Alabama Shakes talk Adele, their busy year and their hometown appreciation
- Published
Alabama Shakes' frontwoman Brittany Howard can claim to have the most successful singer right now as one of her biggest fans.
Citing her musical influences, external, Adele recently said "there's something about Brittany that puts fire in my soul" and called her voice "exceptional".
"Wow" was Howard's response when we mentioned it and called Adele's words a "huge compliment".
"I've always thought Adele was really cool. She's so down to earth."
The pair met at the Grammy awards in 2013 when Brittany's grandma got starstruck and brought Adele into the dressing room - as she was putting on a pair of Spanx.
"When she walked in the door I thought, 'Oh my god, there's Adele. I'm half-naked.' It was pretty funny."
Brittany Howard met Adele at the 2013 Grammy Awards in America
Howard also sees the comparisons between her band and the British singer.
"Everything that's happened to her I can see similarities with what's happened to us so far. It happened so quickly, it's not necessarily something you were working for.
"We're also like her in that we're being who we are, not letting things change us. I think she's really cool for that."
We caught up with the band at the end of their UK tour at London's 02 Academy in Brixton.
It's been a busy 2015, which saw the release of their second album Sound and Color.
"We've got to do a lot of fun things but at the same time it's been a blur," said guitarist Heath Fogg.
"It feels like two years have gone by yet it's not even a year since the record came out."
Howard was also recently named Billboard magazine's woman of the year and it's something that she finds hard to get her head around.
"I don't think I want to be famous and this [award] is more than I ever expected. It's an honour for my family, my band and for our town."
The town that she speaks of is Athens in Alabama which has a population of 21,000.
Obviously, the band are held in high esteem there.
"When we go back people want to tell me stories or say how they're related to me or have a picture.
"A lot of people are really warm and all of our birthdays are always mentioned in the local newspaper, the Athens Courier.
"It's nice to just be a band who just came from a small town."
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