossible. But then, for Adele, doing the impossible continues to be no big deal.
The 2016 Ivor Novello Awards 39
