Does Adele have a speech impediment or something?

Jarvio

I'm sorry if this topic is offensive. It doesn't mean to be. But regarding the skyfall song, I have to ask - what is with adele's pronunciation of the words? Ya know, "let duh skyfoal when eeh crumboals".... "momain" instead of moment.... honestly, it is really annoying. I don't think it's her accent. I know she has a london accent. But the mispronunciations I'm referring to sound less like an accent, but more like either a speech disorder, or just that she's doing it on purpose.

Does anyone know?

I'm sorry to say that I cannot enjoy the song because of this. It is too distracting, and just spoils the whole thing for me.

Again, I don't mean to offend by this thread.

PS - I know there's a topic on the song, but I started a new one as this one purely concerns her pronunciation of the words...

DEFIANT 74205

She also pronounces "overdue" as "overdo" ...

zaphod

It's her diction which is poor and it is closely aligned to accent and speech pattern.

Higgins

Hm, how would Lena reply to this thread?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDWkKMmrPOQ

Thunderpussy

Adele is the Best Pub Singer in the Business. -{
I think with Skyfall the line about Crumbles, is some reference to the MI6 Canteen.
as Bond is known to be a sucker for a Bit of Rubarb and custard

jasper_lamar_crabb

Adele is frequently and deservedly criticised for her terrible diction.

Golrush007

I hear what you are saying, but it certainly doesn't bother me.

minigeff

) it's not a speech impediment, it's called a cockney accent.

neeeeees app mavaaaa braaaaawn!!!!

Wilde

Lol, Jarvio, you're not letting this one go are you!? )

DEFIANT 74205

minigeff wrote:

) it's not a speech impediment, it's called a cockney accent.

neeeeees app mavaaaa braaaaawn!!!!

She does have a Cockney accent when she's speaking, but I don't think her singing voice sounds anything like a Cockney accent. And yes, I do know what a Cockney accent sounds like.

Jarvio

Wilde wrote:

Lol, Jarvio, you're not letting this one go are you!? )

I've tried, but I just can't )

Thunderpussy

When first setting out to slag off Adele you must first dig two graves. )

Lancaster

I suspect she won't be too bothered as she relaxes in her 10 bedroom, 25 acre mansion...!

Blackleiter

Doesn't bother me either. I like the song and I have no problem with the way she sings it.

Golrush007 wrote:

I hear what you are saying, but it certainly doesn't bother me.

Martin Aston

DEFIANT 74205 wrote:

minigeff wrote:

) it's not a speech impediment, it's called a cockney accent.

neeeeees app mavaaaa braaaaawn!!!!

She does have a Cockney accent when she's speaking, but I don't think her singing voice sounds anything like a Cockney accent. And yes, I do know what a Cockney accent sounds like.

She doesn't have a Cockney accent. She has a North London accent.

Jarvio

Well whatever accent she has, I agree with the person who said it sounds nothing like her singing voice. I mean, an accent is an accent. But in this song, she is pronouncing many words very wrong.

I do like the song, but this terrible diction really does spoil it for me.

Gassy Man

The other night, I played "Skyfall" in class. The students are learning to do evaluative papers, and we talked about the need to know the history of the subject after having read a review of Skyfall posted at IGN. Many of the students were impressed, of course, as Adele is very popular and speaks to their generation, which is into the whole ersatz retro thing. But as many young people (and older ones too) are, they are largely ignorant of the source material for a lot of what they think is simply contemporary. So, I played Shirley Basseys rendition of "Goldfinger," and they immediately noted the difference in both the power of the voice and the diction. I played "Diamonds are Forever" and "The Spy Who Loved Me," which I think are both closer in tone to Adele's song, and they still felt that Adele was the lesser of the talents. One student, who sings, was the first to notice that Adele's pronunciations are off.

Agent82

I think Adele had a few Martini's before recording her vocal. )

It's kinda fitting.

zaphod

Martin Aston wrote:

DEFIANT 74205 wrote:

minigeff wrote:

) it's not a speech impediment, it's called a cockney accent.

neeeeees app mavaaaa braaaaawn!!!!

She does have a Cockney accent when she's speaking, but I don't think her singing voice sounds anything like a Cockney accent. And yes, I do know what a Cockney accent sounds like.

She doesn't have a Cockney accent. She has a North London accent.

She's from South London, Streatham I think.

Martin Aston

She's from Tottenham.

DCFAN

Jarvio wrote:

I'm sorry if this topic is offensive. It doesn't mean to be. But regarding the skyfall song, I have to ask - what is with adele's pronunciation of the words? Ya know, "let duh skyfoal when eeh crumboals".... "momain" instead of moment.... honestly, it is really annoying. I don't think it's her accent. I know she has a london accent. But the mispronunciations I'm referring to sound less like an accent, but more like either a speech disorder, or just that she's doing it on purpose.

Does anyone know?

I'm sorry to say that I cannot enjoy the song because of this. It is too distracting, and just spoils the whole thing for me.

Again, I don't mean to offend by this thread.

PS - I know there's a topic on the song, but I started a new one as this one purely concerns her pronunciation of the words...

She may have now, I believe she has suffered hemorrhaged vocal chord and has had throat surgery, perhaps she hasn't made a full recovery.

Silhouette Man

Her and the song are crap.

See review here:

May I just add here that I think that the song sounds really tuneless, with bad lyrics and it feels like it was cobbled together on the back of an Air Mail envelope late at night after too many vodka martinis and cheroots. Through the smoke-filled air the writers of the song had Adele refer to 'the sky falling' and 'Skyfall' as a specific place, rather confusingly (to me, anyway -SPOILER FREE remember). I do hope that the theme song is the only weak element in anotherwise brilliant James Bond film. Adele's songs are depressing and she is depressing - just look closely at her care-worn face - Skyfall as a theme song could be nothing more than depressing therefore. It never had a chance once she got near it and worked her downbeat wonders. Life is depressing enough, lemme tell ya somehin' (Walken-voice here) and we sure don't need depressing songs like all of her back catalogue and this new Bond theme song to add to the general depressing nature of life. We, as Bond fans, want an uplifting melody. As it is, Adele's Skyfall 'falls from the sky' well below even Lulu's and Madonna's attempts at James Bond songs. A Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever (or even the low-key Moonraker) it is certainly not! That's how bad it really is, sadly! It's Rock bottom. It's Bond with no brass, no strings - it's kitchen sink drama meets the elegant world of James Bond 007 - need I add any more, really. It's the pits. End of rant on soap box.

zaphod

Silhouette Man wrote:

Her and the song are crap.

See review here:

May I just add here that I think that the song sounds really tuneless, with bad lyrics and it feels like it was cobbled together on the back of an Air Mail envelope late at night after too many vodka martinis and cheroots. Through the smoke-filled air the writers of the song had Adele refer to 'the sky falling' and 'Skyfall' as a specific place, rather confusingly (to me, anyway -SPOILER FREE remember). I do hope that the theme song is the only weak element in anotherwise brilliant James Bond film. Adele's songs are depressing and she is depressing - just look closely at her care-worn face - Skyfall as a theme song could be nothing more than depressing therefore. It never had a chance once she got near it and worked her downbeat wonders. Life is depressing enough, lemme tell ya somehin' (Walken-voice here) and we sure don't need depressing songs like all of her back catalogue and this new Bond theme song to add to the general depressing nature of life. We, as Bond fans, want an uplifting melody. As it is, Adele's Skyfall 'falls from the sky' well below even Lulu's and Madonna's attempts at James Bond songs. A Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever (or even the low-key Moonraker) it is certainly not! That's how bad it really is, sadly! It's Rock bottom. It's Bond with no brass, no strings - it's kitchen sink drama meets the elegant world of James Bond 007 - need I add any more, really. It's the pits. End of rant on soap box.

You don't like it then

danjaq_0ff

I have to say, the song works very well in the film :007)

ant007uk

Silhouette Man wrote:

Her and the song are crap.

See review here:

May I just add here that I think that the song sounds really tuneless, with bad lyrics and it feels like it was cobbled together on the back of an Air Mail envelope late at night after too many vodka martinis and cheroots. Through the smoke-filled air the writers of the song had Adele refer to 'the sky falling' and 'Skyfall' as a specific place, rather confusingly (to me, anyway -SPOILER FREE remember). I do hope that the theme song is the only weak element in anotherwise brilliant James Bond film. Adele's songs are depressing and she is depressing - just look closely at her care-worn face - Skyfall as a theme song could be nothing more than depressing therefore. It never had a chance once she got near it and worked her downbeat wonders. Life is depressing enough, lemme tell ya somehin' (Walken-voice here) and we sure don't need depressing songs like all of her back catalogue and this new Bond theme song to add to the general depressing nature of life. We, as Bond fans, want an uplifting melody. As it is, Adele's Skyfall 'falls from the sky' well below even Lulu's and Madonna's attempts at James Bond songs. A Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever (or even the low-key Moonraker) it is certainly not! That's how bad it really is, sadly! It's Rock bottom. It's Bond with no brass, no strings - it's kitchen sink drama meets the elegant world of James Bond 007 - need I add any more, really. It's the pits. End of rant on soap box.

Well, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I guess that is yours. It would appear a lot of people disagree with you my friend. As for Adele having a speech impediment, mmmm, never heard anything so ridiculous in my life, and that is my opinion. Ciao for now.

HowardB

The "Skyfall" theme certainly is no "Goldfinger", "YOLT", or "Thunderball" but.......
IMO nothing could be as bad or worst than Madonna's "Die Another Day".

Moore Than

Congratulations to Adele. She is said to be thrilled after giving birth to a baby boy. No word on whether it was overdo......er, I meant overdue.

Adele's a mum:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/adele-becomes-a-mum-after-giving-1390389

Jarvio

ant007uk wrote:

As for Adele having a speech impediment, mmmm, never heard anything so ridiculous in my life, and that is my opinion. Ciao for now.

Why? She clearly pronounces words very wrong. Why is my question ridiculous? It's a very valid one!

Wilde

She doesn't seem to do it in her other songs though. They are big shoes to fill, remember; maybe she felt the need to sound more Bondian and epicfailed. I got the impression the whole thing was a bit rushed, like it was a wrap in one take. I like the song and the enunciation doesn't bother me terribly, the lyrics are a bit wish-wash, I agree but probably a 7 on 10 overall which equals satisfaction.

(We do expect quite a lot, don't we!)

Shady Tree

As someone who prefers a respectable pastiche of John Barry's classics to more experimental tracks, I think this is the best Bond song since Arnold's 'Surrender' and 'The World Is Not Enough', though not as complex as either of those. (Having said that, 'You Know My Name' nailed it as CR's opener, and I've recently grown to appreciate 'Another Way To Die' in a way I wouldn't have thought possible when I first heard it with dismay.)

In the tradition of Barryesque ballads, Adele is a perfect choice as co-writer/vocalist - though on the down side I think that in this piece there's perhaps an overdependence on an arrangement of The James Bond Theme bass line. (It's in good company here, as the same could be said of the FRWL main title instrumental and even of 'Goldfinger'!) I'm not too sold, either, on the choral echoes which come in later (they're a little too cheesey in a light entertainment, 'X Factor' sort of a way). The sign-off, a final brass note of mounting menace, is pure 'Scaramanga's Fun House', and that's enough to make me very happy!

Adele gives more than a nod to Shirley Bassey, of course - as at 0.40/0.41, where she races to and draws out the consonant "n" in the "count" of "and count to ten". But also, perhaps, her affectation of a catch in her voice at 1.13/1.14, as she enunciates the 'e' vowel sound of "them" in "So overdue I owe them", is a passing homage to Amy Winehouse's trademark vocal style. Adele's performance and the essential melancholy of the song made me think again, actually, how unlucky we are that Amy Winehouse never did do a Bond, as at one point was the intention. But it's great that we have Adele.


(Copied from my contribution to a less unkindly-headed thread in the Music area of the forum)

Jarvio

Wilde wrote:

She doesn't seem to do it in her other songs though. They are big shoes to fill, remember; maybe she felt the need to sound more Bondian and epicfailed. I got the impression the whole thing was a bit rushed, like it was a wrap in one take. I like the song and the enunciation doesn't bother me terribly, the lyrics are a bit wish-wash, I agree but probably a 7 on 10 overall which equals satisfaction.

(We do expect quite a lot, don't we!)

I can't comment on her other songs as I've not heard them.

But if it is true, that her diction is not as bad in her other songs than this one... then that confirms to me that she is doing it on purpose.

I guess she's ruined the song then, as far as I'm concerned. Well done adele. If only you pronounced things normally... then we'd have a decent finished product of a song.