If you’re in a public place and about to play Adéla’s video for “Sex on the Beat,” you might want to turn the volume down first. The video opens with the 21-year-old Slovak pop star—her hair dyed pastel pink, her eyebrows bleached—appearing to simulate an orgasm in front of a shrine to pop music in her bedroom. (Spelled out in hot pink tape: “Sex = pop.”) She then tunes into a YouTube masterclass led by a Christina Aguilera impersonator, who croons, “Harness your sexuality and become pop royalty in eight weeks!” before Adéla launches into an eye-catching dance routine, choreographed by Doechii collaborator Robbie Blue. The routine includes some of the raunchiest aerobics you’ve ever seen, partly performed on top of a man dressed as an office worker with an eyepatch. Underneath it all, though, is Adéla’s wry, playful humor: a meta-commentary on the “sex sells” idea that has driven pop stardom for decades. The video takes that concept and pushes it to its boldest—and ultimately subversive—extreme. You can’t help but smile.

“I mean, I’m a funny person,” Adéla says over Zoom from her home in Los Angeles, with a sheepish grin. “Humor is how I deal with tough things. It gets you through. It helps me not get too down about heavy stuff. I’m Eastern European and kind of a bitch.” She breaks into a hearty laugh. “That’s my vibe.”

This rebellious spirit runs through Adéla’s debut EP, The Provocateur, released today. The cover features the singer lit by a bright flash in a concrete underpass, hiking up her leather jacket to urinate—a cheeky nod to Sophy Rickett’s cult ’90s photo series, Women Pissing. While “Sex on the Beat” offers a witty take on the double-edged sword of being a young woman in the spotlight, other tracks showcase her range as a songwriter, tracing her creative self-discovery in almost mythic terms. There’s the thunderous, Nine Inch Nails-style electric guitars on “Death by Devotion,” co-produced by 100 gecs’ Dylan Brady and rising hitmaker Zhone, with a playfully absurd lyric urging the listener to “work the horse, no ketamine.” Or the unabashed pop of the EP’s closer, “Finally Apologizing,” which features a Gwen Stefani-esque playground chant of a chorus—”You get what you want from me!”—over buzzing electroclash synths.

It’s a bold statement that signals the arrival of a fully formed pop star—and it’s even more impressive when you learn Adéla only started her solo career less than a year ago. “Sometimes you have to promote music you’ve been sitting on for a while, but the final mix of the last song was done two weeks ago, so it’s really fresh,” she says cheerfully. “I’m excited to share it and see how everyone reacts.”

You can be sure people will have opinions. If Adéla looks or sounds familiar, it’s because her solo career isn’t her first shot at fame. In 2022, she moved from her hometown of Bratislava to Los Angeles to join a rigorous training program for a chance to be part of the global K-pop group Katseye, a process documented in two Netflix shows. The first, Dream Academy, was a fan-voted competition where Adéla was eliminated in the first round. The second, Pop Star Academy, released later, followed the contestants’ years-long journey. On that show, Adéla quickly stood out as one of the strongest competitors, regularly earning high praise and topping the judges’ rankings, while also acting as a maternal figure (despite being a teenager herself) for the younger girls. The show quickly gained a devoted fanbase.Thanks to her powerful talent and self-confidence, Adéla became one of the most talked-about contestants, outshining even some finalists.

When I ask about the EP’s title, she says, “For me, being a provocateur just means speaking your truth. A lot of the time, people don’t really want to hear it. Even as a kid in Slovakia, I always had a different point of view, and I was very vocal about it. On the show, I was portrayed as super blunt and confrontational, and the reactions to me were completely polarized—people either really loved me or really hated me. Now, I’ve come to enjoy that. I’d much rather be that than straight down the middle and inoffensive. If you don’t like what I’m doing, great—I wonder why. And if you do, again, why? I think that’s what I value in artists: being true to themselves.”

Photo: Jason Renaud

Looking back, it’s clear Adéla was always meant to be a solo artist—something many judges noted as they struggled with letting go of one of the competition’s brightest stars. “Actually, I felt that way too at the time,” Adéla says after a pause. “I had to come to terms with it even before leaving the show. I felt it in myself first. I talked to teachers and my family and saw how the project was shaping up, and I realized, ‘Oh, I’m really not meant for this.’ There was a disconnect.”

The day after filming ended, she called her parents, who asked what her plans were—would she return to Slovakia? Absolutely not. “My parents were like, ‘It’s okay, you can go to college!’ And I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? Go to college?’” She laughs. “I said, ‘Girl, I just slaved away for two years. What do you mean, go to college?’”

Instead of taking time to recover, Adéla seized every opportunity. Knowing the show would air about a year later, she threw herself into songwriting and unexpectedly shifted into indie rock. “I went home for two months last April and looked at my childhood bedroom wall covered with posters of Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Madonna, and Britney. I thought, ‘Why the hell am I making rock music?’ I’m such a huge pop fan. So I wrote a manifesto—a Google Doc listing what I liked and why it resonated with me—and went from there.” (She also had some Pinterest boards, which she recently revisited. Deadpan, she says, “I was like, ‘That’s gross.’”)

Back in L.A., Adéla wrote her first single, “Homewrecked”—a pulsing Euro-pop banger reminiscent of early Lady Gaga. With Pop Star Academy about to premiere, she decided to ride the wave of public interest and release it independently. But it was her second self-released single, “Superscar,” that marked her arrival as a budding pop auteur. It’s a fast, furious anthem about how the music industry pushes young performers to their limits—“Shut my lips to speak, stick to your strategy,” she purrs on the bridge. “I know you like ’em weak, sold you a piece of me”—accompanied by a video showcasing her impressive dance skills.

It’s pretty staggering that she did all this entirely on her own. “It was hard,” she says. “I was also in college full-time at that point, and I was doing…”I was doing it all. The night before the shoot, my friend Emily and I were up until 3 a.m. rhinestoning gloves. I was also producing and writing the music, posting it on streaming platforms and TikTok, and I had college assignments due the next day. At the same time, I was frantically dyeing my hair pink. But I think it taught me a lot about myself and my vision, and honestly, it made it easier to transition into working with a record label later on.

In May of this year, I signed with Capitol Records, making this EP my first major label release. I knew my vision couldn’t be swayed by people at the label because I had worked so hard on it and it was so clear. I’d done everything on my own up to that point, and I think that made it easier for people to respect me.

An early fan—and now a close collaborator—is stylist Chris Horan, who famously helped build the Charli XCX Brat-osphere and has worked with a lineup of unique It girls like Hari Nef and Barbie Ferreira. “I watched the Netflix show and immediately thought, ‘This girl is such a star,’” Horan recalls. “I followed her on Instagram, she followed me back a few days later and messaged me. We just professed our love for each other.” Horan was especially keen to highlight references to my roots, with plenty of Eastern European films and images of the famous “Slavic Doll” models from the 2000s on the moodboard. Yet, as he adds, “She is so clear in her vision of what she is creating. It’s really about meeting her where she already is with the music.”

“The thing I really appreciate about Chris is that he keeps the story at the forefront—it’s not about doing something because it’s cool, but because it has meaning and supports what we’re trying to say,” I say about the cultural references I felt more confident weaving into my visuals thanks to him. “I really appreciated that because, obviously, I’m an immigrant in America, and I always felt like my Slovak background made me lesser as a kid. That’s why I worked so hard to learn perfect English and have an American accent. To have someone I trust so much, whose opinion I value, say, ‘No, I really think we should honor this,’ felt really beautiful.”

I’m also quick to note that, even though I’m from a country that spent decades behind the Iron Curtain and is still better known for its castles and folk art than pop stars, I never let that limit my ambitions. “I’m from a tiny country, and Slovakia has never had a global performer or superstar, so when I told my family I wanted to be a pop singer, they asked, ‘Are you going to do it on a smaller scale?’ But I never wanted that. It was just really hard for them to even imagine how it would be possible. But hey,” I say with a smile, “we’re doing it.”

“Doing it” feels like an understatement. In the weeks leading up to the release, I’ve been busy putting the finishing touches on the EP and tweaking the “Sex on the Beat” video—though I did take a well-earned weekend off to attend Lollapalooza in Chicago, hang out with my friend, the musician and rapper 2hollis, and support Katseye during their amazing main stage performance. (I’m still close friends with all the Katseye girls: “I knew it was a big moment for them, and I wanted to be there for that.”)

So when will it be my turn to take the stage? “I want to do live shows, I don’t care what size,” I say. “I don’t know how the EP will do, but I don’t care. I just want to be in the clubs performing. I want to be like Gaga in 2006, performing in an Ikea parking lot. That’s my vibe. And if one day I get to do it on a big stage, that’ll be amazing too.””On a scale of one to ten… that’s awesome.”

Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about Adélas pop star destiny written in a natural and helpful tone

General Beginner Questions

1 Who is Adéla
Adéla is a singer who was seemingly born with the talent and charisma to become a major pop music artist

2 What does destined to be a pop star mean
It means that from a very young age she showed exceptional natural talent stage presence and a drive for music that made it seem like she was always meant for fame

3 What kind of music does she make
She creates pop music which often features catchy melodies relatable lyrics about love and life and modern production

4 Has she released any songs or albums
This would depend on the real artist The phrase suggests she has music available You should check music platforms like Spotify Apple Music or YouTube for her official releases

5 Where is she from
You would need to check her official bio for her specific origin but the narrative of being destined for stardom is a universal story in the music industry

Advanced Detailed Questions

6 What sets her apart from other new pop artists
The idea of destiny implies a combination of raw undeniable vocal talent a unique image or style and a powerful work ethic that makes her stand out

7 Who are her musical influences
This is specific to the artist She was likely inspired by iconic pop stars from previous generations which can be heard in her songwriting or vocal style

8 What has her journey to stardom been like
The path is rarely easy It likely involved years of practice performing in small venues building a fanbase online and eventually getting noticed by the music industry

9 Has she signed with a major record label
Many artists destined for pop stardom are eventually signed by major labels that provide resources for production marketing and distribution Checking her official website or press releases would confirm this

10 How does she engage with her fans
Most modern pop stars use social media platforms like Instagram TikTok and Twitter to share updates behindthescenes content and interact directly with their audience

Practical Tips How to Follow Her

11 Where can I listen to her music
Her