ADÉLA: The Contestant Who Was Built for Solo Stardom
In September 2023, Adéla Jergová was one of the first contestants eliminated from The Debut: Dream Academy, the global reality competition run by HYBE and Geffen Records that formed the girl group KATSEYE. For most contestants, an early exit would have been the end of the story. For her, it was the beginning.
Three years later, ADÉLA has released a critically praised debut EP, signed with Capitol Records, opened for Demi Lovato, scored her first Billboard Hot 100 hit and released a debut album, PRIMA, that entered the Billboard 200 at No. 4. With pink hair, deliberately provocative visuals and an aggressive electropop sound, she has become one of the most talked-about new pop artists of 2026.
Early Life and Ballet Training
Adéla Jergová was born on November 27, 2003, in Bratislava, Slovakia. She trained seriously in ballet from early childhood and has described the environment as very tough, saying it taught her to develop a thick skin long before she entered the music business. She has said that watching Hannah Montana as a young child first made her want to be a singer.
She has also said that spending a lot of time online as a child “Americanized” her and exposed her to more liberal ideas, which left her feeling somewhat alienated from Slovak society. Over time, her ambitions shifted from classical dance toward pop music, and in 2022 she moved to Los Angeles to pursue that goal.
Her ballet background remains central to her work. Her music videos and live shows rely heavily on precise, athletic choreography, and she later titled her debut album PRIMA, partly after the title given to leading ballerinas.
Dream Academy and Elimination
In 2023, she was selected as one of 20 contestants for The Debut: Dream Academy, a HYBE x Geffen competition designed to form a global girl group trained in the K-pop system. In the first mission, she performed a group dance to BLACKPINK’s “Pink Venom”. She was among the first contestants eliminated after receiving the fewest fan votes, and she was cut in September 2023.
Her elimination became one of the most discussed moments of the competition. When Netflix released the behind-the-scenes docuseries Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE in 2024, viewers saw her strong performances and the regard other contestants had for her. The series also included an executive remarking that the company saw her as a solo artist. That comment has become a recurring meme among her fans.
Rather than returning to Slovakia, she stayed in Los Angeles and enrolled in music classes at Santa Monica College. She managed herself while studying full-time and working on demos in her apartment.
“Homewrecked” and Going Independent
She timed her solo debut to coincide with the Netflix series. Her first single, “Homewrecked”, was released independently on September 13, 2024. The dark, intense song was inspired by her father’s affair and was written from the perspective of her 15-year-old self. The visuals featured choreography by fellow Dream Academy contestant Emily Kelavos.
She has said that if she had not been eliminated so early, “Homewrecked” might never have happened. The song drew attention from critics and on TikTok. Her second single, “Superscar”, released in October 2024, took aim at the music industry and how it consumes young artists.
Grimes and “Machine Girl”
One person who noticed “Homewrecked” on TikTok was the Canadian musician Grimes, who contacted her. Grimes co-produced her third single, “Machine Girl”, released in February 2025. Its music video starred actress Sofia Wylie and included a cameo from Grimes.
The collaboration raised her profile in alternative and hyperpop circles. The song “Sex on the Beat” also helped build a following. Actress Rachel Sennott mentioned it on a podcast and later featured another ADÉLA song on her HBO series I Love LA.
Signing With Capitol
In May 2025, ADÉLA announced that she had signed with Capitol Records, her first major-label deal. In the UK, she partnered with Polydor.
The Provocateur
Her debut EP, The Provocateur, was released in August 2025. It was framed as a dramatized story of a young woman willing to do whatever it takes to achieve her dreams. She said its themes came from the idea that women who openly want things are vulnerable to being exploited. The EP included “Homewrecked”, “Superscar”, “Machine Girl”, “Sex on the Beat” and “Death by Devotion”, with production from collaborators including Dylan Brady, Blake Slatkin and Grimes.
The EP’s cover showed her urinating in the street, a reference to photographer Sophy Rickett’s 1990s Pissing Women series. It immediately made the rounds online and cemented her reputation for provocation.
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Critics praised the EP, and she was featured in outlets including Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Interview, The FADER, NYLON, PAPER and Rolling Stone. Her first solo shows in London, New York and Los Angeles sold out, and in October 2025 she went on her first tour, the ProvocaTour.
Opening for Demi Lovato
In spring 2026, she reached a much larger audience as the opening act on Demi Lovato’s It’s Not That Deep Tour. The North American run began on April 13, 2026, in Orlando and ended on May 25 in Houston. She used the shows to preview new music, including her new single “KGB”, released April 17, 2026.
The Red Bottoms Tour
The day after the Lovato tour ended, she announced her first headline tour, The Red Bottoms Tour. The North American leg sold out quickly and added extra dates in Brooklyn and Los Angeles. The single “Red Bottoms” followed on June 12, 2026.
The tour opened in London in late August 2026. Its North American leg began on September 9 in Detroit, with stops including Toronto, Montreal, Boston, Washington, Brooklyn, Nashville, Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Seattle, Denver and Los Angeles. It is scheduled to end with two shows in Mexico City on October 15 and 16. In August 2026 she announced a European and UK leg, which will start in Prague on January 11, 2027, and includes Dublin, London, Berlin, Oslo and Warsaw. That leg has also sold out.
On August 2, 2026, she performed at Lollapalooza in Chicago.
“Ain’t in LA” and PRIMA
In July 2026, she released “Ain’t in LA”, a song with booming 808s and chopped vocals about leaving Slovakia and how far she has come. It became her breakout hit. It entered the Billboard Hot 100 in August and later rose to No. 30, her first top 40 hit.
With it, she announced her debut album, PRIMA, which was released on September 4, 2026, by Capitol. The title refers both to its being her first album and to the name given to leading ballerinas. The album was co-executive-produced by Blake Slatkin and Dylan Brady, and it includes “KGB”, “Red Bottoms”, “Ain’t in LA” and the new single “Nicole Kidman”. She said “Nicole Kidman” was inspired by attending a Golden Globes event and becoming obsessed with Kidman after watching Eyes Wide Shut. Its video, directed by Hannah Lux Davis, shows her cutting her hot-pink hair and rubbing birthday cake on herself.
The label described the album as blending aggressive pop with more vulnerable moments, including “Red Bottoms”, “Hitachi” and “Therapy”.
PRIMA debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 with 56,000 equivalent album units, including 31,000 in album sales and 12,000 on vinyl. It debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart. “Nicole Kidman” debuted on the Hot 100 at No. 45. Billboard’s staff called the debut a clear sign of her growing, highly engaged fan base.
Style and Sound
ADÉLA’s music combines electropop, hyperpop and dance-pop with dramatic, often confrontational lyrics. Her visuals are deliberately provocative, and she has cited Beyoncé, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera as influences. Her pink hair and bleached eyebrows have become her visual signature.
Her ballet background shapes her performances, which feature demanding choreography, and she is known for describing her ambitions openly and without false modesty. In interviews she has spoken with pride about her Eastern European identity, and “Ain’t in LA” celebrates people whose dreams seem out of reach because of where they come from.
Why Her Story Matters
ADÉLA’s rise is a notable example of an artist turning a public setback into momentum. Rather than disappearing after her elimination, she used the attention from Pop Star Academy to launch a solo career, built an audience on TikTok and independent releases, and then signed with a major label on her own terms.
At 22, she has a debut album that entered the Billboard 200 at No. 4, a Hot 100 top 40 hit, a sold-out headline tour on two continents, and support from artists including Grimes and Demi Lovato. For a singer who was cut in the first round of a talent show, it is a remarkable turnaround.
Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Real name | Adéla Jergová |
| Stage name | ADÉLA |
| Born | November 27, 2003, Bratislava, Slovakia |
| Age | 22 (as of September 2026) |
| Based in | Los Angeles (since 2022) |
| Background | Classical ballet training; Dream Academy contestant (2023) |
| Label | Capitol Records (signed May 2025) |
| Debut single | “Homewrecked” (September 13, 2024) |
| Debut EP | The Provocateur (August 2025) |
| Debut album | PRIMA (September 4, 2026), No. 4 on the Billboard 200 |
| Breakout hit | “Ain’t in LA” (No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100) |
| Tours | The ProvocaTour (2025); opener for Demi Lovato (2026); The Red Bottoms Tour (2026–2027) |
Sources & References
- Billboard — ADÉLA’s ‘PRIMA’ Debuts at No. 1 on 2 Billboard Album Charts
- Billboard — How ADÉLA Should Follow Up Her ‘PRIMA’ Album’s No. 4 Debut
- Universal Music Canada — ADÉLA Releases Debut Album PRIMA
- Consequence — ADÉLA Announces 2026 North American Headlining Tour
- i-D — ADÉLA Interview on New Music, Bratislava, and Beginnings