Name ==> Adele Laurie Blue Adkins
Born ==> 5 May 1988, Tottenham, North London, England, UK
Origin ==> West Norwood, South London, England, UK
Genres ==> Soul, pop, blues
Occupations ==> Singer, songwriter
Instruments ==> Vocals, guitar, piano, bass, celeste, percussion, keyboard
Years Active ==> 2006-present
Favorite Artist/Group ==> Spice Girls, Destiny's Child, Mary J. Blige, Aaliyah.
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (Adele) is an British singer and songwriter. She began singing at age four and asserts that she became obsessed with voices. Adele has cited the Spice Girl as a major influence in regard to her love and passion for music, stating that "They made me what I am today".
At the age of 9, Adele and her mother, a furniture-maker and adult learning activities organizer, relocated to Brighton. At the age of 11, Adele and her mother moved to Brixton , and the 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 movinf to South London, she became interested in R&B artist such as Aaliyah, Destiny's Child, and Mary J. Blige.
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.
Four months later, 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 Recording. She doubted if the offer was real because the only record company she knew was Virgin Records.
In 2008, she was the first recipient of the BRIT Awards "Critics' Choice" and was named the #1 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 started recording it, entered the British charts at number one. She released her second single "Chasing Pavement" 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 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.
19 topped the iTunes charts and ranked at number five at Amazon.com while "Chasing Pavement" 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. 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.
Adele released her second album, 21, on 24 January 2011 in UK and 22 February in US. The album was well received critically and made her a record breaking success, selling 208,00 copies in its first week in UK and debuting at number one on UK Albums Chart. In UK, 21 has been certified 12 times platinum for shipment of 3.6 million units. The album has charted at number one in 17 countries, including several charts across Europe, Australia, and US.
The first single, "Rolling in the Deep" reached number 1 in 8 countries including the Billboard Hot 100. The song has sold 5.567 million digital copies in US by 24 November 2011, the most digital copies of a song ever sold in a single year in US, and the best-selling song by a British artist in the digital era.
After being performing at the 2011 BRIT Awards, the album track "Someone Like You" reached #1 in UK, while the album also remained at number one. "Someone Like You" held the number one position for four consecutive weeks. The song has also spent 2 weeks at number one in New Zealand, 5 weeks at number one in Australia and following her performance at the 2011 MTV Video Music Award it became Adele's second number one single on the Billboard Hot 100 in US.
19 topped the iTunes charts and ranked at number five at Amazon.com while "Chasing Pavement" 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. 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.
Adele released her second album, 21, on 24 January 2011 in UK and 22 February in US. The album was well received critically and made her a record breaking success, selling 208,00 copies in its first week in UK and debuting at number one on UK Albums Chart. In UK, 21 has been certified 12 times platinum for shipment of 3.6 million units. The album has charted at number one in 17 countries, including several charts across Europe, Australia, and US.
The first single, "Rolling in the Deep" reached number 1 in 8 countries including the Billboard Hot 100. The song has sold 5.567 million digital copies in US by 24 November 2011, the most digital copies of a song ever sold in a single year in US, and the best-selling song by a British artist in the digital era.
After being performing at the 2011 BRIT Awards, the album track "Someone Like You" reached #1 in UK, while the album also remained at number one. "Someone Like You" held the number one position for four consecutive weeks. The song has also spent 2 weeks at number one in New Zealand, 5 weeks at number one in Australia and following her performance at the 2011 MTV Video Music Award it became Adele's second number one single on the Billboard Hot 100 in US.
Adele's tours:
- An Evening with Adele world tour began in May 2008 and ended in June 2009.
- Adele Live tour, which sold out its North American leg. Her audience at May 2011 concert at the Bacon Theater in New York was described as a "varied blend as they shuffle to exits, some are tearstained some are whistling with snatches of regretful conversation between women, missing one man, still resenting another".
In October 2011, Adele was forced to cancel tours in US because of a vocal cord hemorrhage. She released statement saying she needed and extended period of rest in order to avoid permanent damage to her voice. On 28 October, Adele released a further statement that she was undergoing surgery to alleviate the current issues with her throat. "I have absolutely no choice but to recuperate properly and fully, or I risk damaging my voice forever". The singer underwent laser microsurgery in US on the first week of November.
