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Adele | |
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Information | |
Birth name | Adele Laurie Blue Adkins |
Also known as | Adele |
Born | May 5, 1988 |
Birth place | Tottenham, London, England |
Genres | Soul, pop, blue-eyed soul, R&B |
Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
Instruments | Vocals, guitar, piano, bass, celeste, percussion, keyboard |
Labels | XL Recordings, Columbia Records |
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins MBE (/əˈdɛl/; born May 5, 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. She is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 120 million records. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a record deal with XL Recordings. In 2007, she received the Brit Award for Rising Star and won the BBC Sound of 2008 poll. Her debut album, 19, was released in 2008. It is certified 8× platinum in the UK and triple platinum in the US. The album contains her first song, "Hometown Glory," written when she was just 16, which is based on her home suburb of West Norwood in London. An appearance she made on Saturday Night Live in late 2008 boosted her career in the US. At the 2009 Grammy Awards, Adele won the awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
Adele released her second studio album, 21, in 2011. The album was critically well-received and surpassed the success of her debut, earning numerous awards in 2012, among them a record-tying six Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year; the Brit Award for British Album of the Year; and the American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Album. The album has been certified 17× platinum in the UK, and is overall the second-best-selling album in the nation. In the US, it has held the top position longer than any album since 1985, and is certified Diamond. The world's best-selling album of 2011 and 2012, 21 has sold over 31 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling album of the 21st century. The success of 21 earned Adele numerous mentions in the Guinness Book of World Records. She was the first female artist in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 to have three simultaneous top-ten singles as a lead artist, with "Rolling in the Deep," "Someone Like You" and "Set Fire to the Rain," all of which also topped the chart.
In 2012, she released "Skyfall," which she co-wrote and recorded for the James Bond film of the same name. The song won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a Grammy and the Brit Award for British Single of the Year. After taking a three-year break, Adele released her third studio album, 25, in 2015. It became the year's best-selling album and broke first-week sales records in the UK and US. 25 was her second album to be certified Diamond in the US and earned her five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, and four Brit Awards, including British Album of the Year. The lead single, "Hello," became the first song in the US to sell over one million digital copies within a week of its release. Her third concert tour, Adele Live 2016, visited Europe, North America and Oceania, and concluded with finale concerts at Wembley Stadium in June 2017. Her upcoming fourth studio album, 30, which contains the chart-topping single "Easy On Me," is set to be released in November 2021.
Adele's accolades include fifteen Grammy Awards and nine Brit Awards. In 2011, 2012 and 2016, Billboard named her Artist of the Year. At the 2012 and 2016 Ivor Novello Awards, Adele was named Songwriter of the Year by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors. In 2012, she was listed at number five on VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Music. Time magazine named her one of the most influential people in the world in 2012 and 2016. Her third tour saw her break attendance records globally, including in the UK, Australia and the US, and her album 21 has been listed in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2020).
Early life
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins was born in Tottenham, North London, England, to Penny Adkins, an English teenager,
and Mark Evans, a Welshman, on May 5, 1988. Evans walked out when Adele was young, leaving her 20-year-old mother to raise her single-handedly, for which Adele has still not forgiven him. She has a younger half-brother on her father's side named Cameron. She began singing at age four and asserts that she became obsessed with voices. Adele has cited the Spice Girls as a major influence in regard to her love and passion for music, stating that "they made me what I am today." Adele impersonated the Spice Girls at dinner parties as a young girl. To make her look like English R&B and urban contemporary singer Gabrielle, her mother made an eye patch with sequins, which Adele later said was embarrassing.
At the age of nine, Adele and her mother, a furniture-maker and adult learning activities organiser, relocated to Brighton. Despite this move, she remains an ardent fan of her hometown Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur. Two years later, she and her mother moved back to London; first to Brixton, and then to neighbouring district West Norwood, in south London. West Norwood is the subject for Adele's first record, "Hometown Glory," written when she was 16. After moving to south London, she became interested in R&B artists such as Aaliyah, Destiny's Child, and Mary J. Blige. Adele says that one of the most defining moments in her life was when she watched P!nk perform at the Brixton Academy. "It was the M!ssundaztood record, so I was about 13 or 14. I had never heard, being in the room, someone sing like that live [...] I remember sort of feeling like I was in a wind tunnel, her voice just hitting me. It was incredible." Aged 14, Adele discovered Etta James and Ella Fitzgerald by accident as she stumbled on the artists' CDs in the jazz section of her local music store and was struck by their appearance on the album covers. Adele states she "started listening to Etta James every night for an hour", and in the process was getting "to know my own voice." Adele graduated from the BRIT School for Performing Arts & Technology in Croydon in May 2006, where she was a classmate of Leona Lewis and Jessie J. Adele credits the school with nurturing her talent even though at the time she was more interested in going into A&R and hoped to launch other people's careers
Career
2006-07: Career beginnings
Four months after graduation, she published two songs on the fourth issue of the online arts publication PlatformsMagazine.com. She had recorded a three-song demo for a class project and gave it to a friend who posted it on MySpace where it became very successful and led to a phone call from music label XL Recordings. She doubted if the offer was real because the only record company she knew was Virgin Records, and she took her friend and future guitarist, Ben Thomas, with her to the meeting.
Nick Huggett at XL recommended Adkins to manager Jonathan Dickins at September Management and in June 2006 Dickins became her official representative. September was managing Jamie T at the time and this proved a major draw for Adele, a big fan of the British singer-songwriter. Huggett then signed Adele to XL in September 2006. Adele provided vocals for Jack Peñate's song, "My Yvonne," for his debut album, and it was during this session she first met producer Jim Abbiss, who would go on to produce the majority of her debut album 19, as well as two songs from 21. Adele's breakthrough song, "Hometown Glory," was released in October 2007. Adele supported Will Young at the 2007 MENCAP Little Noise Sessions, a charity concert at London's Union Chapel.
2008-09: 19 and commercial success
In 2008, Adele was the headliner and performed an acoustic set; she was supported by Damien Rice. She became the first recipient of the Brit Awards Critics' Choice and was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2008 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2008. 19, named for her age at the time she wrote
many of its songs, entered the British charts at number one. The Times Encyclopedia of Modern Music named 19 an "essential" blue-eyed soul recording. She released her second single "Chasing Pavements" on 14 January 2008, two weeks ahead of her debut album, 19. The song reached number two on the UK Chart, and stayed there for four weeks. Adele was nominated for a 2008 Mercury Prize award for 19. She also won an Urban Music Award for "Best Jazz Act." She also received a Q Awards nomination in the category of Breakthrough Act and a Music of Black Origin nomination in the category of Best UK Female. In March 2008, Adele signed a deal with Columbia Records and XL Recordings for her foray into the US. She embarked on a short North American tour in the same month. 19 was released in the US in June. Billboard magazine stated, "Adele truly has potential to become among the most respected and inspiring international artists of her generation." The An Evening with Adele world tour began in May 2008 and ended in June 2009. She later cancelled the 2008 US tour dates to be with a former boyfriend. She said in Nylon magazine in June 2009, "I was drinking far too much and that was kind of the basis of my relationship with this boy. I couldn't bear to be without him, so I was like, 'Well, OK, I'll just cancel my stuff then... I can't believe I did that... It seems so ungrateful." By the middle of October 2008, it appeared that Adele's attempt to break into America had failed. Then, she was the musical guest on 18 October 2008 episode of Saturday Night Live. The episode included an expected appearance by then US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. The program earned its best ratings in 14 years with 17 million viewers. Adele performed "Chasing Pavements" and "Cold Shoulder," and the following day, 19 topped the iTunes charts and ranked at number five at Amazon.com while "Chasing Pavements" rose into the top 25. The album reached number 11 on the Billboard 200 as a result, a jump of 35 places over the previous week. In November 2008 Adele moved to Notting Hill after leaving her mother's house, a move that prompted her to give up drinking. The album was certified as gold in February 2009 by the Recording Industry Association of America. By July 2009, the album had sold 2.2 million copies worldwide.
2010-12: 21 and greater success
In 2010, Adele received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Hometown Glory." In April her song "My Same" entered the German Singles Chart after it had been performed by Lena Meyer-Landrut in the talent show contest Unser Star für Oslo (Our Star for Oslo), in which the German entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 was determined. In late September, after being featured on The X Factor, Adele's version of Bob Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love" re-entered the UK singles chart at number 4. During the 2010 CMT Artists of the Year special, Adele performed a widely publicised duet of Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now" with Darius Rucker. This performance was later nominated for a CMT Music Award.
Adele released her second studio album, 21, on January 24, 2011 in the UK and February 22 in the US. She said that the album was inspired by the breakup with her former partner. The album's sound is described as classic and contemporary country and roots music. The change in sound from her first album was the result of her bus driver playing contemporary music from Nashville when she was touring the American South, and the title reflected the growth she had experienced in the prior two years. Adele told Spin Magazine, "It was really exciting for me because I never grew up around [that music]." 21 hit number 1 in more than 26 countries, including the UK and the US. An emotional performance of "Someone Like You" at the 2011 Brit Awards on 15 February propelled the song to number one in the UK. Her first album, 19, re-entered the UK album chart alongside 21, while first and second singles "Rolling in the Deep" and "Someone Like You" were in the top 5 of the UK singles chart, making Adele the first living artist to achieve the feat of two top-five hits in both the Official Singles Chart and the Official Albums Chart simultaneously since the Beatles in 1964. Both songs topped the charts in multiple markets and broke numerous sales performance records. In May 2011, Adele caused some minor controversy with critical statements about high taxes. Following her performance of "Someone Like You" at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, it became Adele's second number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100. By December 2011, 21 sold over 3.4 million copies in the UK, and became the biggest-selling album of the 21st century, overtaking Amy Winehouse's Back to Black, with Adele becoming the first artist ever to sell three million albums in the UK in one calendar year. "Set Fire to the Rain" became Adele's third number one single on the Billboard Hot 100, as Adele became the first artist ever to have an album, 21, hold the number-one position on the Billboard 200 concurrently with three number one singles. To promote the album, Adele embarked upon the Adele Live tour, which sold out its North American leg. In October 2011, Adele was forced to cancel two tours because of a vocal-cord hemorrhage. She released a statement saying she needed an extended period of rest in order to avoid permanent damage to her voice. The singer underwent laser microsurgery at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston during the first week of
November. A recording of her tour, Live at the Royal Albert Hall was released in November 2011, debuting at number one in the US with 96,000 copies sold, the highest one-week tally for a music DVD in four years, becoming the best-selling music DVD of 2011. Adele is the first artist in Nielsen SoundScan history to have the year's number-one album (21), number-one single ("Rolling in the Deep"), and number-one music video. At the 2011 American Music Awards on 20 November, Adele won three awards; Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist, Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist, and Favorite Pop/Rock Album for 21. On 9 December, Billboard named Adele artist of the year, Billboard 200 Album of the year (21), and the Billboard Hot 100 Song of the year ("Rolling in the Deep"), becoming the first female ever to top all three categories.
Following the throat microsurgery, she made her live comeback at the 2012 Grammy Awards in February. She won in all six categories for which she was nominated, including Album, Record, and Song of the Year, making her the second female artist after Beyoncé in Grammy history to win that many categories in a single night. Following that success, 21 achieved the biggest weekly sales increase following a Grammy win since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking data in 1991. After the Grammys, Ryan Tedder revealed "Rumour Has It" would be the album's fourth single; Adele's manager Jonathan Dickins later confirmed it would be the final single from 21, although "Turning Tables" was also released in some European countries. "Rumour Has It" proved to be successful, but did not match the success of the album's first three singles, peaking at number sixteen on the Billboard Hot 100 and therefore becoming the lowest-charting single from the album in the US.
Adele received the BRIT Award for Best British Female Solo Artist, and British Album of the Year. Following the Brit Awards, 21 reached number 1 for the 21st non-consecutive week on the UK Album Chart. The album has sold over 4.5 million copies in the UK where it is the fourth best-selling album of all-time. In October, the album passed the 4.5 million mark in the UK, and in November surpassed the 10 million mark in the US. Adele is the only artist or band in the last decade in the US to earn an RIAA Diamond certification for a one disc album in less than two years.
On April 3, 2012, Adele confirmed that her third album would likely be at least two years away, stating, "I have to take time and live a little bit. There were a good two years between my first and second albums, so it'll be the same this time." She stated that she would continue writing her own material.
2012: Skyfall
In October 2012, Adele confirmed that she had been writing and recording the theme song for Skyfall, the twenty-third James Bond film. The song "Skyfall," co-written with producer Paul Epworth, was recorded at Abbey Road Studios, and features orchestrations by J. A. C. Redford. Adele stated recording "Skyfall" was "one of the proudest
moments of my life." On 14 October, "Skyfall" rose to number 2 on the UK Singles Chart with sales of 92,000 copies bringing its overall sales to 176,000, and "Skyfall" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 8, Adele's first song to debut in the Top 10, selling 261,000 copies in the United States in its first three days. This tied "Skyfall" with Duran Duran's "A View to a Kill" as the highest-charting James Bond theme song on the UK Singles Chart. "Skyfall" has sold more than two million copies worldwide.
In December 2012, Adele was named Billboard Artist of the Year, and 21 was named Album of the Year, making her the first artist to receive both accolades two years in a row. Adele was also named top female artist. The Associated Press named Adele Entertainer of the Year for 2012.
2013-2015: Hiatus
It was reported in January 2013 Adele was working on a new record, although she herself later acknowledged that she would work on the next album when she "has something to sing about." On 13 January 2013, Adele won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for "Skyfall," and on February 24, Adele performed the song at the 85th Academy Awards and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. At the Grammy Awards on February 10, Adele's live version of "Set Fire to the Rain" won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance. On December 19, 2013, Adele was made a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by Charles, Prince of Wales. In May 2014, Adele hinted that her new album was titled 25 and would be released later on in the year, however, it was later suggested that the album was pushed back until the end of 2015.
2015–2017: 25 and Adele Live 2016
On August 27, 2015, Billboard reported that Adele's label, XL Recordings, had intentions of releasing her third studio album sometime in November of that year. Danger Mouse and Tobias Jesso Jr. had both reportedly written one song each for the album, while Ryan Tedder was rumored to be returning after his work on 21. At the 72nd Venice International Film Festival in early September 2015, Sia announced that her new single "Alive" was co-written by Adele, and had originally been intended for Adele's third album.
On October 18, a 30-second clip of new material from Adele was shown on UK television during a commercial break on The X Factor. The commercial teases a snippet from a new song from her third album, with viewers hearing a voice singing accompanied by lyrics on a black screen.
In a statement released three days later, she confirmed that the album would be titled 25, with Adele stating, "My last record was a break-up record, and if I had to label this one, I would call it a make-up record. Making up for lost time. Making up for everything I ever did and never did. 25 is about getting to know who I've become without realising. And I'm sorry it took so long but, you know, life happened."
On October 22, Adele confirmed that 25 would be released on 20 November, while the lead single from the album, "Hello," would be released on 23 October. The song was first played on Nick Grimshaw's Radio 1 Breakfast Show on the BBC on the morning of 23 October with Adele interviewed live.
The video of "Hello," released on October 22, was viewed 25 million times on YouTube in its first 24 hours, breaking the VEVO record for the most number of views in a day, surpassing the 20.1 million views for "Bad Blood" by Taylor Swift. On October 28, news outlets, including BBC News, reported that "Hello" was being viewed on YouTube an average one million times an hour. "Hello" went on to become the fastest video to hit one billion views on YouTube, which it achieved after 88 days. The song debuted at number one in the UK Singles Chart on October 30, with first week sales of 330,000 copies, making it the biggest-selling number one single in three years. "Hello" also debuted at number one in many countries around the world, including Australia, France, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland and Germany, and on 2 November, the song debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first song in the US to sell at least one million downloads in a week, setting the record at 1.11 million. By the end of 2015, it had sold 12.3 million units globally and was the year's seventh best-selling single.
On October 27, BBC One announced plans for Adele at the BBC, a one-hour special presented by Graham Norton, in which Adele talks about her new album and performs new songs. This was her first television appearance since performing at the 2013 Academy Awards ceremony, and the show was recorded before a live audience on November 2 for broadcast on November 20, coinciding with the release of 25. It was also announced that the singer would make an appearance on the US entertainment series Saturday Night Live on November 21. On October 30, Adele confirmed that she would be performing a one-night-only concert titled Adele Live in New York City at the Radio City Music Hall on November 17. NBC aired the concert special on December 14.
On November 27, 25 debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and became the fastest selling album in UK chart history with over 800,000 copies sold in its first week. The album debuted at number one in the US where it sold a record-breaking 3.38 million copies in its first week, the largest single sales week for an album since Nielsen began monitoring sales in 1991. 25 also broke first week sales records in Canada and New Zealand. 25 became the best-selling album of 2015 in a number of countries, including Australia, the UK and the US, where it spent seven consecutive weeks at number one in each country, before being displaced by David Bowie's Blackstar. It was the year's best-selling album worldwide with 17.4 million copies sold in 2015 alone, and has since sold 20 million copies globally. Adele's seven weeks at the top of the UK Albums Chart took her total to 31 weeks at number one in the UK with her three albums, surpassing Madonna's previous record of most weeks at number one for a female act ever in the UK.
In November 2015, Adele's 2016 tour was announced, her first tour since 2011. Beginning in Europe, Adele Live 2016 includes four dates at the Manchester Arena in March, eight dates at the O2 Arena, London in March and April, with further dates in Ireland, Spain, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands among others. Her North American Tour began in July, with the opening concert in St. Paul, Minnesota on July 5.
At the 2016 Brit Awards in London on 24 February, Adele received the awards for British Female Solo Artist, British Album of the Year for 25, British Single of the Year for "Hello," and British Global Success. She closed the ceremony by performing "When We Were Young," the second single from 25. Two more singles from 25 were released in 2016: "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)" and "Water Under the Bridge." While on stage at London's O2 Arena on March 17, Adele announced that she would be headlining on the Pyramid Stage at the 2016 Glastonbury Festival, which was later confirmed by the festival's organizers. She appeared for a 90-minute fifteen song set at the festival on June 25, and described the experience as "by far, the best moment of my life so far."
As part of her world tour, in February and March 2017, Adele performed in Australia for the first time, playing outdoor stadiums around the country. Her first two shows in New Zealand sold out in a record-breaking 23 minutes, and a third show was announced, with all tickets sold in under 30 minutes. Adele sold over 600,000 tickets for her record-breaking eight date Australian tour, setting stadium records throughout the country; her Sydney show at ANZ Stadium on 10 March was seen by 95,000 people, the biggest single concert in Australian history, a record she broke the following night with more than 100,000 fans. Adele completed her world tour with two concerts, dubbed "The Finale," at Wembley Stadium, London on 28 and 29 June. She announced the shows at "the home of football" by singing the England football team's "Three Lions" anthem and also the theme song to the BBC's weekly Premier League football show Match of the Day. Adele had added another two concerts at Wembley after the first two dates sold out, however she cancelled the last two dates of the tour after damaging her vocal cords. As a show of support, fans instead gathered outside Wembley Stadium to perform renditions of her songs, in an event titled "Sing for Adele."
At the end of 2016, Billboard named Adele Artist of the Year for the third time, and also received the Top Billboard 200 album. 25 was the best-selling album for a second consecutive year in the US. With 213 million views, Adele's Carpool Karaoke through the streets of London with James Corden, a sketch which featured on Corden's talk show The Late Late Show with James Corden in January 2016, was the biggest YouTube viral video of 2016. At the 59th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2017, Adele won all five of her nominations, bringing her number of awards to fifteen. She won Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for 25, and Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance for "Hello". She also performed a tribute to the late George Michael singing the rendition of his song "Fastlove"; due to technical difficulties which occurred during the performance, Adele decided to stop and restart, explaining, "I can't mess this up for him."
2018–present: 30
Adele was reportedly working on her fourth studio album by 2018. On May 5, 2019, her 31st birthday, Adele posted several black-and-white pictures of herself on her Instagram page celebrating her birthday along with a message reflecting on the preceding year. The message ended with "30 will be a drum n bass record to spite you." Media outlets took the post as an indication that a new album was on the way. On February 15, 2020, Adele announced at her best friend's wedding that her fourth studio album would be out in September 2020. However, she later stated the album release has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Adele made her first television appearance in nearly four years hosting the October 24, 2020 episode of Saturday Night Live, with musical guest H.E.R.
On October 1, 2021, projections and billboards of the number "30" appeared on significant landmarks and buildings in different cities around the world, fuelling speculation that Adele was responsible, and that 30 would be the title of her fourth album. Soon after, Adele's website and social media accounts matched the aesthetic of the projections and billboards, hinting that her new album would be titled 30, which was subsequently confirmed. On October 5, 2021, Adele announced her new single titled "Easy On Me", set to be released on October 15. A release date of November 19, 2021 was announced for the album shortly thereafter. On October 7, Adele was announced to be the November cover star on both Vogue and British Vogue, the first person to simultaneously cover both publications at the same time. On October 15, Adele released "Easy On Me" to a positive reception, breaking Spotify and Amazon Music records for most streams for a song in a day. The song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, Adele's third UK number one, and had the highest first week sales for a single since January 2017. Debuting atop the Billboard Hot 100, it is her fifth US number one single. 30 will be her first album to be marketed globally by Columbia Records instead of being split between XL Recordings and Beggars Group's regional distribution partners in most of the world and Columbia in North America.
Personal life
Adele bought a flat in Notting Hill, London in 2008. In February 2012, she moved into a £7-million, ten-bedroom mansion in West Sussex with her then-boyfriend, Simon. Politically, Adele is a supporter of the Labour Party, stating "I'm a Labour girl through and through," despite in May 2011 having reportedly expressed views on taxation counter to those of the party. In October 2016, just two weeks before the presidential election in the United States, Adele publicly endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, telling an audience in Miami, "Don't vote for [Donald Trump]," and that although she is not American, the election would still affect the UK and other countries as well.
In April 2013, it was reported Adele had a £30 million fortune, £10 million of it made in the previous 12 months.
Adele told Rolling Stone in 2015 that she does not consider herself to be religious, but "[appreciates] religion so deeply" due to the comfort it provided for her grandmother when her grandfather passed away.
Family and friends
Adele has a very close relationship with her mother, Penny. She is also very close with her maternal grandparents, Doreen and John. Adele has a very large family on her mother's side and is very close with them.
She had attempted to rekindle her relationship with her father, Mark, but after failing when he sold stories about her to the press, she said if she ever saw him again, she would spit in his face. Despite the horrible relationship Adele had with her father, she was extremely close to his father, John Evans, who she treated like "a Jesus-figure" before his passing. His wife was Rose Evans; Adele was close with her, as well, as she often helped Penny to raise Adele despite her son walking out on Penny a few years after Adele's birth. Adele also has one half-brother on her father's side, named Cameron, who she has a very good relationship with.
Adele is a dog lover and owns a dog named Louie. Adele's best friend is Laura Dockrill, a writer who also graduated from the BRIT School. She inspired the song "My Same." Adele is also good friends with fellow BRIT School graduate Ben Thomas, who, in addition to being her touring guitarist, is considered one of her best friends. Adele was also friends with Jessie J during their time together at the BRIT School. While most of her friends are non-celebrities, she is known to be friends with Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Sid Owen, Ayda Field and The Civil Wars.
Relationships
Adele's anonymous first boyfriend who inspired 19 is rumored to be bisexual and demanded a portion of her royalties from the album. She has not forgiven him. During her first tour in support of 19, she dated the man who inspired the majority of the songs from 21. Following the album's release and success, Adele revealed that she had no plans to rekindle her relationship with him, but had forgiven him. She briefly dated another man following the release of 21, but later revealed that he was a "fucking prick to [her]" and was no longer in her life.
Adele began dating the CEO for charity Drop4Drop, Simon Konecki, in 2012. In January 2012, it was reported that Adele was dating Konecki, and she later confirmed it on her website after rumors began spreading that he was in the process of getting a divorce while dating Adele, which she denied. On June 29, 2012, Adele announced that she and Konecki were expecting a baby. The child was born on October 19, 2012; he is the first child for Adele and the second for Konecki, who also has a daughter with his ex-wife. Although Adele insisted that details surrounding her son, specifically his name, are personal, the child’s name has been confirmed to be Angelo. After winning Album of the Year for the second time at the 2017 Grammy Awards, after a great deal of speculation, she confirmed that she and Simon had married in private. In April 2019, she announced that they had separated after more than 7 years together.
In early 2021, Adele began dating American sports agent Rich Paul.
Artistry
Voice and music
Initially, critics suggested that her vocals were more developed and intriguing than her songwriting, a sentiment with which Adele agreed. Adele has stated: "I taught myself how to sing by listening to Ella Fitzgerald for acrobatics and scales, Etta James for passion and Roberta Flack for control." Adele's first album is of the soul genre, with lyrics describing heartbreak and relationship. Her success occurred simultaneously with several other British female soul singers, with the British press dubbing her a new Amy Winehouse. This was described as a third British Musical Invasion of the US. However, Adele called the comparisons between her and other female soul singers lazy, noting "we're a gender, not a genre." By the beginning of 2009, listeners and critics started to describe Adele as unique. AllMusic wrote that "Adele is simply too magical to compare her to anyone." Following
the release of her debut album 19, Kanye West and Beyoncé were among the artists vocal in their praise of her music. Beyoncé cited Adele as one of the influences for her fourth album, 4. Madonna expressed a desire to collaborate with Adele, commenting; "I think she’s brilliant, I love her."
Celine Dion performed "Rolling in the Deep" at her show at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, after telling the crowd, "I love Adele so much. She's amazing." She later covered Adele's duet with Daniel Merriweather, "Water and a Flame," for her upcoming album of the same name, although she was criticized by Merriweather for giving full credit for the writing of the song to Adele. J. J. Burnel of The Stranglers is also a fan, stating; "She had me riveted... Of course she's huge and normally that would turn me off because it's too commercial. But I was seriously impressed." Dave Grohl of Foo FIghters and Nirvana fame has repeatedly praised Adele in interviews. Former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash stated; "She's great. She's a shot in the arm for this industry. She writes her own music that's not at all contrived. And she's managed to sell loads of records which makes her a great example to the younger artists."
Other artists who have praised her include Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, Bonnie Raitt, Lady Antebellum, P!nk, Adam Levine, Linkin Park, Tinie Tempah, Big Sean, David Guetta, Foster the People, Gym Class Heroes, The Script, Joe Jonas, Jason Aldean, Kelly Clarkson, Katy B, Jessie J, Leona Lewis, Amber Riley, Britney Spears, Wanda Jackson, Rihanna, Birdy, Christina Grimmie, Colbie Caillat, Randy Jackson, The Fray, Labrinth, Cindy Lauper, Mary J. Blige, Ciara, Julianne Hough, Brandy, will.i.am, Kylie Minogue, Olly Murs, Coldplay, Florence Welch, Dizzee Rascal, Sinéad O'Connor, Lily Allen, LeAnn Rimes, Christina Aguilera, Flo Rida, Cobra Starship, Adam Lambert, Darius Rucker, Gotye, Emeli Sandé, Cher, Ariana Grande, Amy Lee, Frank Ocean, Trey Songz, Wiz Khalifa, Bonnie Raitt, and Mumford & Sons, among numerous others.
Other celebrities who have stated they are fans of Adele's include Julia Roberts, Alan Carr, Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Lawrence, Anderson Cooper, Gordon Ramsay, Jason Kipnis, Oprah Winfrey, Lindsay Lohan, Khloe Kardashian, Ryan Seacrest, Ellen DeGeneres, Julie Andrews, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jenette McCurdy, Mitt Romney, and Barack Obama, among numerous others.
Influences
Adele has stated that her biggest musical influences are Etta James and Beyoncé. She has also stated that growing up, she listened to the Spice Girls, The Cure, Dusty Springfield, Whitney Houston, and others. She also claims that her mother, who is very close with her, exposed her to the music of Lauryn Hill, Mary J. Blige, and Alicia Keys, all of which inspired her as well.
Adele has named P!nk as one of her biggest musical influences and considers P!nk's performance at the Brixton Academy in London as one of "the most defining moments" in her life, saying "It was the M!ssundaztood record, so I was about 13 or 14. I had never heard, being in the room, someone sing like that live. I remember sort of feeling like I was in a wind tunnel, her voice just hitting me. It was incredible."
Awards and accolades
At the 51st Grammy Awards in 2009, Adele won awards in the categories of Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. She was also nominated in the categories of Record of the Year and Song of the Year. That same year, Adele was also nominated for three Brit Awards in the categories of Best British Female, Best British Single and Best British Breakthrough Act. Then British Prime Minister Gordon Brown sent a thank-you letter to Adele that stated "with the troubles that the country's in financially, you're a light at the end of the tunnel."
With 21 non-consecutive weeks at number 1 in the US, Adele broke the record for the longest number-1 album by a woman in Billboard history, beating the record formerly held by Whitney Houston's soundtrack The Bodyguard. 21 spent its 23rd week at number one in March 2012, making it the longest-running album at number one since 1985 and it became the fourth best-selling album of the past 10 years in the United States.
In February 2012, Adele was listed at number five on VH1′s 100 Greatest Women In Music. In April 2012, American magazine Time named Adele one of the 100 most influential people in the world. People named her one of 2012 Most Beautiful at Every Age. On 30 April 2012, a tribute to Adele was held at New York City's (Le) Poisson Rouge called Broadway Sings Adele, starring various Broadway actors such as Matt Doyle. In July 2012, Adele was listed at number six in Forbes' list of the world's highest-paid celebrities under the age of 30 having earned £23 million ($35 million) between May 2011 and May 2012.
On the week ending March 3, 2012, Adele became the first solo female artist to have three singles in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time, and the first female artist to have two albums in the top 5 of the Billboard 200 and two singles in the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously. Adele topped the 2012 Sunday Times Rich List of musicians in the UK under 30 and made the Top 10 of Billboard magazine's "Top 40 Money Makers." Billboard also announced the same day that Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" is the biggest crossover hit of the past 25 years, topping pop, adult pop and adult contemporary charts and that Adele is one of four female artists to have an album chart at number one for more than 13 weeks (the other three artists being Judy Garland, Carole King, and Whitney Houston). On March 6, 21 reached 30 non-consecutive weeks at number one on the Australian ARIA Chart, making it the longest-running number one album in Australia in the 21st century, and the second longest-running number one ever.
At the 2012 Ivor Novello Awards in May, Adele was named Songwriter of the Year, and "Rolling in the Deep" won the award for Most Performed Work of 2011. At the 2012 BMI Awards held in London in October, Adele won Song of the Year (for "Rolling in the Deep") in recognition of the song being the most played on US television and radio in 2011.
In 2013, Adele won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for the James Bond theme "Skyfall." This is the first James Bond song to win and only the fifth to be nominated, after "For Your Eyes Only" (1981), "Nobody Does It Better" (1977) (from The Spy Who Loved Me), "Live and Let Die" (1973), and "The Look of Love" (1967) (from the original Casino Royale). "Skyfall" won the Brit Award for Best British Single at the 2013 Brit Awards.
In February 2013 she was assessed as one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom by Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4.
She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to music.
In 2017, Adele won five Grammy Awards for her third album 25, including Album, Record, and Song of the Year, making her the first artist in music history to sweep the top three Grammy Awards twice.
Charitable work
In July 2009 she paid £8,000 for a commissioned painting by Stella Vine in a charity auction in aid of Keep a Child Alive, a charity which helps African children and their families living with HIV/AIDS. Adele said she planned to ask Vine to paint a portrait of "my mum and me."
Adele has performed in numerous charity concerts throughout her career. In July and November 2008, Adele performed at the Keep a Child Alive Black Ball in London and New York City respectively. On 17 September 2009, Adele performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, for the VH1 Divas event, a concert to raise money for the Save The Music Foundation charity. On 6 December, Adele opened with a 40-minute set at John Mayer's 2nd Annual Holiday Charity Revue held at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California. In 2011, Adele gave a free concert for Pride London, a registered charity which arranges LGBT events in London.
Adele has been a major contributor to MusiCares, a charity organization founded by the Grammys for musicians in need. In February 2009, Adele performed at the 2009 MusiCares charity concert in Los Angeles. In 2011 and 2012, Adele donated autographed items for auctions to support MusiCares.
When on tour, Adele requires all backstage visitors to donate a minimum charitable contribution of $20 for the UK charity Sands (an organization dedicated to "supporting anyone affected by the death of a baby and promoting research to reduce the loss of babies’ lives"). During the UK and European leg of her Adele Live tour, Adele collected $13,000 for the charity.
Trivia
- Adele named her first three studios albums after the ages she was when she wrote them.
- Adele is a liberal. She appeared on the same episode of Saturday Night Live as Sarah Palin. After the show, she met Palin, a conservative, “but I didn’t want to,” said Adele, “I was avoiding it…. I had a big Obama pin on." The huge audience Palin attracted was good for the singer, though – her album 19 flew to the top of iTunes charts the next day.
- Despite her many performances, Adele still admits to stage fright. She’s been known to throw up prior to performing (once on someone), and suffers from panic attacks.
- “I don’t like going to the gym,” Adele has said. “I like eating fine foods and drinking nice wine.”
- She hasn’t always made wise choices when it comes to relationships. In 2008, she cancelled US tour dates to be with a boyfriend. “I was drinking far too much and that was … the basis of my relationship with this boy,” the singer has said.
- The multiple Grammy winner broke up with that boy, and the experience inspired much of her album 21. “He made me an adult, and put me on the road I am traveling now,” Adele explained.
- She began singing at age four, and credits the Spice Girls for inspiring her to sing as a career.
- Adele wrote her debut song, “Hometown Glory,” at age 16. It was released in October 2007.
- The singer is a fan of Sands Charity, which supports those affected by the loss of a baby. She has encouraged those receiving free tickets to her concerts to contribute $20 to the charity.
- Adele's first concert she watched was The Cure when she was three, due to her mother being a big fan of the band.
- She holds a Guinness World Record for staying at No. 1 in UK charts for the most weeks.
- She is the only female singer who sold the highest number of sales in an album (21).
- Adele has won a record breaking ten Grammy Awards so far out of thirteen nominations. (six awards were won at the 2012 Grammys)
- Adele held three Guinness World Records for having two of her songs from her albums, 19 and 21, to stay in UK Top 5.
- Adele has her own figure at Madame Tussauds in London, as well as another figure identical to the one in London that is used for the Amsterdam location of Madame Tussauds.
- Adele remarked, "If I ever see [my dad who left me when I was young], I would spit in his face."
- Adele has an alter ego named Sasha Carter.
- Adele's fans are referred to as Daydreamers.