Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Adley

Adley is the creative mastermind behind some of the internet’s most viewed videos. She first caught the industry’s attention with her incredible vocal range, earning herself a spot on Team Blake on NBC’s The Voice.

Shortly after, she became a viral sensation when she put chickens in a tub and came to the realization that she wanted to be a multifaceted creator.

Pop Culturalist recently caught up with Adley to chat about her latest project Internet Takeover: Wedding Edition.

PC: How did you discover your passion for music, the arts, and content creation?
Adley: I’ve been a performer ever since I was a kid. I was a cheerleader for fifteen years, but music was the genesis of it. It had a little bit less to do with my love for being a musician and singer and more to do about the next evolution of performing. I had a high tolerance for risk. I got into music through my sorority sisters. I auditioned for a show called The Voice. In a nutshell, I drove all night chugging energy drinks and I ended up in Nashville. I made it all the way through and landed a spot on Team Blake.

That was my first time ever on a stage going for it with a real microphone. It turned out really well. It landed me an opportunity in Nashville. I said, “God, you gave me this one. You opened the door. I will earn everything else.” That’s what put my foot in the door and gave me an insatiable taste to continue entertaining.

PC: You’ve had a lot of success throughout your career. When you look back, is there a moment that stands out?
Adley: Oh my gosh. I define them so differently. There are so many standout moments. Some are more public. Some are more private. The Voice was a pivotal cornerstone. After that, I got really frustrated with the music industry. I let my entire trajectory be determined by a suit behind a desk. That didn’t sit too well with me.

I discovered the potential of viral videos when I put chickens in a bathtub and gained a hundred thousand followers overnight. I’d been trying to do that for eight years with music. That’s when I was like, “I like being on camera. I like not being a single-faceted creator. I like using all the skills that God gave me.” That was another big cornerstone. Then I started making Facebook videos full-time.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Adley: That’s a great question. We are influenced by everything. There has never been one single mentor or influence. I have different mentors for the different things I aspire to be.

On a personal level, it’s equally if not more important for me to be a good person as it is for me to be a good creator. I have mentors like my husband, who is a fantastic person. He’s one of the best people I’ve ever met. Him and my mother. That trickles into business. It trickles into how I treat our creators, how I treat my professional and personal relationships.

I love Matthew McConaughey’s quote: “My mentor, my inspiration, is me in ten years.” That’s the person you’re always chasing. It’s the better, more optimized version of yourself. With every failure, we have the opportunity to pick ourselves up and try to become that person again tomorrow.

PC: Tell us about Internet Takeover: Wedding Edition and how this came to fruition.
Adley: When it comes to weddings, love, and couple goals, people use Blake and I as examples. As we were going about planning our wedding, I didn’t want it to look like this picture-perfect storybook because that’s not what the wedding planning process is. It’s full of stress. We look at other people and nothing’s right and nothing’s wrong. But we wanted to spend our engagement period planning for a marriage, not a party.

So in an effort to continue to show what matters to us most (instead of perpetuating the narrative of toxic comparison), we wanted to elevate other people’s voices. I don’t know what I’m doing. I’ve never planned a wedding, but everybody else has. Hundreds of thousands of other people have. What did they learn about what’s most important when it comes to having a lasting marriage? They love the details. People love planning weddings. It’s a multi-billion dollar global industry. So let’s let them choose. When we knew we were going to document that process—because it was such a bizarre idea—we wanted to tell the story. We wanted to elevate other people’s voices and be vessels for what they thought mattered most.

PC: How did this partnership with Shareability come about and what has it been like working with them?
Adley: Oh my gosh, it’s been so good. This idea came to fruition about two years ago. I went to some of the Nice Kids. I said, “I have this idea. I want to do it on a bigger scale than our silly social media videos. Who do I go to and how do we do this?” Through the Nice Kids, we met Shareability. We could not have asked for better partners. We come from the viral space, so the marriage (no pun intended) of having them be the ones to do the physical production when all my viral expertise is out the door was amazing. I have no stake in what’s happening or what’s being filmed or the beats or any of that. I feel very, very fortunate to have had Shareability. Their professionalism is second to none.

PC: With this being such a different piece of content, has anything surprised you about the process? What’s been the biggest takeaway?
Adley: The biggest takeaway is that I can trust a hundred thousand strangers. I thought I had trust issues. I learned that, “Hey, it’s not all so bad. People really are good and have each other’s best interests at heart.” While the world feels so divided right now, we get to tell a story where hundreds of thousands of strangers are coming together to tell stories about life. That’s important to remember and I hope everyone can take that away from this.

To keep up with Adley, follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

Photo Credit: Jason Merritt/Radarpics/Shutterstock