By Coleen Ramos
There’s no mistaking that our country is obsessed with hugot.
The Filipinos’ affinity to relating their love lives (or the lack of thereof) to daily chores and conversations have already assimilated itself to our very culture. Creating the most hurtful hugots drives our entertainment system to high viewership ratings, blockbuster movies and marketable songs and plays that aim to evoke the worst emotional pain unimaginable.
And what will happen if the Queen of Hugot herself, Adele, hints at the possibility to have a concert in the Philippines?
During a performance in Antwerp, Belgium, Adele asked a couple of Filipino fans from the audience where they are from. The fans were shouting “Philippines!” and had a brief conversation with the Grammy-award winning singer in which she asked, “Would anyone come to my show if I went to Manila?”
Watch the interaction below:
The 28-year old singer-songwriter has embarked on her third concert tour titled Adele Live 2016 and is currently (I repeat, currently) planned to travel around Western Europe and North America with a total of 105 shows.
As we daydream about the long overdue serenade from the Queen herself, let’s backtrack on some songs that established Adele’s ability making us cry when we have no reason to:
- “Water Under the Bridge”
“If you’re gonna let me down, let me down gently / Don’t pretend that you don’t want me / Our love ain’t water under the bridge”
This track is not as solemn and heart-piercing like her other tracks, rather offering a disco-pop feel, electro-drum beats and a tropical vibe that stands out from the rest of her songs combined. Even with the light and carefree ambiance, the lyrics deliver a gentle reminder to a somewhat selfish lover, with Adele proclaiming to her lover to “lay her down gently” and that their love is more than a temporary source of concern.
- “Daydreamer”
“You can find him sitting on your doorstep / Waiting for a surprise / And he will feel like he’s been there for hours / And you can tell that he’ll be there for life”
A track found way back in her 19 album that gave Adele fans their fan name, Daydreamers. During a 2008 interview, Adele said that the song was about falling for a bisexual friend and fighting for his affections from both sides. After confessing to one another, both tried to make the relationship work, with the guy assuring Adele everything would be fine.
But then he kept cheating on her for months and finally Adele had had enough and wrote this beautiful song that became a lullaby for melancholic nights.
- “Chasing Pavements”
“Should I give up or should I just keep chasing pavements / Even if it leads nowhere?”
The song was inspired by an incident with Adele’s past boyfriend of six months. After learning that he cheated on her, she went to the bar he was at and punched him in the face. After being thrown out, Adele walked down alone in the street and thought, “What is it? You’re chasing an empty pavement?” then sang and recorded it on her phone.
This song was one of Adele’s earlier classics and became her first hit on Billboard Hot 100 subsequently earning three nominations at the 2009 Grammy Awards (Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance) and won in the category of Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
- “I’ll Be Waiting”
“I’ll be waiting for you when you’re ready to love me again / I put my hands up, I’ll do everything different / I’ll be better to you”
One of her more upbeat tracks in the critically-acclaimed album, 21, that discusses Adele’s resilience and rekindling a lost love. It doesn’t have that piano solo to break out of the bridge or Adele’s signature somber tone, but “I’ll Be Waiting” presents a level of maturity in admitting one’s faults and the promise of “being better to you” if given a second chance.
- “Melt My Heart To Stone”
“And I hear your words that I made up / You say my name like there could be an us / I best tidy up my head, I’m the only one in love / I’m the only one in love”
The 19 era is a gold mine of heartbreaking love stories that doesn’t fail to deliver tragic ends and regretful decisions. “Melt My Heart to Stone” is, in my opinion, of Adele’s masterpieces (among many) that effortlessly exhibits the singer’s vocal prowess and diversity in technique while solemnly conveying the difficulties of a one-sided love.
For those who are stubbornly indulging in disappointment, this song is for you to ponder your decisions over.
- “When We Were Young”
“And a part of me keeps holding on / Just in case it hasn’t gone / I guess I still care / Do you still care?”
Picking the top five was hard, they can all interchange because the effect will still be the same: it will still hurt but it will hurt so good. Hearing the first five seconds “When We Were Young” had already given me involuntary goosebumps that lasted throughout the whole song. Words fail to describe how captivating this song is and it seems that Adele feels the same way too.
Adele has stated on numerous occasions that “When We Were Young” is her favorite song on 25 and has even gone as far to refer it as her favorite among everything she has ever written.
The song is about seeing someone you haven’t seen in a long time and reliving those moments that had passed along the flow of time. It’s about remembering how two lovers were before and enjoying the moment while they still can.
- “Someone Like You”
“I had hoped you’d see my face and that you’d be reminded / That for me, it isn’t over”
Ah, the most played breakup song of 2011. The song that caused expectant exes to try and bring back the fire to former flames, but instead learn their past lovers had already moved on. And you’re left to accept it, even if you don’t want to.
Making peace with a breakup and seeing an ex (that you still love) love another person the same way they loved you must be heart-wrenching. Well, it is, it really is. “Someone Like You” is as simple and emotional as Adele intended it to be. Let’s just all keep in mind that getting hung up on an ex preparing to marry someone else is not an ideal situation to present yourself to The One when you finally meet.
- “All I Ask”
“If this is my last night with you / Hold me like I’m more than just a friend / Give me a memory I can use / Take me by the hand while we do what lovers do / It matters how this ends / Cause what if I never love again?”
Ever wondered what an Adele/Bruno Mars collaboration would sound like? Well, here it is, a song so devastating that it makes you wonder how Adele and Bruno can produce a song like this while having the grandest time. In an interview, Adele said, “I’ve never sung so hard in my whole life. Can you imagine the fun me and Bruno had making that?” Yes, Adele, we are aware of how masochistically satisfying your songs are.
“All I Ask” is that particular song you’ll belt out in the shower and have the water on your face run down like tears by the end of it. Adele and Bruno wanted to write the “soppiest ballad that we could possibly write about” and with lyrics like, “Hold me like I’m more than just a friend,” wouldn’t that make you believe that your crush might possibly look at your way this time around? An ex to say he’s been in the wrong and begs to have you back? A love on the rocks that can be easily washed by the waves?
No matter what kind of love it is, it matters how it will end because that’s how you will remember it tomorrow.
- “One and Only”
“I dare you to let me be your, your one and only / Promise I’m worthy to hold in your arms / So come on and give me the chance”
We all know what a torpe is and how they manage their feelings. The moment is there for the taking, all that person needs to do is pursue happiness and confess. Instead, they clam up and hope that the person they like will do the grand romantic gesture for them. Might as well grow old and stay single to the end of your days.
Rising above it is what this song is trying to challenge the listener to do. It’s about two people finally getting together after so many years of sharing romantic feelings, but never fully expressing them. Dare that person to say that they don’t love you back when you do, promise them your worth and ask for a chance to make it happen.
As sung in the track, “You’ll never know, if you’ll never try.”
- “Don’t You Remember”
“Why don’t you remember? Don’t you remember? / The reason you loved me before / Baby please remember, you used to love me”
And here it is: the ultimate, the supreme, the definitive song that draws blood to a fickle heart like ours. Listening to this song brings me back to the times when my mom would play Whitney Houston songs from a boombox, hearing “I Will Always Love You” play throughout the day.
Adele is so distinct from the governing genre of hip-hop, electronic dance music (EDM) and repetitive pop. She’s wholesome and modest, paling in comparison to the likes of Ariana Grande, Katy Perry and even Queen Bey herself. The song, raw and stripped of any false pretenses, brings out the best and worst in love which Adele has seamlessly sung through that artistic way of cracking her voice and making out sound like she’s always on the verge of tears.
The song is about “trying to remember why you loved someone in the first place” as said by Adele, as well as a plea to her ex-spouse to remember why he initially fell in love with her. “You know when you forget why you loved someone? I was just thinking about how my entire body would just shiver if my ex touched me to say hello. It’s sad when you can’t remember why you loved someone.”
Well said, Adele, well said.
And that wraps up the list of Adele songs you’ll probably cry to in the middle of the night in the company of no one but yourself. Maybe one day, she’ll come to the Philippines and then, everyone will cry to her songs in the middle of the night, in the company of other Adele fans. But for now, we’ve got all her albums. Her beautiful, melancholic albums.
Image from Bustle