TIME STAMPS - 1:19 Intro/Verse 1:48 Question/Answer 6:31 Chorus 7:02 Adele's Cry 9:44 Real Singing (Chorus Continued) 17:00 Singing 'Out of Tune' not 'Pitch Perfect' 18:39 Pitch Analysis 19:31 No Autotune = Expression 20:09 Real Voice/Autotune Comparison 22:25 Imperfection = Perfection (for humans!) 25:12 Lower Range 26:18 Adele's Influences

What's funny to me is that as a guitar player we sometimes talk about 1/4 step bends as brilliant techniques to add tension or feeling to notes that we play, but when a vocalist is a 1/4 step off many will say "she missed her pitch". Did she really miss, or does that "unnamed note" add tension or a longing for what what gets resolved? Just because it doesn't hit one of the 12 tones we have decided to call a note doesn't mean it shouldn't exist or that there's a lack of technique. She's actually delivering a master class on the topic...

What she does is the way “real” music is made. No vocal correction. No fake attempts to be perfect, just raw emotion and a great take. When I worked in studios in the 70’s, we would often go with the take that was the most emotional and not necessarily the most perfect. This song is amazing and that’s the reason that her songs touch people to the core.

Hearing Adele reminds me of how starved we are for quality music and performances. So much of it is mass produced and formulaic. There is so much nuance and sophistication in this song, it’s been a long time since I’ve felt this moved by a song. Total respect to Adele for choosing quality over quantity in her output.

Thank you once again for the work you out in to educating us. I’m 61 years old, and can’t sing or play any instruments, but I love music. I love the way you teach. Thank you.

Adele singing out of tune is better than everyone else singing perfectly, I’m good with it. I love her natural approach to recording.

After her vocal cord surgery, she learned how to sing better, so she wouldn't create nodules on her cords or hemorrhage again. You can really hear that easy technique in this recording. Well done, Adele!

I absolutely LOVE the way you smile while listening to the performances you enjoy. You just can't help it! The joy is real 👍🏼👍🏼

Absolutely beautiful….none of that fake auto tune.

Adele is a MASTERCLASS of singing with emotion. But Phil my gosh, you put on a masterclass yourself! Excellent explanation. Cheers.

So much respect for Adele recording her voice without pitch correction. She must have known people would analyze it and point out she was off-key in bits. But she trusted her voice and felt, like so many of us do, that such "imperfections" make it REAL. Again, tons of respect for her courage.

That's why I love Adele, she's a real singer, no auto-tuning for her, the producer could have fixed the vocal, but it packs more of an emotional wallop leaving the vocal as is.

She's got a hell of a beautiful and soulful voice, and with that vocal fry. I, musically, don't know how to describe in English the things she does with it, but she's got what we call here in Spain a "broken voice" (voz rota) -- this expression is meant to be a compliment. It's those little raw and raspy dips higher or lower than the rest of the phrase she's singing. It deepens the emotions a lot -the "broken voice" style I'm referring to. And she's someone talented and brave enough not to use autotune, a technology I really hate. I want a real voice, real emotions and talent. Good analysis!

At 18:02, you are right on when you say: "The connection is more important than the pitch ..." And it is just so damned refreshing to hear someone actually sing so beautifully and feel connected to the emotion of what she's saying.

Adele has said herself that she goes off pitch quite often. She laughs it off, saying she gets away with it because it's emotion. I love her - just the way she is.

Fil, I don't know what is more impressive: Adele's voice or the pure joy one can see in your smile while you're listening to her singing.

I have zero problem with her not hitting the note. It’s real and it’s true and suits the song. She sings about making mistakes and it’s perfect with the imperfection. Too much of the music today is auto tuned and so over produced. This piece is so powerful and beautiful. A true artist.

This is the best description of auto tune that I've heard and exactly why it often can disconnect the listener from the song. Great information. Also, the first time I heard the song, I expected the song to end with strings, brass, and a huge choir!! Boy, was I wrong. The song seems so simple in its production (although it's probably not). Certainly, there's no 'wall of sound'!!! The song focuses on her voice, which is where it should be. It'll be interesting to see the impact this production has on future songs.

Love that Fil said Adele has had many influences. She is open. Readily acknowledges that she was influenced by Etta James and...the Spice Girlz. Amazes me, though, that she is bubbly, and out of her mind funny in conversation, and with some songs, sad. Love to see young kids do her music, sing along from the car seat, as soon as the music starts......hysterical. Maybe that's what Fil is talking about..human understanding that just clicks... like Fil himself.

I have watched probably a dozen music video reactors try to analyze this song. You went more in-depth than any of them yet explained it all so much better! Great reaction! Thank you so much!!

For those who don't know, every track in Adele's new album, including this one, is actually a demo recording. She just did one take for each song and that's it... crazy huh...only Ms Adkins would do it this way and that's why we ALL love her tremendously! 💖💖💖

Fil: This is one of your best videos this year! Please continue to analyze (and teach) us all of the facets of modern pop and rock music by featuring popular (past and present) singers. You #ROCK!

Amazing analysis, Fil. Whether you like the song or not, lets hope Adele encourages a new trend of less autotune and people playing real instruments. Bring back soul and harmonic and melodic complexity.

Great stuff, Fil. Note also that on the "easys", the first downward note in each sequence is consistently (and no doubt deliberately) quite sharp. The result is far superior to doing it perfectly in tune. It contributes to the slight sense of tension, that she releases when she backs right off the upturn on "baby". It is just so, so good.

The coolest moments are when we see you feeling the music, and then something makes you actually smile, and then I try to look for what it was that made you smile. You always look so happy to just be with the music and I love that.

I enjoyed this breakdown. Adele has been on my radar since Chasing Pavements. I love her voice. It's unique in a time where everybody sounds the same (thanks auto tune).

Fabulous song! Lyrically and musically. INCREDIBLE control. Such a powerful emotional REAL vocal! No Auto Tune. Simply pure TALENT! Brilliant spot on analysis Fil! Thanks! 🎼🎶🎵🇨🇦

Great video! Pretty much everything you said is why she is one of my favourite artists. Also, fun fact (that I feel like *everyone* should know): Adele never redoes her vocals on any of her songs. The vocal tracks that you hear on the final album are always the original demos because (according to Adele) "demos have a charisma and an urgency that get lost if you rerecord them". She says “I never redo my vocals. Never. Never ever.” (She's talked about this in multiple interviews, most recently in her Vogue article). I admire this SO much, and it explains why people connect so deeply to her songs, because you can literally FEEL what she's singing about; all the raw emotion is packed in there. Nothing is ever overproduced. She is one of the realest artists we have today, and I love that she never puts out anything artificial.

I had not decided whether or not I liked this new song but after listening to your in-depth analysis, Fil, I can appreciate her voice and choices. Thanks for another brilliant video!

I, for one, as a singer DETEST auto tune. I'm a great believer that imperfection can create perfection when it comes to art, after all we're singing to humans not computers ;)

Like her or not, Adele's talent is heads above the current herd of "performers" out there. Another great analysis, Fil.

Adele is a once in a lifetime singer. I’m mostly into metal, but I absolutely love to hear Adele sing. I just appreciate rare music on another level, like Tool, for example. Just like Adele does with her voice, Tool taps into something beyond “normal”, with their arrangements, and overall sound. It’s mesmerizing. There are 4-5 songs on Fear Inoculum that are truly other worldly. Great video, my friend.

Whoa, Fil - surprised you did an analysis on a song that was JUST released (way to go!)! Loved the auto tune demo, as well as your comments on the overall production. One can only hope that preserving the emotion of vocals without the use of auto tune will influence others to follow suit when this song starts winning awards - because it WILL win awards. Enjoyed this analysis!

I've come to your channel because of Rick Beato. You both do great jobs in explaining songs. Rick is American, you are British, me is German, but both of you speaks very understandable English. BTW: I really like your smile -- keep on rockin'!

All of this analyzing of her pitch vs autotune reminds me of an interview with Ginger Baker of Cream regarding a drum part someone had questioned him on. The guy asked something like, "I notice that in the second refrain, you hit the snare on the dotted-eighth instead of the eighth note, which I thought was brilliant! What was your thinking behind it?", and Ginger responded with something like, "Well, there was absolutely no thought behind it whatsoever. It wasn't brilliant, it was a fucking mistake! It was 1967! We didn't do triple track overdubs and slather on a vat of pigshit because we didn't have it!"

I wonder how Adele would react to your detailed analysis of what she's doing. I suspect most of it comes naturally to her, she does it intuitively, so she might be surprised to hear what she's doing when you describe it the clever way you do.

Before I watched this video, I thought you were going to savage Adele. I'm glad you didn't. Just yesterday I saw a review video of this song and thought, what a dull song. The reviewer was blown away by easy, but I wasn't. I came into your review expecting you to point out her many faults. But no. I got goosebumps throughout the song. It's very good and Adele deserves all the accolades she's getting. And your review made this song click me. Good job mate! Shout-out from Chicago!

I love your smile when you start to listen. I actually just started to listen to Adele while Oprah interviewed her. What was striking to me was her cry. Thank you so much for your informative take on the sound and the song.

Two masterclasses on display here. A masterclass of a writing and vocal ability by Adele to connect with people on a deeply emotional level and a masterclass of analysis by you Fil. You have a wonderful ability to explain complex musical construction, at an accessible level, to us mere mortals . Thank you.

Her ability to sing and compose with a piano as the only major instrument sets her apart from all the other wanna bees that require gimmicks.

You bring something so unique and valuable to KZfaq. Your videos are an invitation to listen deeper - a wonderful gift to all of us. Thank you!

A voice that defines what music is, lyrics that have meaning and soulfulness, a piano, bass, well a kick drum that is real to the the song, a whole mountain top above everyone else. Adele is at a whole other level, a generational superstar.

That was a great video. I watched a Rick Baeto video and he raised many of the points you did. It’s a stunning song. I loved Hello because I can relate to what she’s talking about. With this, I don’t have kids and have never been divorced but her voice just does something to you. She’s something else.

Fact: everyone sings "out of tune" without autotune. That is life.

Real voice and not autotuned! She is amazing.

I know many people will point out the imperfections throughout the song. For me those are not imperfections. I call it music. This song is a heartfelt gem. Sadly it's a rare thing in pop music these days to hear something so minimal and beautiful. I don't know not anyone else felt the power upon first listen. The impact for me was so profound, it felt kind of baptismal in nature. Thanks so much Fil for what I believe is one of your greatest assessments of an artist. Listen to someone like Miles Davis. The music wasn't "perfect", it was real and that's what I felt after listening to this great song.😀👍

Love your channel! I learn so much!

I just spent 28:43 of my night, not sleeping, listening to you explain a little bit about Adele. That's quite a long time actually. But you do this so well that I almost feel cheated when you wrap it up so early. I totally dig your insight to all that you talk about, and Adele is one of my all time favorite artists.

I am absolutely enjoying Adele's new song. Beautiful voice. Causes you to feel deeply down to the soul.

Adele is one of the best female vocalists of all time. That's no exaggeration, her voice is magical.

I'm not a fan of her musical style, but holy cow can she sing. When it's just you and the piano it's hard to hide. Great performance and great review as always Fil.

I gravitate more to classic rock music, but your remark about the crying aspect in her voice is spot on. This song makes me feel sad, and I have not even listened to the end 😥😥😥 Thanks, Fil, for the great song review.

You so obviously LOVE her voice that your smile beams. It’s great to see someone in the industry reflecting the same joy the public feels when hearing Adele belt out a great tune.

I just come here to see Fil smile, and his eyes brighten! 😊❤ I could watch him all day long! 💋 🌲Washington State🌲

Woo-hoo! Adele is back 😃 Beautiful song, beautiful singing voice, beautiful video. Thank you, Fil 🖤🤘🏽

I think this song is just so brilliant because it reminds us what music is about, what it’s for…it’s not just a performance, it’s not just to get in the charts and make money. It’s a conversation between hearts and minds, an expression of emotion that comes through the breath, it’s very intimate, to sing, and I feel that’s why people feel very naked when they’re singing. It’s storytelling, and so often that’s forgotten. Especially now, with so much in music and media that’s all about image and all that other rot that just gets in between us and an artists heart. So many people selling their music don’t seem connected to anything deep…to anything real. Adele has heart, that’s a gift, knowing how to convey it and being brave enough to as well. Thank you Fil❤️

Thanks for your input on this performance. You are on the same page as Rick Beato, and it shows how much you both understand the finer elements of production and performance. I'm sure Adele will appreciate both or your reviews of this record.

Great analysis Fil. I think another perfect example of this would be Frank Sinatra. My wife always used to think he was out of tune a lot and I tried to explain to her that it's his phrasing of notes that made him so great. Same for Adele. This song is absolutely amazing.

Can you imagine the impressionists having their work put through the graphic equivalent of autotune. It seems to me that autotune is a device for people who cannot sing. Adele just starts at the beginning of the song, and sings. A genuine talent.

Great analysis Fil. Love the piano and the voice with it, she is truly blessed. When you know you can sing🎙🎹🎸

Give me a human singing with heart and emotion and conviction over the autotuned drek that poses as music and music production these days .There is a reason she touches people ,she has a wise producer and recording engineer .....she set a record for down loads and if she was selling vinyl would likely go triple diamond .....it is the humanity that kicks this digital age in the nuts ...

I mostly steer clear of pop music because it sounds so fake and processed but THIS, the first time I heard it instantly loved the song. Usually a song has to grow on you but not this, instant hit in my book. No need to understand the mechanics to feel emotion. Great stuff, i wish more mainstream music was like this and recorded with such integrity.

I'm not looking for perfection, just real, genuine music you can feel deep down in your gut, and Adele's new song is beautiful. If you don't feel anything after listening to this, something is missing. I've always admired singer/songwriters. Thanks for your analysis Fil. You are equally adept at analyzing vocalists, I enjoyed your take here! 👍🤘

Thank you Fil for your choice and awesome analysis. Much appreciated.

As Rick Beato says that's what makes this song great! It's natural vocals NOT autotuned!! That's what II like about it- and let's face it, perfect pitch all the time is hard to achieve. Show a little emotion and that's what Adele does here. Most of the music we consider "classics" e.g. Eagles, Led Zeppelin etc. did not use autotune and they sounded good. You have explained it really well Fil.

The corporations should give you access. I have found so much new music from your videos, and I've given artists I thought I didn't like a new listen. It's a free music appreciation class, thank you.

Thank you for this fantastic music lesson. I’ve been wrong when thinking what auto tune is. When I heard Adele hit that high part towards the end it sounds like added reverb. Sounds like an echo effect. I don’t know if you’ve heard of or reacted to Angelina Jordan. She just released a cover of this song with Republic Records and just a key board. At 15 years old she’s got thousands of us older folks crying our eyes out with so many of her covers an 5 originals. No auto tune with her. She won Norway’s Got Talent at 8 years old singing Summertime. Please react to this song by her. I know thousands of her fans will watch. I just liked and subscribed thanks from Alaska

Love her voice, so strong and powerful, there are only a few Female singers I love, Martina McBride, Reba McEntire, Jennifer Nettles and Adele, and boy can she sing, believe me in what I tell you, I never even heard of her before up until now and right away, she's another female singer I think I'm gonna love, hearing more of her voice sends chills up my spine. Thank you Fil for choosing this awesome singer, I appreciate it very much, God bless my friend, catch you on your next video.

At least it sounds like a real person, with no autotune.

The "out of tune" notes are a counter melody to the background music that creates the emotion you feel. It's intentional and creates a mood. Something many artists and studios no longer understand.

Very informative, great analysis! I just love your videos.

I'm not an Adele fan but your analysis was so good. I always learn so much every time I watch your one of your analysis. Excellent as always.

Great analysis, Fil. It’s odd how so many people say they’re not fans of her musical style but then go on to say that they really appreciate her musicianship. Kind of like a love-hate relationship that some people have with top athletes. I have been hearing snippets of this song all week and even yesterday someone at our work was humming it, but today with you was the first time I listened to properly and had the emotional connection. The words and the cry - you’re feeling what she’s singing and that’s no mean feat. Not a major fan either, but I recognise her talent. I feel that her Grammy performance of George Michael’s Fastlove is one of the best performances I have ever seen or heard.

Great job as usual Fil....I love your channel brother!....As a singer & musician myself, I have always felt that the mark of a GREAT singer isn't just their voice, but also their ability to make you feel what they are feeling through their voice.... not only does Adele have an incredible voice but she is an amazing singer also.. In the first 10 seconds of her singing, I had tears welling up.... that's what every singer, that truly loves music in their soul, is hoping to accomplish....at least in my opinion... continued success, from Texas Fil..

Thank you for your analysis!! And, also the graphics, they helped quite a bit. I also liked watching your face, listening to this song. It is so good, you can't stop your face responding. Great reaction- thanks- SDK

What a poignant song! It goes straight thru the ears right to the heart. Thanks for explaining just how she and her producers make it do that!

Brings to mind that powerful John Hiatt song, that proves less is more when the skills are there; “Have a Little Faith in Me”. Piano, voice, Raw, real and powerful. Adele helps to hold back the auto tune tidal wave. Good on her!

As you suggested, I listened to Adele's video before your great and thorough analysis. I especially appreciated the way you explained the pros and cons of using Autotune when a singer sings out of tune, or otherwise not pitch perfect--that it's all about the journey. As always, thanks for of what I've learned as a musician and teaching me new things. Thanks for all you do, Fil!

Thank you for this analysis...as a singer, I appreciate your explanation of "out-of-tune", as opposed to the over-used auto-tuned vocals in so much of today's music. I would keep listening even if your comments went on for days about subjects like this. I always learn something, and oftentimes, you concur about things I already know/feel with regard to music. 🧡

Great analysis Fil... Thank you so much. 😊

Phil, this is one of the best discussions I know of what makes a singer’s voice personal, expressive, able to move a listener’s emotions and leave a lingering sense of admiration and wonder. It has often struck me, reading criticism of popular kinds of music, that the voice, felt by nearly everyone to be a central part of a song’s effect, is rarely given the sort of granular attention freely meted out to (say) guitar tone. Two extremes are common. At one of them, voices are described as ‘beautiful’, ‘lyrical’, ‘gravelly’, ‘agile’ etc. This is good as a starting point but unsatisfying. Kelly Jones has a rasp in his voice. So does Rod Stewart, but of course they don’t sound the same even when singing the same song. At the other extreme you (much more rarely) find analysis of timbre, pitch, dynamic range and so on. But such discussions are often arid. What you offer here is both very precise (especially the bit about the ‘cry’ in Adele’s voice) and yet governed throughout by your sensitivity to the feeling in the song. You talk about it (I think) as musician, aware that when discussing any one thing, lots of others are at play. I wonder a lot about the exact nature of the songwriting process with megastar singers. There are teams involved often, long before the producer gets to work. But you bring out what each singer has which is all their own: their ability to express emotion through sung words. I know this is hard to do and wanted you to know it’s much appreciated by me and the many others who’ve praised you in the comments. One final thing. In some songs (Dylan’s for instance or those of the Manic Street Preachers) the words are directing emotion very powerfully. In other songs, maybe like this one of Adele’s, they release emotion, but in themselves seem fairly sparse. I don’t know if it’s ok to mention that I’ve discussed the question of how lyrics matter in a video of my own: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/hLKogteAm9C4qas.html But regardless of that, thank you hugely for yours.

My favorite part of this whole song is the way she sings the first "Easy" which I do not expect it to be held out so long and she does this beautiful vocal run and syncopation on the next phrase "On me Baby"! The first time I hears it, I loved the song from that point in it! I also love the lack of auto-tune which makes the recording so REAL and full of emotion! Great analysis, Fil! Check out Tim Pierce's channel where he adds potential guitar parts if there was a guitar on this song----very good!

Absolutely loved it Sir !! Learnt more than any KZfaq video in past 5 years

Exceptional analysis and you hit the nail right on the head when you mentioned vocal gymnastics. So many singers overdo it and to the point of it sounding like they are screaming and trying too hard (Jennifer Hudson). Adele always shows restraint in her singing and doesn't feel the need to show off....her music is emotionally impactful and she uses her vocals to channel that so perfectly.

I don't listen to Adele often, but when I do I am impressed. She is smoking with her pipes. Doesn't this song qualify as word painting (that might not be the technical term) where the music in the song match the lyrics? She talks about making mistakes and to go easy on her for being herself (human). The "out of pitch" singing is part of the meaning of the song. BTW there is a video of Adele who shows up for an Adele sing-alike contest. It's really pretty funny and worth the watch. Especially since everyone realizes that the frumpy funny lady is really Adele when she starts singing.

Another stellar review Fil! Your musical knowledge and ability to cut to the good stuff is so entertaining.

FANTASTIC explanation of auto-tune. Much appreciated! Just found your channel. Big fan already

I’ve seen her in concert 4 years ago and I’ll be going again when she comes back. This song as is most of her music, is SO good. I just love her voice, period! I’ve had this on repeat since the day it dropped. Great analysis.

What can I say, Adele has a great pair of lungs and a powerful diaphragm to be able to deliver what she feels in her songs. She is a giant in today's music world

Thank you for pointing out all those things. I didn't knew anything about Adele until about a week ago. I read somewhere that she had won god knows how many grammies. Heard a pair of her songs and didn't quite get it. But you opened my ears - there is really a lot to find there!

You gotta be good when you can command my utter attention all the way through your videos when I don't need, know anything about music or really, without your explaination, care. This is such a good video you made. Thank you.

Brilliant breakdown. I learned a great deal and appreciate your videos. Adele proves “less is more”. Thanks much, Fil.

Excellent breakdown on this performance. 👍🎼🎶🎵🎤🤗 enjoyed this performance of Adele.

You are absolutely brilliant at explaining and teaching us about all facets of music, voice, etc. I cannot thank you enough for this video on Adele (and so many other great talents). I had the privilege of attending one of Adele's concerts and she was amazing.

BTW, LOVE your channel . Glad I found it 😀😍👍🎼🎵🎶

Beautiful song. As always, phenomenal analysis Fil! Thoroughly enjoy your enthusiasm.

Beautiful analysis and Adele herself has mentioned that she wrote this song for her young son. So, it's a mom trying to explain to her young son what happened and why she and his daddy are no longer together. Adele and his daddy are divorced now, but what a wonderful song and lyric for her son and ex-husband. I would think so many divorced parents can relate to what she's saying here in this song. It's like she's asking her son, their child, to please forgive her, try to understand and go easy on her for the mistakes she had made. I don't have children that would have experienced the breakup of their parents but what a place to come from to write a song for your child in this case, basically asking for forgiveness for the hurt caused to the child, as the parents could no longer make their relationship, and staying together as a couple work. Such a powerful song and lyric. And it's sung with her emotions, thankfully, minus any autotune.

Wow, when you listen to a song with simplicity but only understand the complexity when someone explains it step by step. This just makes me like her more and you for that matter Fil. Thx pal.

You're right, that A4 really stood out in a good way. I don't think it's on accident. The out of tune part adds more vulnerability to the song. As you've pointed out, she understands the rules of music well enough to know when to break them.

Superlative song and spot on interpretation Fil. Song is " not regular" and so is riveting in its newness. It challenges the listener, as you already know. Again, thanks for the education.