During the summer of 2026, the name ADÉLA began appearing with increasing frequency in international music media. Slovak singer Adéla Jergová entered the US Billboard Hot 100 with Ain’t In LA, performed at Lollapalooza and saw her single gain traction in other countries as well. Once known primarily for her involvement in Dream Academy, she is steadily emerging as a solo pop artist with an international audience.
ADÉLA is the stage name of 22-year-old Slovak artist Adéla Jergová. Her single Ain’t In LA debuted at No. 85 on the US Billboard Hot 100, making her the first Slovak artist in history to enter the chart. It was not a one-off debut, either: the song continued to climb over the following weeks, reaching No. 61 in its third week.
Who is the singer ADÉLA?
Adéla Jergová is from Slovakia and grew up in Bratislava. Her route into pop music, however, was rather unconventional. Before pursuing a singing career, she spent many years studying classical dance and ballet. That dance training remains a defining part of her live performances, music videos and overall image.
She left Slovakia as a teenager. According to interviews with international media, she moved to Vienna at around the age of 14 to study ballet, later continuing her training at the English National Ballet School in London. At the same time, she found herself increasingly drawn to music and the prospect of building her own pop career.
American pop culture had a major influence on her. In interviews, she has cited Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Rihanna, Christina Aguilera and Miley Cyrus. From an early age, she therefore saw her ambitions extending beyond the Slovak music market. She wanted to be part of the world where the music she listened to was being created.
Dream Academy brought her recognition, but she did not make it into KATSEYE
One of the most important moments in her career was taking part in The Debut: Dream Academy, a project created by HYBE and Geffen Records. Its aim was to form a global girl group, which ultimately became KATSEYE.
Adéla spent a long time training for the project and moved to Los Angeles. However, she was eliminated very early in the competition itself, with the fan vote sending her home in the first elimination round.
At first glance, it may have seemed like a major setback. In hindsight, however, leaving Dream Academy proved to be the beginning of her own career. Adéla later said on several occasions that the group concept was not ideal for her and that being a solo artist gives her far greater control over her music, visuals and public image.
The behind-the-scenes story of the project was later documented in the series Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE, introducing Adéla to viewers who had not followed the original competition.
She began building a solo career after her elimination
After Dream Academy, Adéla did not give up on either Los Angeles or a career in music. Instead of trying to join another group, she began developing an identity of her own.
In 2024, she released the songs Homewrecked and Superscar, followed by MachineGirl and other singles. Her music gradually developed into a blend of modern pop, electronic music and dance-driven aesthetics, with choreography and music videos also playing a central role.
In 2025, she released the EP The Provocateur. Around this time, international music and fashion media began paying much more attention to her. Teen Vogue, PAPER and NYLON were among the publications that ran profile interviews with her.
She also went on to sign with Capitol Records, one of the best-known American record labels.
KGB signaled that her music was beginning to break through
A more significant breakthrough came in 2026. KGB was released as one of the singles from her forthcoming debut album, PRIMA.
The song helped introduce ADÉLA to a new audience and even caught the attention of Elton John. He spoke very positively about the Slovak singer on his Rocket Hour show and later talked with her about her career, Dream Academy and her forthcoming music.
KGB, however, was only a precursor to the song that would bring her the biggest commercial success of her career so far.
Ain’t In LA changed Adéla’s career
The single Ain’t In LA was released on July 23, 2026. The song explores the idea that success and an exciting life do not have to be found only in Los Angeles or other global entertainment hubs.
That idea resonated strongly on social media. Users began creating their own versions of videos in which they replaced Los Angeles with their own city, region or country. Bratislava thus indirectly became part of a global internet trend.
Crucially, its popularity was not confined to TikTok. Listeners began searching for the song in large numbers on streaming services, and it gradually made its way onto major editorial playlists.
By late August, Ain’t In LA had surpassed 40 million streams on Spotify, according to Radia.sk, and had climbed to around the Top 40 of the platform’s daily global chart.
The first Slovak woman in the Billboard Hot 100
The biggest historic moment came in August 2026, when Ain’t In LA debuted at No. 85 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
The Billboard Hot 100 is the main US singles chart and combines several measures of how people consume music. It is therefore neither an online poll nor a fan vote. A song’s position reflects its actual performance in the US music market.
This made Adéla not only the first Slovak woman to enter the Billboard Hot 100. According to available data, she is the first Slovak artist of any gender to reach the main US Top 100.
Moreover, the success was not merely a brief, one-day spike. Ain’t In LA rose from No. 85 to No. 84 in its second week, then jumped to No. 61 on the chart dated August 29, 2026.
That is an important detail when assessing the scale of its success. A debut near the bottom of the Hot 100 can sometimes result from a short-lived surge of interest following a song’s release. Ain’t In LA, however, continued to grow in the US after its debut.
What does the Billboard Hot 100 actually mean?
The Billboard Hot 100 is sometimes inaccurately referred to as the “Billboard Top 100.” The official name of the main US singles chart, however, is the Billboard Hot 100.
Its significance lies primarily in the size of the US music market. Over the decades, the chart has featured the biggest names in popular music worldwide, and a place on the Hot 100 remains one of the key indicators of a single’s success in the United States.
For a Slovak artist, breaking into this chart is highly unusual. Slovakia naturally has a much smaller domestic music market, and most artists primarily create music for Slovak or Czech audiences. ADÉLA chose the opposite path from the outset: she records in English and is building her career directly in the international market.
Ain’t In LA also found success in the United Kingdom
The US Billboard chart is not the only major chart ADÉLA has entered.
In the United Kingdom, Ain’t In LA entered the main Official Singles Chart. According to the official UK database, it debuted at No. 59 before jumping to No. 32. As of August 27, 2026, it stood at No. 33.
Here too, it is important to note that this is not a specialist genre chart, but the main UK singles chart.
In Ireland, the song reached No. 30 on the official singles chart and also appeared on Canada’s Billboard Canadian Hot 100.
It reached No. 1 in the Philippines
The song saw particularly remarkable growth in the Philippines. Ain’t In LA initially debuted at No. 26 on the Billboard Philippines Hot 100.
It then continued its rapid climb, reaching No. 1 on the chart dated August 29, 2026.
The Philippines Hot 100 also uses actual music consumption data processed by Luminate. It is therefore not based on a public fan vote.
The song’s global success is thus evident across several markets at once, making it a more convincing indicator than viral popularity on a single social media platform.
ADÉLA also performed at Lollapalooza
Another major milestone came in early August, when ADÉLA performed at the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago.
Lollapalooza is one of the best-known music festivals in the United States, and its 2026 lineup featured artists including Charli xcx, Lorde and Tate McRae.
The performance was especially significant for Adéla because it came just as Ain’t In LA was beginning to attract greater attention on social media and streaming services. The festival appearance further boosted interest in the song in the United States.
From a Bratislava ballerina to the US charts
What makes ADÉLA’s story particularly interesting is that her current success did not come through the Slovak music scene.
Ballet first took her to Vienna and London, Dream Academy brought her to Los Angeles, and only after being eliminated from the project did she begin making the music that would ultimately take her into charts around the world.
Her ballet background remains clearly visible in her work. ADÉLA is not building her career on recordings alone. Dance, choreography, costumes, music videos and a strong visual identity all form part of a single creative project.
That is also why international media often view her not only as a singer, but as a pop performer.
What comes after Ain’t In LA?
Ain’t In LA is part of her forthcoming debut album PRIMA, scheduled for release on September 4, 2026.
The title also refers to Adéla’s ballet background. The term prima ballerina denotes a leading or exceptionally distinguished ballerina, and the singer is carrying this motif into her vision for her pop career.
The album is also expected to include the previously released songs KGB and Red Bottoms. Ain’t In LA, however, has fundamentally changed the circumstances surrounding the album’s release. Rather than a debut by a relatively unknown emerging singer, PRIMA will arrive shortly after her first US Hot 100 hit.
The coming months will show whether she can repeat this success with other songs. Regardless of how her career develops, entering the Billboard Hot 100 will remain a historic first for Slovak music.
Watch Ain’t In LA
The official music video for the song that took ADÉLA into the Billboard Hot 100:
ADÉLA – Ain’t In LA (Official Music Video)
So, who is ADÉLA?
ADÉLA, whose real name is Adéla Jergová, is a Slovak singer, dancer and songwriter based primarily in the United States. After professional ballet training and her time on Dream Academy, she launched her own solo career and achieved her biggest success to date in 2026 with the single Ain’t In LA.
The song entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 85 and later climbed to No. 61. It also reached the UK Top 40 and rose all the way to No. 1 on the Philippines Hot 100.
Describing her as the “first Slovak woman in the Billboard Top 100” is therefore essentially correct, although Billboard Hot 100 is the more accurate term. What is more, she is not only the first Slovak woman: ADÉLA is the first Slovak artist of any gender to enter the main US singles chart.
Sources
- Vogue France – Who is Adéla, the first Slovak artist to enter the Billboard chart? Vogue France
- Teen Vogue – Adéla Jergová on Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE, Drama, and Going Solo Teen Vogue
- Official Charts – AIN'T IN LA by ADELA: Official Chart history Official Charts
- Billboard Philippines – ADÉLA Hits No. 1 On The Philippines Hot 100 With Ain’t In LA Billboard Philippines
- Radia.sk – From Bratislava to the BBC’s Highest Rotation: Ain’t In LA Breaks into Radio Stations Worldwide Radia.sk
- Capitol Records – Adela, 2026 Capitol Records
Robert
I’m interested in technology and history, especially true crime stories. For three years I ran a fact-based portal about modern history, and for a year I co-built a blogging platform where I published dozens of analytical articles. I founded offpitch so that quality content wouldn’t be hidden behind a paywall.
