Rising Pop Badass Adéla Arrives in a Big Way With ‘Prima’: Album Review

For 22-year-old Adéla Jergová, getting the boot from “Dream Academy”—the reality competition that ultimately spawned the global girl group Katseye—may have been the luckiest twist of fate imaginable. Rather than being boxed into a carefully managed ensemble, the Slovakian-born artist spent her summer commanding massive crowds at festivals like Lollapalooza and Reading, and now her debut full-length, “Prima,” makes it abundantly clear that no collective could ever contain her fire.

Her 2024 EP, “The Provocateur,” leaned into a gritty, confrontational edge both sonically and lyrically, but “Prima” softens that armor with something more delicate—call it a distinctly feminine energy that weaves through the production and the storytelling alike. The beats still hit with brute force, yet they’re wrapped in lighter, stickier pop melodies that render the whole project both catchier and more singular. That melodic polish shouldn’t come as a shock: the album’s executive production is helmed by Dylan Brady—the 100 Gecs mastermind who’s pivoted from experimental noise to mainstream pop wizardry—and Blake Slatkin, a hitmaker whose credits span Sam Smith, Sienna Spiro, Charli xcx, and Lil Nas X. Together with Jergová, they enlisted A-list songwriters Julia Michaels and Billy Walsh, both known for shaping some of the biggest pop anthems of the past decade.

What truly sets “Prima” apart, though, is its stylistic sprawl. There are unmistakable echoes of Ariana Grande’s airy vocal runs, Charli xcx’s hyperpop gleam, and Lady Gaga’s theatrical bravado, but the album also dips into unexpected territory: the sped-up R&B loop on “Nicole Kidman” channels the playful sample-flipping of Kanye West’s “College Dropout” era, while the closing track “Ain’t in LA” rides a chopped-and-screwed hook that’s already one of the year’s standout singles. Yet despite this kaleidoscope of influences, the record never feels like a tribute act—Jergová’s outsized personality stomps through every track, shape-shifting from snarling provocateur to breathy seductress to raw-voiced heartbreak victim. Her lyrics crackle with wit, too, offering gems like “Nobody wants dirty shoes / nobody wants dad issues” and “Lately I’m lackin’ / A sense of reciprocity in your passion,” or the cinematic “Playing Nirvana, ride you in your Honda / I like how you look at me like I’m the next Madonna.”

With its relentless hooks and unapologetic swagger, “Prima” is shaping up to be one of the year’s defining breakout records. The old cliché says “a star is born,” but for Adéla Jergová, that moment passed long ago—she’s simply reminding everyone who was slow to notice.