PRIMA by ADELA: The Perfect Manifestation of What Wanting to Be a Superstar Feels and Sounds Like
Rising pop-star ADELA has just released her debut album “’PRIMA’ on September 4. This becomes her second project, after her 2025 E-P “The Provocateur”. As her breakout single ‘Ain’t In LA’ climbs up the charts worldwide, It’s safe to say that ADELA is, officially, the next big thing in music. The album details ADELA’s want for fame, her experience as an immigrant, and toxic relationships. This review is less of a critical one, rather, it serves as a praise and explanation of the body of work as a whole. Just because it really is JUST THAT GOOD!
The “Context”
Growing up, ADELA avidly trained to be a ballerina, and a dancer. She was born in Bratislava, Slovakia, but would frequently move to other countries to different schools to better her craft. However at age nineteen she got selected to be a part of the Netflix Series ‘Dream Academy’. This changed her life forever. Unfortunately, she was shortly eliminated from the show, via low fan vote counts. The producers of the show stated that rather than placing her in the group, which would end up being ‘KATSEYE’, she’d be better off as a solo arist. Which she did exactly that. Her debut E-P ‘The Provocateur’, was released on August 22, 2025, to critical acclaim but little commercial success.
She got to open up for Demi Lovato on her ‘It’s Not That Deep Tour’ in mid-2026. She was able to promote the lead single from ‘PRIMA’, ‘KGB’, and also tease album tracks like ‘Boys’ and ‘Ain’t In LA’ during her performances. The first two singles from PRIMA, ‘KGB’ and ‘Red Bottoms’ were released to little success, with only the ‘KGB’ reaching #12 on the US Dance/Pop Songs chart. It all changed for ADELA when she officially released ‘Ain’t In LA’, to much universal acclaim, and just as much commercial success. As of right now, ‘Ain’t In LA’ sits in the top 10 of Global Spotify, and the top 20 of US Spotify. It also rose to its current peak of #57 on the US Billboard Hot 100. All of which led ADELA to amass fifteen million monthly listeners on Spotify. PRIMA serves as a testament to the hard work and dedication she has been putting in her whole life.
The “Best”
‘Nicole Kidman’, named after the aptly iconic actress, serves as the second track off the album. “Every single night, I pray that my **** are sitting right, Moulin Rouge, my corset is so tight, Babygirl in control, I feel like Nicole” serves as the opening line of the song. The songwriting, affirmation, and wittiness of it all adds so much character to the song. Everything about the song is amazing. Even Kidman herself is aware of ADELA and the song, and says she will be seeing her in Nashville. Another highlight is the fourth track on the album, titled “Boys”. Let me just say this, the spirit of Britney Spears possessed Ms. ADELA in the creation of this song. The song describes being aware that you’re confident to attract males however it can get creepy and become too much. ADELA’s good friend, fellow KATSEYE member Lara Raj, makes an appearance during the spoken word parts. The beat, the lyrics, it’s actually everything and more. “Boys” is definitely is a favorite of mine.
The last highlight is ‘Red Bottoms’, and, man, I was in love with this song upon the very first listen. It was released as the second single on June 12, 2026. This song uses the Louboutin shoe as a metaphor. She asks the question: “Cause when the red starts to go, will you love what’s on the other side?” She describes herself as the Red Bottom shoe. It serves as a cry to her partner, needing to know if “he’ll say goodbye” if she shows the ugliest parts of herself. The production of this song is reminiscent of ‘Diet Pepsi’ by Addison Rae and ‘Purple Lace Bra’ by Tate McRae. With the production, ADELA’s vocals and the songwriting, it all comes together and sounds like a dream in the ears. Which is why it’s so memorable to me.
A Ballad First-Timer
ADELA experiments with the creation of ballads on this album. This is a first for her, as her first E-P ‘The Provacateur’ contained a high emphasis on production, rather than the lyrics. ‘Hitachi’, ‘Red Bottoms’, and ‘Therapy’ serve as the laid-back, personal narratives of the project. “Therapy” is the most stripped song on the album. It describes ADELA’s experience being away from home, wanting to, but ultimately not being able to emigrate her mother and sister to the United States, and missing the connection she once had with them. A lot of people did not like this song at all, and called it boring and pointless, however, I think that’s so disrespectful to the message of the song. In fact, they called this entire album boring and many life-long fans wished it sounded like “The Provacateur”. Many also said it sounded too “commercial”. However, I think ‘Therapy’ is a beautiful, emotional track and it deserves any praise it can possibly get.
I couldn’t possibly get through a review of this album without talking about the infamous ‘Ain’t In LA’. ‘Ain’t In LA’, though not particularly a ballad, is a song with beautiful message of embracing your roots. It was inspired by ADELA first seeing a younger picture of her mother with a Madonna poster on her wall. She mentioned how her grandfather used to sneak “western, pop-culture” posters through the borders of the Soviet Union from Germany for her mother. As the song states “The baddest ******* ain’t in LA”, which is the thesis statement for the song. The entire first half of the song is the story of her mom and the way she grew up. It really is a good message to all the young people out there. She explains in ‘Ain’t In LA’ that you don’t need to be living in Los Angeles to chase your dreams, and overall is the perfect closure to ‘PRIMA’.
The “Overall”
To wrap up, ‘PRIMA’ is one of the strongest debut albums I have ever listened to. I had no doubt it would’ve been though. In my opinion, it ranks among the best debut albums of the decade along with ‘Addison’ by Addison Rae, and “’SOUR’ by Olivia Rodrigo. You can tell from the first five tracks that ADELA was hungry for the main pop girl status. Since she’s been working her whole life for it, no pun intended. The manifestation and story-telling that ADELA shares in this album is some of the best I have ever seen. Because of this, “PRIMA” gets my perfect 10/10 album score, and this project deserves it. I cannot wait to see what else ADELA has in store for the fans. Since this album proved she has the substance to be one of the best pop stars of this generation.
