ADÉLA is aware that there’s some irony to “Ain’t in LA,” the breakout single from her September debut album, PRIMA.

Of the 2010s-esque pop anthem that rejects the romanticization of fame through the bold declaration that the City of Angels isn’t all that, the 22-year-old Slovak star giggles when she notes that “Ain’t in LA” was, in fact, recorded in Los Angeles. “I was kind of fatigued with celebrity culture,” she says, smirking before acknowledging another underlying contradiction. “Then I have a song called ‘Nicole Kidman.’ ” (Both have since reached the Billboard Hot 100, with the former becoming her first-ever entry in August and later reaching No. 27 on the chart dated Oct. 3, while the latter surged to a No. 11 peak the same week.)

Most ironic, though, is that ADÉLA herself has become one of the stars she shrugs away from idolizing on “Ain’t in LA.” Growing up thousands of miles away from the Hollywood sign in Bratislava, Slovakia, ADÉLA spent her childhood studying American pop stars and had posters of Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande and Britney Spears adorning her bedroom walls. She’s only ever wanted to be a performer, she says, and has put in the work to back it up: For years, she trained as a ballerina by day and took lessons to learn English at night.

In 2023, she got her biggest chance to join their ranks, competing on HYBE x Geffen’s Dream Academy, the YouTube competition series that led to the formation of KATSEYE. After her elimination, she pursued a solo career, releasing heart-racing dance-pop singles such as “Homewrecked” and “Superscar” in 2024 and signing with Capitol Records the following year. Then, this spring, she opened on tour for Demi Lovato.

The momentum snowballed into July single “Ain’t in LA,” which combined with a standout debut at Lollapalooza in August, further stirred anticipation for the rising pop star’s PRIMA. And with that hit in tow, plus “Nicole Kidman” — released as the project’s fourth single the same day it arrived in full — the album entered the Billboard 200 at No. 4. This year alone, ADÉLA has accumulated more than half a billion global on-demand streams, according to Luminate.

“She’s become somebody everybody really wants to root for,” co-manager Sam Jacobson from Good World Management says. “I think people got into the lore and realized, like, ‘Oh, s–t, she really built herself from the ground up and got herself to America, and [“Ain’t in LA”] is a song that speaks to her mom and her family and to everybody else who has big dreams.’ It’s an amazing message that a lot of people can relate to.”

Before the studio session that led to its creation, ADÉLA couldn’t stop thinking about her roots, especially after coming across an old photograph of her mom as a teenager — who also once dreamt of moving to L.A. and making it big — sitting in front of her own collection of pop-culture posters.

After hours spent working on different material, ADÉLA, still with the photo in mind, asked the room — which included co-writers Theron Thomas, Blake Slatkin, Dylan Brady and Billy Walsh — if they could try one more idea. “Ain’t in LA” came together effortlessly from there (the picture even inspired the lyrics, “Madonna on the wall next to Destiny’s Child”) with Thomas contributing the special ingredient: a chopped-and-screwed intro that calls back to Cyrus’ “We Can’t Stop,” which he also co-wrote back in 2013.

“We were definitely talking about that 2010s feel, and I told them how much I’d love to [emulate it],” ADÉLA recalls of the similarities to Cyrus’ hit. “I was also listening to a lot of early A$AP Rocky. Something about that era excited me. I was, like, ‘We need to bring that back.’ ”

Releasing the song, however, came with a little more friction. After noticing an overwhelmingly positive fan response to her performing the then-unreleased track on tour with Lovato — in pointe shoes, a nod to her upbringing — she wanted to drop it as a single right away. But her team was uncertain.

“I remember I had this feeling, like, ‘Man, this song means so much to me,’ ” ADÉLA recalls. “I called [Jacobson], and I was like, ‘I made this song. No one’s that stoked about it, but I’m super stoked.’ ”

“I don’t think it was a debate over the song [itself],” clarifies Good World founder and co-manager Brandon Creed. “[It was] more rollout tactics and what’s the right timing and what’s going to come after. The rollout game has changed. There’s a lot of debate and discussion around every move.”

Ultimately, ADÉLA’s team chose to trust her instincts — and it has paid off big time. Since its official release, the track has been used more than half a million times on TikTok by fans across the world, including one posted by none other than Kidman, who paired her first-ever video on the app with the track. The actress has also sung ADÉLA’s praises since the confidence-boosting namesake track arrived in early September.

“It’s just wild watching [her] movies, being like, ‘This person, for some reason, is doing charity work and supporting me,’ ” ADÉLA jokes. “The fact that she embraces me is such an honor — I have trouble processing it still.”

“Ain’t in LA” is at the heart of ADÉLA’s ongoing tour through North America and Europe, which finds her in and out of regular nine-hour rehearsals, on top of constant press. She’s come a long way since her Dream Academy exit, at which point she tearfully shared a vital message to other KATSEYE hopefuls, as captured in the Netflix docuseries Pop Star Academy. “If you get it, that’s great, but you don’t need it. You’re great on your own.”

The fact that ADÉLA’s chart success now exists alongside KATSEYE’s is just the latest piece of proof that she was right in that moment — not that she needed vindication. “I never in my mind doubted that it would happen,” she says assuredly. “I don’t know if that’s conceited to say, but … I feel like I have heart, and I have something to say.”

A version of this story appears in the Oct. 3, 2026, issue of Billboard.