All I Ask (Adele song)

"All I Ask"
Song by Adele
from the album 25
Released 20 November 2015 (2015-11-20)
Format Digital download
Studio Glenwood Recording Studios, Los Angeles
Genre Soul
Length 4:31
Label XL
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) The Smeezingtons

"All I Ask" is a song recorded by English singer and songwriter Adele for her third studio album 25 (2015). The song was written by Adele, Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence and Christopher Brody Brown, while production of the track was handled by The Smeezingtons, a songwriting and record producing trio, consisting of Mars, Lawrence, and Ari Levine. According to Slate's Forrest Wickman, the song lyrically discusses the singer looking for one last night with a lover, before they go their separate ways.

"All I Ask" peaked at number 41 on the UK Singles Chart and at number 77 on the Billboard Hot 100. To promote the song, Adele performed "All I Ask" during Adele Live in New York City, on The Late Late Show with James Corden, on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards. The latter performance garnered controversy due to technical issues; Adele stated afterwards that the piano microphones fell on to the piano strings, causing the glitch.

Background and composition

"All I Ask" was written by Adele Adkins, Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence and Christopher Brody Brown, while production of the track was handled by The Smeezingtons, a songwriting and record producing trio, consisting of Mars, Lawrence, and Ari Levine.[1] During Adele's sessions with Mars, the pair had attempted to create an up-tempo song; however, they created the "dramatic" "All I Ask" instead.[2] The song, a piano ballad, sees Adele addressing a lover on what she knows will be their final night, processing the end of a relationship in what feels like "slow motion".[3] The National's Rob Garratt observed "tidy, fast piano patterns" and referred to it as a "datedly derivative ballad".[4] Mars affirmed that once "we hit a couple chords that she liked, we started rolling and that's where we got that song from".[5] The singer also revealed that "they fought over one line in the second verse", due to the word "lovers" since nobody says lovers. Nevertheless, Adele wanted to keep it, Mars ended up by accepting that and said "this grand word that makes the song bigger because no one says it".[6] The track was finished in two sessions.[6]

Inspired by pianist, singer, and songwriter Billy Joel, "All I Ask" strips back instrumentation to piano only and has been described as sounding different from the rest of modern pop.[7][8] According to Gareth James of Clash, the song is designed to be performed at the semi-finals of "some faceless talent show" by the favourite, all emotive key changes and long vowels.[9] Hannah McKee of Stuff.co.nz referred to "All I Ask" as a love ballad revolving around themes of "melancholia".[10] The song is written in the key of E major (and changes to F major at the third chorus) with a tempo of 71 beats per minute in common time. It follows a chord progression of E–G♯m–Asus2–B in the verses, and Adele's vocals span from E3 to D5.[11]

Critical reception

The song has been well received by music critics. Yahoo! News' Liz Rowley wrote that "All I Ask" leaves listeners with "a solid sense of accepting love lost, and clears up the dreadful finality that resignation brings with it," and stated that it "arrives at an emotional plane that's devastating yet utterly relatable".[12][13] Christina Garibaldi of MTV wrote that it is an emotional "song of desperation" and that the listener can feel Adele's heart "break into a million pieces".[14] Neil McCormick of The Telegraph described "All I Ask" as a "deep, resonant piano ballad".[15] Tom Breihan of Stereogum called "All I Ask" a weeper and likened it to the works of American singer Barbra Streisand.[16]

Slate's Forrest Wickman stated that the singer seeks one last night with a lover, before they part their separate ways.[17] As part of a positive review of 25, Andy Gill of The Independent opined that Adele seems to be jinxing a relationship for the sake of one last memory.[18] The New York Times' Jon Caramanica listed "All I Ask" as the fifth best song of 2015.[19] In a rave review, he observed a palpable gear shift and called the song a "masterpiece", adding that it is "even bigger than the legend".[20] Natalie Finn of E! considered the song's lyrics "It matters how this ends / cause what if I never love again?" as the most emotional from 25.[21] In a generally positive review, Vanity Fair's Josh Duboff opined that an album listener was most likely to sing "All I Ask" "in [their] shower again and again".[22]

Chart performance

Despite not being released as a single, "All I Ask" managed to debut on several charts. Following the release of 25, it debuted and peaked at numbers 66 on the French Singles Chart and 46 on the Spanish Singles Chart.[23][24] It also debuted at number 60 on the Scottish Singles Chart and at number 77 on the Billboard Hot 100.[25][26] Its debut in the US was aided by Adele's Grammy performance the week prior. In January 2016, the song entered at number 65 on the Australian Singles Chart at its peak, number 21 on the Finnish Download Chart, number 93 on the Irish Singles Chart and number 41 on the UK Singles Chart.[27][28][29][30] It subsequently rose to a new peak on the Scottish Singles Chart, reaching number 12.[31] On Canadian Digital Songs, "All I Ask" managed to reach number 34.[32] The song was successful on the Netherlands Digital Songs chart, peaking at number 8.[33] It had similar success on Sweden Digital Songs, reaching number 9.[34] "All I Ask" subsequently reached number 5 on the UK Indie Songs chart issue dated 22 January 2016.[35]

Live performances

Adele first performed the song on Adele Live in New York City, which was recorded at a one-night-only show at Radio City Music Hall on 17 November 2015 and broadcast on American commercial broadcast television network NBC on 14 December 2015.[36] At the end of the performance, she quipped "It's better on record".[37] In a positive review, Lily Karlin of Huffington Post referred to it as "honestly unreal" and a performance "for the ages".[36] Meanwhile, ELLE's Alyssa Bailey described the performance as "breathtaking" and opined that the listener would be blown away by Adele's voice and range.[37]

Adele also performed the song on The Late Late Show with James Corden during the "Carpool Karaoke" segment,[38] which appeared online on 13 January 2016.[39] A month later, Adele performed "All I Ask" at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony on 15 February 2016.[40] That performance garnered some criticism due to technical issues with the sound, caused by the piano microphones.[41] In response to the incident, she posted an explanation on Twitter: "The piano mics fell on to the piano strings, that's what the guitar sound was. It made it sound out of tune. Shit happens".[42]

Two days later, Adele reprised "All I Ask" on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and said "it was all right, I'm fine" following the Grammys incident.[43] This performance was also well received. Rappler wrote that Adele "slay[ed]" the song on Ellen.[44] Ella Ceron of Teen Vogue shared that opinion, writing "She slays it, naturally", and adding that she performed the song with all the power and emotion "we've come to expect" from her.[45]

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of 25[1]

Locations

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2015–16) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[27] 65
Canada (Hot Canadian Digital Songs)[32] 34
Finland Download (Latauslista)[28] 21
France (SNEP)[23] 66
Ireland (IRMA)[29] 93
Netherlands Digital Songs (Billboard)[33] 8
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[31] 12
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[24] 46
South Korea International Chart (Gaon)[46] 17
Sweden Digital Songs (Billboard)[34] 9
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[30] 41
UK Indie (Official Charts Company)[35] 5
US Billboard Hot 100[26] 77

Certifications and sales

Region CertificationCertified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[47] Gold 40,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[48] Silver 200,000double-dagger

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
double-daggersales+streaming figures based on certification alone

References

  1. 1 2 25 (booklet). Adele. London: XL Records. 2015.
  2. ↑ Brian Hiatt (3 November 2015). "Adele: Inside Her Private Life and Triumphant Return". RollingStone. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  3. ↑ Dolan, Jon (23 November 2015). "Adele's New Album: 25". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  4. ↑ Garratt, Rob (21 November 2015). "Adele's 25 track-by-track". The National. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  5. ↑ "Bruno Mars on Working With 'Diva' Adele: 'She's Just a Superstar'". billboard.com. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  6. 1 2 Eells, Josh (2 November 2016). "Bruno Mars: The Private Anxiety of a Pop Perfectionist". Rolling Stone. Jann Wenner. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  7. ↑ Rosen, Jody (19 November 2015). "Adele Powers Through a Lifetime of Regret & Weariness on '25'". Billboard. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  8. ↑ LeDonne, Rob (15 December 2015). "Adele: Live in New York City review – a performance for the ages". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  9. ↑ "Adele - 25". Clash. 20 November 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  10. ↑ McKee, Hannah (19 November 2015). "Review of Adele's album 25". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  11. ↑ Adkins, Adele. "All I Ask". www.musicnotes.com. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  12. ↑ Rowley, Liz (20 November 2015). "Adele and Bruno Mars' "All I Ask" Gives the Entire Internet All the Feels". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  13. ↑ Rowley, Liz (20 November 2015). "Adele and Bruno Mars' 'All I Ask' Gives the Entire Internet All the Feels". Mic. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  14. ↑ Garibaldi, Christina (20 November 2015). "A Track-By-Track Breakdown Of Adele's 25". MTV. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  15. ↑ McCormick, Neil (18 November 2015). "Adele, 25, album review: 'pop doesn't come more perfect than this'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  16. ↑ Breihan, Tom (20 November 2015). "Premature Evaluation: Adele 25". Stereogum. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  17. ↑ Wickman, Forrest (19 November 2015). "Adele's 25: A Track-by-Track Breakdown". Slate. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  18. ↑ Gill, Andy (20 November 2015). "Adele, 25: Album of the week". The Independent. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  19. ↑ Caramanica, Jon (15 December 2015). "The Best Songs of 2015". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  20. ↑ Caramanica, Jon (18 November 2015). "Adele Holds Firm on '25,' Even as Pop Shifts". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  21. ↑ Finn, Natalie (20 November 2015). "The Most Emotional Lyrics From Adele's 25, Ranked in Order of Devastation". E!. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  22. ↑ Duboff, Josh (19 November 2015). "This Will Be the Breakout Track from Adele's New Album". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  23. 1 2 "Lescharts.com – Adele – All I Ask" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  24. 1 2 "Spanishcharts.com – Adele – All I Ask" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  25. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2015-11-27". Scottish Singles Top 40. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  26. 1 2 "Adele Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  27. 1 2 "ARIA Report: Issue 1352 (Week Commencing 25 January 2016)" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. p. 4. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  28. 1 2 "Adele: All I Ask" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  29. 1 2 "Chart Track: Week 3, 2016". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  30. 1 2 "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  31. 1 2 "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  32. 1 2 "Chart Search: Hot Canadian Digital Songs for Adele". Billboard. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  33. 1 2 "Chart Search: Netherlands Digital Songs for Adele". Billboard. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  34. 1 2 "Chart Search: Sweden Digital Songs for Adele". Billboard. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  35. 1 2 "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  36. 1 2 Karlin, Lily (15 December 2015). "Adele's Live 'All I Ask' Performance In New York City Is Honestly Unreal". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  37. 1 2 Bailey, Alyssa (15 December 2015). "Watch Adele's Live, Breathtaking Performance of 'All I Ask'". ELLE. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  38. ↑ Owoseje, Toyin (15 January 2016). "#CarpoolKaraoke: Nicki Minaj crowns Adele 'queen' after Monster rap on The Late Late Show With James Corden". International Business Times. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  39. ↑ Bailey, Alyssa (14 January 2016). "Yes, Adele's Carpool Karaoke Is the BEST THING EVER". ELLE. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  40. ↑ Reed, Ryan (15 February 2016). "Adele Delivers Determined 'All I Ask' Amid Sound Problems at Grammys". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  41. ↑ Kimble, Lindsay (16 February 2016). "Adele Blames 'Piano Mics' For Grammys Audio Issues – Says She's Treating Herself to an In-N-Out Burger". People. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  42. ↑ "Adele responds to Grammy sound problems with the BEST ever Tweets". Irish Examiner. 16 February 2016. Archived from the original on 21 April 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  43. ↑ Geslani, Michelle (18 February 2016). "Adele performs 'All I Ask' and 'When We Were Young' on Ellen". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  44. ↑ "Adele slays 'All I Ask' on 'Ellen' after Grammys mic glitch". Rappler. 18 February 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  45. ↑ Ceron, Ella (18 February 2016). "Watch Adele Perform 'All I Ask' the Way She Meant To at the Grammys". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  46. ↑ "Gaon Digital Chart". Gaon Chart. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  47. ↑ "Canadian single certifications – Adele – All I Ask". Music Canada. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  48. ↑ "British single certifications – Adele – All I Ask". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 11 May 2018. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Enter All I Ask in the search field and then press Enter.
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