Adele

Sometimes in life, at one point or another, we all have a thought or a feeling that feels particular to us. Be it heartbreak, sorrow, grief, or just the ups and downs of day-to-day life—“No one has ever felt the pain I feel right now!”

And then Adele comes along with a song, and suddenly it’s as if she is holding out her hand and saying, “I know how you feel. I’ve been there.”

She puts emotions into words, describing them in a way we never could ourselves. She is raw, honest, and elegant all at the same time. It never feels like she sings to us. She sings for us.

When I have sat and talked with Adele, often into the small hours of the morning, she’s felt like a friend from school, like someone I’ve known my whole life, so much so that I can almost forget her exquisite talents.

But then I hear her singing in the kitchen, or belting at the top of her voice solely to make my children laugh, and I am immediately reminded: she is an artist, in the purest sense of the word.

In a time when people are trying to sell every facet of their being, on every device that surrounds us, here is someone who wants only to make extraordinary music and put it out into the world. To comfort us, to lift us up, and to laugh with us.

I love Adele. The world needs her. We’ve all got to protect her as best we can.

Corden is an Emmy-winning producer and the host of The Late Late Show with James Corden

Contact us at letters@time.com.