Adele Talks Branding, Breaking Records With ‘TIME,’ Graces Cover

In addition to gracing the cover of TIME Magazine's upcoming issue (which hits stands December 21), Adele gave a series of interviews, over the course of which she discussed all matters of motherhood, self-branding, breaking records, and social media.

A little over a month has passed since Adele first released her third album 25, but the "Hello" singer still can't quite wrap her head around the fact that the album sold 3.38 million copies in the U.S. in its first week. "It's a bit ridiculous," she says, considering, "I'm not even from America." Her explanation? "Maybe they think I'm related to the Queen. Americans are obsessed with the royal family."

But if her success in the States isn't because of Americans' obsession with the royal family, then Adele has another theory. "The fact that I'm not shy or embarrassed to be falling apart," she believes, has something to do with it. "“Everyone falls apart, I think. A lot of people try to be brave and not shed a tear. Sometimes when you know someone else feels as s— as you do, or approaches things in a certain way just like you do, it makes you feel better about yourself. Even though my music is melancholy, there’s also joy in that. I hope I do bring joy to people’s lives, and not just sadness, but I think there’s there’s a comfort in it. But I honestly don’t know. If I knew, I would bottle it, and sell it to everyone else.”

When it comes to selling herself, however, Adele believes she—and other artists as well—need to be a "package," not a "brand." "I don't like that word [brand]" because "[i]t makes me sound like a fabric softener, or a packet of crisps." "[Y]ou have to be a whole package," she explains, "if you’re expecting people to let you in and give themselves to you."

In Adele's opinion, though, some artists don't realize this, so "the bigger they get, the more horrible they get, and the more unlikable." All shadiness aside, "I don’t care if you make an amazing album—if I don’t like you, I ain’t getting your record. I don’t want you being played in my house if I think you’re a bastard.”

It is those types of artists that Adele believes also tend to be overexposed, front-loading their album campaigns to the point where the music loses all impact once it has finally been released. "[W]hen you have a six-month build up," she explains, "don’t expect me to be there the day your album comes out, because I’m bored. It doesn’t matter how amazing it is."

Read the rest of Adele's interview excerpts over on TIME's website to hear more about how her family is "off limits" outside of her lyrics, how she cut out social media to record her album, and how she hopes to record a duet with Beyoncé for her follow-up to 25.

See How These Artists Changed From Their First Album to Now