Springsteen Superfan Chris Christie Has 'Fallen in Love With Adele'

SIOUX CITY, Iowa— -- It’s no secret that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is a diehard Bruce Springsteen fan.

But when asked to pick just one favorite music artist during a town hall in Iowa tonight, the Republican presidential candidate revealed he has developed a musical crush on a second artist: Adele.

“If I can only have one, it would be Bruce,” Christie told about 250 people crowded into Buffalo Alice bar here in Sioux City for his town hall. “But I will tell you just as an aside that recently I have kind of like, kind of fallen in love with Adele.”

He later joked, "I’ve got a little bit of a crush on Adele so, my wife's OK with it, so we’re all right."

Christie’s Adele fever has reached such a pitch, he declared, that he has even taken to singing along to “Hello" in the car on the campaign trail, entertaining his staff along the way.

“As I was driving around Iowa, I have been known with members of my staff to be singing a little ‘Hello,’” Christie said. “But I can guarantee this: You don't want to be in the car for that. You really don't want to be in the car for that. My staff is only in the car because I’m paying them to be there.”

Though Christie’s musical leanings are separate from his politics -- he even defends his ideological differences with Springsteen by citing his good works in their shared home state of New Jersey in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy -- Christie recently pulled Adele into a political fight with Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.

After the super PAC supporting Rubio’s presidential bid released two attack ads earlier this month questioning the New Jersey governor’s conservative credentials, Christie released a response video set to the tune of "Hello."

In explaining his love for Adele tonight, Christie did not get into politics and, instead, cited her “amazing voice” and normal persona offstage.

“She's got this amazing voice right, this incredible voice,” Christie went on to say in explaining his love for Adele. “But then when you actually listen to her speak, she's normal. She’s not one of these like prissy kind of like, ‘Oh, look at me.’ I don't want to give examples because I’ll offend somebody.”