It's hard finding a 'Best albums of 2011' list that doesn't include Adele. Perhaps more than any artist, she has made a big impact in music this year with her sophomore album 21, or more specifically, the single Rolling In The Deep. The young singer has time and time again been praised for her voice, and there is no doubt about it. Adele does have a great voice. It trembles in the right places, carries when it needs to, and reaches the higher notes without trouble. She even has a hint of Neo Soul in her voice and way of delivery. It's seemingly a perfect fit for every end-of-the-year list.

So why can't I enjoy her music?

Technically, Adele sings very good. But her voice does not fully convey the feeling attemped in her songs. At some point it comes close, but ultimately falls short. This is especially the case with Rolling In The Deep. Adele starts off well, but when the song approaches the chorus Adele suddenly drops all of the initial energy. This is what puzzles me. Where 21 could have become a very personal album - Adele has said that the songs are inspired of an earlier relationship gone sour - it feels surprisingly flat in many places. Her voice does most of the work, but the emotions don't seem to be the same as they allegedly were when she wrote them down into songs. The album could very well be the case of material that once were very emotional to her, but that ultimately lost much of it's importance at a later time, and so the same emotions could not be summoned as before. Maybe the label, or her co-writers (the names Paul Epworth and Ryan Tedder stand out) are used to help artists take their emotions and turn it into a more easy-to-swallow formula. Whichever it is, there is something that seemingly mutes the personality of 21. 

This all comes down to my definition of Quality music. In it's absolute core, music is emotions conveyed through sound. More specifically, the artist's emotions. This, to me, is the difference between a technically good song, and a song that is captivating.Because no matter how unfair it may sound, a good voice and matching beat might take you to the top of the charts, but alone it's not enough to become Quality music. On the contrary, if you can inject your character and soul in a song, your voice doesn't need to be perfect. Think of artists like Nina Simone, Curtis Mayfield, or Lauryn Hill. They all have beautiful voices, but without all that emotion behind it, their songs wouldnt have been the powerful music that it is. 

Compared to many other songs holding the radio hostage right now, she gives the listener a hint of soul. But comparing her to Amy Winehouse (and those comparisons have been many) is unfair. Amy not only drew from real life events and feelings when writing, she made us feel like we knew her personally just through listening. I feel that Adele lacked this on 21, and therefore she didn't make it to my list.