Adele is a Grammy Award-winning singer whose retro, soulful style has catapulted her to international stardom with singles such as "Rolling in the Deep," "Someone Like You," and "Hello."
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Adele is a British singer-songwriter who has sold millions of records worldwide and has been nominated for 15 Grammy Awards and an Academy Award. Adele's first two studio albums, 19 and 21, received widespread critical acclaim and achieved a degree of financial success unmatched by her peers. Adele returned to the charts in 2015 with the ballad "Hello," the lead song off what was considered her comeback album 25. She received five Grammy Awards in 2017 for her work 25, including album, record, and song of the year.
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins was born in North London, England, on May 5, 1988. Adele was the sole child of Penny Adkins, an "artsy mom" who was just 18 when she was born, and Mark Evans, a Welsh father who abandoned the family when Adele was only four years old.
Evans maintained communication with his daughter until she reached her adolescent years when his alcoholism and growing distance from his daughter deteriorated their connection. By contrast, Adele had a strong bond with her mother, who urged her young daughter to "explore" rather than "stay with one thing."
Adele acquired an early affinity for music. She was drawn to Lauryn Hill, Mary J. Blige, and Destiny's Child songs. However, her actual aha moment occurred when she was 15 and stumbled upon a collection of Etta James and Ella Fitzgerald albums in a neighborhood store.
"There was no musical legacy in our family," Adele explained in a 2008 interview with The Telegraph. "I grew up listening to only chart music. Thus, while listening to Etta and Ellas may seem corny, it felt like an awakening. I was thinking, yes, some individuals truly live to be legends. I was so inspired as a 15-year-old that I began listening to music from the 1940s."
While Adele was unquestionably clever, she lacked an aptitude for typical academic settings. Rather than that, her mother enrolled her at the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology, whose alumni include Amy Winehouse.
Adele made a three-track demo for a class project while in school, which she later shared on her MySpace profile. When executives at XL Recordings heard the tunes, they contacted the vocalist and signed her to a record deal in November 2006, just four months after she graduated from high school.
Adele's self-titled first album, titled 19 after the singer's age when she began recording, was released in early 2008. With two chart-topping lead singles, "Hometown Glory" and "Chasing Pavements," the album catapulted Adele to stardom.
19 was released in the United States by Columbia Records and struck a similar chord with American music listeners as it had with British music enthusiasts. Adele confirmed her commercial triumph in October 2008 with a performance on Saturday Night Live. The record was ranked No. 40 on iTunes at the time of the show's taping. It was No. 1 less than 24 hours later.
Adele's much-awaited follow-up album, 21, which was also titled after her age at the time of recording, did not disappoint when it was released in early 2011. The single, which tapped even deeper into Adele's love of traditional American R&B and jazz, was a major smash, selling 352,000 copies in its first week.
With chart-topping singles like "Rolling in the Deep" and "Someone Like You," Adele soared to new heights with 21. In February 2011, she became the first artist other than the Beatles and 50 Cent to have two Top 5 singles and two Top 5 albums in the same week. And with 21 remaining at No. 1 for 11 weeks, Adele also beat Madonna's Immaculate Collection's record for consecutive weeks atop the album rankings. 21 subsequently sold over 30 million copies globally.
Adele confirmed on October 22, 2015, that she will release her third studio album, 25, in November. On Instagram, she shared the cover of 25 and spoke about her first full-length studio effort in several years: "My previous album was a break-up record, and if forced to name this one, I'd call it a make-up album. Compensating for lost time. Making amends for all I've ever done or failed to do. 25 is about discovering who I've become inadvertently. And I apologize for the delay, but, as you know, life happens."
25 was published in November 2015 and is a compilation of passionate, at times melancholy songs about the ups and downs of relationships. Its style is influenced heavily by conventional popcraft. The album went on to become a global blockbuster hit, charting at No. 1 in 110 countries on iTunes. 25 sold 3.38 million copies in seven days in the United States, shattering the 'NSync record of 2.42 million album sales in a week. Among other accomplishments, 25 is the only album to sell a million copies in ten days in the United States.
Adele released her fourth studio album, 30 on November 19, 2021. It was a big hit, especially the song, ‘Easy On Me’.
Adele's debut single, "Chasing Pavements," peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 on February 28, 2009. According to the singer, she penned the song during an altercation with her then-boyfriend at a London bar. "It was six a.m. Nobody was after me, and I wasn't pursuing anyone. I was only fleeing. I recall telling myself, 'What you're pursuing is an empty pavement.' "'She stated.
Adele composed her first Billboard chart-topping track, "Rolling in the Deep," the day after ending her "first serious relationship," which she subsequently described as "the one that made me an adult." The song, from her sophomore album 21, struck a chord with her audience, spending seven weeks at the top of the Hot 100 charts beginning May 21, 2011, and 19 weeks at the top of Billboard's Adult Contemporary charts.
Adele's second No. 1 single was also from the album 21, which Adele stated was written to assist her in getting over a breakup — apparently with Alex Sturrock, a 31-year-old photographer. Beginning September 17, 2011, "Someone Like You" spent five weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100.
The power ballad "Set Fire to the Rain," Adele's third straight No. 1 single from the album 21, ran two weeks on the Hot 100 chart commencing February 4, 2012. During a live performance, the singer said that she was inspired to write the illogical lyrics because her lighter quit functioning in the rain.
"Rumor Has It," from Adele's album 21, was written for Adele by Ryan Tedder and lasted 19 weeks on the Billboard charts, peaking at No. 16 on the Hot 100 on May 5, 2012.
The track "Skyfall," which was written for the James Bond film of the same name, peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 list on October 20, 2012.
Adele released the ballad "Hello" on October 23, 2015, an epic piece that once again featured her soaring vocals over classic pop artistry. The accompanying visual piece, which stars actor Tristan Wilds as the romantic interest, was directed by up-and-coming filmmaker Xavier Dolan and is said to be the first music video to use IMAX cameras.
"Hello" debuted at the top of Billboard's pop charts, becoming Adele's fourth chart-topper and the first single to surpass one million downloads in a single week. The song also spent numerous weeks at No. 1 in the United States.
Adele's sixth number-one single on Billboard's Adult Contemporary charts, this tune was taken from her 2015 album 25. It also peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 24, 2016.
Adele's second single from 25 was "When We Were Young," a reflection on reflection and maturation. On March 5, 2016, the song peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 list.
Adele has been nominated for 18 Grammy Awards and has won a total of 15 throughout 2009, 2012, and 2017 Grammy ceremonies. She also won an Academy Award for composition for the James Bond theme "Skyfall."
Adele was named Best New Artist at the 2009 Grammy Awards. Additionally, the vocalist was selected for the BBC's "Sound of 2008" for the album. She also won the Critics' Choice award at the BRIT Awards that year.
Adele dominated the Grammy Awards in 2012, winning six awards, including Album of the Year. "This album is inspired by something that is very common and that everyone has experienced—a bad relationship," she explained during the event.
Adele received her seventh Grammy in 2013 for her smash track "Set Fire to the Rain." That same year, the singer received a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for "Skyfall," the film's theme song.
Adele sang the song "All I Ask" during the 58th Annual Grammy Awards in 2016, despite technical difficulties with the accompanying piano.
Adele returned to the Grammy stage in 2017 and was forced to pause her homage to the late George Michael, a slowed-down rendition of his song "Fastlove," and restart, apologizing, "I'm sorry – I can't screw this up for him." She then proceeded to sing the song, receiving a standing ovation. She subsequently took home five trophies for her work on 25, including album, single, and song of the year, as well as Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album. Adele became the first performer in Grammy history to sweep the top three categories twice with her historic victory.
In her acceptance speech for album of the year, she made a special mention of fellow candidate Beyoncé and her game-changing album Lemonade. "However, my all-time favorite musician is Beyoncé, and this album, Lemonade, was just so momentous for me," she explained.
Adele met Simon Konecki, her former partner, in 2011. Simon is 13 years her senior and is the creator of Life water and the organization Drop4Drop. On June 29, 2012, Adele confirmed that she was pregnant with the couple's first child on her website. She explained to People magazine what it's like to be a mother: "I aspire to be a mother. I'd best get started! "'She said. On October 19, 2012, she gave birth to her son Angelo.
Adele was photographed wearing a wedding band in early 2017, prompting marriage speculations. Adele appeared to confirm the allegations during her January 2017 Grammy victory speech, referring to Konecki as her husband. "I admire the Grammys; I adore the Academy; I adore my manager, my husband, and my kid - you are the sole reason I do it," she stated at the time. Although she referred to Konecki as her "partner" during backstage interviews, she announced her marriage in March during a concert in Brisbane, Australia.
Adele and Konecki divorced in April 2019, according to the singer's management.
