Pink hair. Ballet. LA.
This combination of words might seem completely disjointed for those who don’t stay up to date with pop culture. But if you’ve even opened social media recently, then the image of Slovak up-and-coming pop star, Adéla Jergová, should’ve immediately jumped out at you.
All eyes are on Adéla after the release of her debut album PRIMA earlier this month. You may have already heard some of her breakout singles like “Nicole Kidman” and “Ain’t in LA,” the latter of which became the internet’s anthem against the geographical barriers that exist between you and your goals (It’s also my favorite song on the album.)
What makes Adéla so captivating is that, in an era of “nepo babies” dominating the entertainment industry, her rise to pop stardom feels genuinely earned. Born and raised in Bratislava, Slovakia, she taught herself English by watching Disney Channel and YouTube. She trained in ballet until the age of 14 before rising to fame through Netflix’s Pop Star Academy, the documentary competition that formed the girl group KATSEYE. Despite being seen by audiences as a clear leader on the show, Adéla was eliminated from the series early on, leaving viewers questioning whether she’d ever get another shot at stardom. Her solo career proved that her journey was far from over.
After her elimination, Adéla launched her solo career. Blindly assuming her music would sound similar to that of the group, I paid no mind to her. However, something changed this summer. When Adéla changed her hair from a soft baby pink to a bold, attention-grabbing hot pink, I suddenly couldn’t take my eyes off her.
It makes sense why I am so drawn to her: I deeply relate to Adéla’s story. Born into a culture underrepresented in mainstream media, I grew up watching Disney Channel and wondering why my grades weren’t letter-graded, or why my school didn’t have prom or football games. I was a frustrated teenager with dreams that extended beyond the confines of my town in Latin America, whose only connection to those dreams was through pop culture. Not to mention Adéla’s biggest artistic inspiration is Ariana Grande, who I’ve adored since childhood.
Consequently, Adéla’s persona feels familiar to me, and it makes me naturally root for her. I see her as the one who actually made it out, one of the millions of girls in unknown cities who yearn for the opportunity to reach the places where their dreams are allowed to come true. In “Ain’t in LA,” Adéla turns that frustration into an anthem about challenging the idea that success only exists within the glamour of Hollywood or other major cities. She reminds young people that they can be beautiful, unique, and successful in places that don’t appear in movies or TV.
Also, Adéla’s career is ruled by contradiction.
Her ballet-inspired coquette-ness coupled with a punk, grunge, provocative aesthetic; her rejection from what others assumed would be the biggest opportunity of her life; becoming a pop culture sensation despite feeling shunned from the Western media she consumed growing up. People are drawn to Adéla because she refuses to fit into the established rules we have of what a pop star is supposed to look like, sound like, or come from.
It’s clear that she is not interested in fitting into an existing mold; her album PRIMA proves she’s more interested in creating her own. Adéla knows exactly what kind of artist she wants to be and demands the world to pay attention. The girl who went from watching pop stars through a screen in Slovakia, now finds herself on the other side of it.