- British singer born Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, in 1988.
- She loved singing as a child, and her mother had her attend a high school for the performing arts in London. She graduated in 2006.
- Soon after graduation, she published 2 songs on an on-line arts publication. She also had made a 3 song demo tape, and a friend posted it on Myspace. It was very popular, and caught the attention of a record label. The label helped her find a manager, and signed her in 2006.
- She released her first single, Hometown Glory, in 2007, a song she wrote when she was 16 years old. She made her TV debut that year, singing on the British show Later…With Jules Holland.
- in 2008, her debut album was released, 19. The title is named for the age at the time that she wrote most of the songs. It was a huge success in the UK, entering the UK charts at #1. She started to tour in the U.S., but later cancelled tour dates as she disliked flying and was homesick. Her career took off in the U.S. after performing Chasing Pavements and Cold Shoulder on Saturday Night Live in October 2008. She subsequently won 2 Grammy awards the following year, and she had become a mega-star.
- Her second album, 21, was released in 2011. It was less of a pop album, and more of a contemporary country album. It was a huge success. She is the first person ever to have three #1 singles concurrently with a #1 album. The singles were Someone Like You, Rolling in the Deep, and Set Fire to the Rain. That year, Billboard magazine named her Artist of the Year, 19 was named Album of the Year, and Rolling in the Deep was named Song of the Year – the first woman ever to top all three categories. The album has sold over 31 million copies worldwide.
- She wrote and recorded the theme song to the movie Skyfall in 2002. It won an Academy award for Best Song, and a Grammy award for Best Song Written for Visual Media.
- In 2015, Adele released her third album, 25. She described it as “a make-up record,” since her previous album was “a break-up record.” The first single from the album was Hello. The video for this song set the record on YouTube for most views in a day – over 27.7 million. It was the fastest to reach 1 billion views – 88 days after its release. The album debuted at #1, selling 3.38 million copies in the U.S. in its first week – the largest single sales week for an album ever. Her fourth album, 30, was released in 2021. It was certified 3x platinum, with the single Easy On Me topping charts in 26 countries, including the Hot 100 chart in the U.S.
- In October 2011, Adele had vocal chord microsurgery to remove a benign polyp. Rolling Stone reported that after the surgery, her contralto voice had become “palpably bigger and purer-toned,” and that she could hit 4 higher notes in her range. Obviously, her career has not missed a beat.
- Of her 25 Grammy nominations, she has won 16 times. Adele’s career is truly remarkable. The numbers speak for themselves. The world is in love with her. Hello just recently surpassed 3 billion views on YouTube – let’s go ahead and add to that number.