Music review: Adele's 'Skyfall'

Adele is not one for theatrics. She sings with passion, with fire, with truth. She exploded onto the music scene with her release of her album 21 — even though I was a fan of 19 — and her angelic, yet soulful voice poured onto the radio waves, making her a household name.

So when she was asked to sing the theme song to the upcoming James Bond movie, Skyfall, it seemed like a no-brainer. Bond themes are highly coveted, but that doesn't mean the artists who are selected deliver. Anyone remember Madonna's "Die Another Day?" Or perhaps the more recent collaboration between Jack White and Alicia Keys singing, "Another Way to Die?" Even Sheryl Crow had her turn with "Tomorrow Never Dies."

Let me break down the various artists' renditions of Bond songs:

• Madonna's – The music was a lot more exciting than her robotic, two-dimensional execution: Not bad.
• Jack White and Alicia Keys' – The song is as awkward as their pairing: Terrible.
• Sheryl Crow's – A little rough-and-raspy, but it serves its purpose: Could have done better.

Back to Adele. This song is nothing short of dreamy. Sweet audio honey. And I can predict this will set the standard for Bond theme songs. A simple piano set prompts the soft coo of Adele's voice. Throughout the song, she maintains her calm-yet-dynamic voice. She still hits the high and low notes, but without belting out the chords. The beauty of this song is that there are no overwhelming background beats or gimmicky guitar riffs — this is all about Adele, and the piano and occasional drum only enhance her performance.

This may be her sexiest song to date. I know you usually don't attribute "sexy" to Adele (why not?!), but her voice is haunting, teasing and tortured (almost). The chorus had a confident charm that almost defies you to imagine what she looked like when she sang it. This is not the Adele who "got broken up with" (her inspiration for her previous album). I barely could tell the song was over four minutes long, because it unravels (in a good way) so quickly.

"Let the sky fall, when it crumbles/We will stand tall/Face it all together/At skyfall"

I don't think there is anyone more appropriate than Adele to sing the theme song for an icon like James Bond. Her talent is seemingly effortless and absolutely timeless.

Image courtesy of WENN.com

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