Sophia Michaels
Adele drinks wine — and floats around in her thoughts in the new music video for “I Drink Wine.” On Wednesday, the singer released the video for the fan-favorite track off 30, which she says was the visual she shot for the album.
The Joe Talbot-directed video opens with Adele in a golden Valentino dress floating in a dark, artificial river while pouring herself a glass of rosé as she watches folks on the shore living their lives while synchronized singers engage in choreography around her.
“Why am I obsessin’ about the things I can’t control?/Why am I seekin’ approval from people I don’t even know?” she sings. “In these crazy times, I hope to find somethin’ I can cling on to/’Cause I need some substance in my life, somethin’ real, somethin’ that feels true.”
Then, a potential love interest swims up to Adele, trying to court her, before he’s rejected and her synchronized swimming friends push him away. As Adele reaches the song’s climax, the synchronized swimmers try to force Adele to grab a glass of rosé, which she rejects.
As the song’s outro plays, the camera zooms to show the fictional set the visual was filmed in and later captures Adele floating serenely in the pool of water surrounded by flowers.
Earlier this week, the artist teased the video on Twitter, writing: “The I Drink Wine video was the first one I shot for this album. And it’s finally coming out tomorrow!!” The 14-second clip featured a pianist sitting on a bridge overlooking a river as Adele floats under it.
The video for “I Drink Wine” follows the releases of visuals for “Easy on Me” and “Oh My God.”
During her cover story interview with Rolling Stone, Adele said that the song is about shedding one’s ego and carries a Seventies Elton John and Bernie Taupin flair. “I took everything so personally at that period of time in my life,” she said. “So the lyric ‘I hope I learn to get over myself’ is like [me saying] ‘Once I’ve done that, then maybe I can let you love me.’”
The song plays out like a conversation; Adele pulls a “Barry Manilow trick” and gives each chorus its own unique tempo. The singer also shared that she played different characters while recording the background vocals for the track, emulating a sarcastic Sixties vibe. “It made it less intimidating,” she said, “because some of the things I’m talking about really hit home for a lot of people.”
Earlier this summer, Adele announced the rescheduled dates of her postponed Las Vegas residency billed “Weekends With Adele” at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace.
“Words can’t explain how ecstatic I am to finally be able to announce these rescheduled shows. I truly was heartbroken to have to cancel them,” Adele wrote on social media. “But after what feels like an eternity of figuring out logistics for the show that I really want to deliver, and knowing it can happen, I’m more excited than ever!”
“Weekends With Adele” will start on Nov. 18 and run through March 25 for a total of 32 shows.
