Adele

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (born May 5, 1988), known professionally as Adele, is an English singer- songwriter. She was 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. Since her debut album 19, Adele has received much recognition both commercially and critically. The album debuted at number one, and has been certified 4x platinum in the UK. Her career in the US was boosted by a viewer record–breaking Saturday Night Live episode in late 2008. At the 2009 Grammy Awards, Adele won the awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.[5][6]
Adele released her second album 21 on 24 January 2011 in the UK, and 22 February in the US. The album was well received critically and catapulted Adele to record breaking success selling 208,000 copies in its first week in the UK and debuting at number one on the UK Albums Chart, a position it managed to hold for sixteen weeks. In the United Kingdom, 21 has been certified ten times platinum for shipment of 3.0 million units. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in the US, selling 352,000 copies in its first week. The album has charted at number one in 17 countries, including several charts across Europe, Australia and the United States.
After being performed at the 2011 BRIT Awards, the album track "Someone Like You" reached number one in the United Kingdom, 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 Awards, it became Adele's second number one single on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US.
The Official Charts Company announced that Adele is the first living artist to achieve the feat of two top five hits in both the UK Official Singles Chart and the Official Albums Chart simultaneously since The Beatles in 1964. 21 has spent eleven consecutive weeks at number one in the UK, the longest ever by a female solo artist on the UK Albums Chart, surpassing Madonna's nine weeks at number one in 1990 with her greatest hits compilation The Immaculate Collection. Those records adding the one of "first album in U.K. chart history to sell 3 million copies in one calendar year", permitted her to appear in the 2012 Guinness Book Of World Records. In the US the album has spent a total of twelve weeks at the top of the Billboard 200 to date, the longest an album has held the top position since 2000. The album has also broken the record for the most UK digital downloads. As of May 2011 the singer was worth £6 million, tying her with Lily Allen and Duffy for 9th place on the list of the richest British and Irish music stars under age 30.
==Early life==
Adele was born in Tottenham, London, England, to a single teenage mother on May 5, 1988. 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 would also impersonate the Spice Girls at dinner parties as a young girl. To make her look like singer Gabrielle, her mother made an eye patch with sequins, which Adele said was embarrassing.
At the age of 11, Adele and her mother, a furniture-maker and adult learning activities organizer moved to West Norwood, 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 claims that one of the most defining moments in her life was when she watched Pink perform at Brixton Academy. "It was the Missundaztood 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."
==Career==
===2006–08: Career beginnings===
Adele performing in Kilburn, London in 2007Adele 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. In school, she was more interested in going into A&R, and hoped to launch other people's careers. 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 Recordings. She doubted if the offer was real because the only record company she knew was Virgin Records, and she took a friend with her to the meeting.
Nick Huggett at XL recommended Adele 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 attraction for Adele who was 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", from his debut album. 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. In 2008 she was the headliner and performed a stripped down acoustic and 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.
===2008–10: 19 and commercial success===
Adele performing at Paradiso in 2008.19, named for her age at the time she started recording it, entered the British charts at number one. The Times Encyclopedia of Modern Music would name 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. 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". In November 2008 Adele moved to Notting Hill after leaving her mother's house, a move that prompted her to give up drinking. 19 was released in the US in June, but by October 2008, it was apparent that Adele's attempt to break into America had failed. She would be the musical guest on the October 18 episode of Saturday Night Live. The episode was hotly anticipated because of 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. 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.
In July 2008, Adele paid £8,000 for a commissioned painting by Stella Vine in a charity auction in aid of Keep a Child Alive, a charity that 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." 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. Adele was also nominated for three Brit Awards in the categories of Best British Female, Best British Single and Best British Breakthrough Act. 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." 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 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 publicized duet of Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now" with Darius Rucker. This performance would later be nominated for a CMT Music Award.
===2010–present: 21 and breaking records===
Adele released her second studio album, 21, on 24 January 2011 in the UK and 22 February in the U.S. The album's sound is described as classic and contemporary roots and country music. The change in sound from her first album was the result of her bus driver playing contemporary Nashville music when she was touring the American South. Adele told Spin Magazine "It was really exciting for me because I never grew up around that music." The title choice reflects the growth she has experienced in the last two years. 21 hit number 1 in 18 countries, including the United States. As of June 2011, Adele had sold 2.5 million copies and 992,000 digital copies of 21 in the United States, making it the best-selling album in both categories in the first half of 2011. The first single, "Rolling in the Deep" reached number 1 in 8 countries including the Billboard Hot 100. The song has sold 4.825 million digital copies in the US by 21 August 2011, the most digital copies of a song ever sold in a single year in the US.
Adele performing in Seattle, Washington, on 12 August 2011In the United Kingdom, where the album also hit the top spot, it sold 208,000 copies in its first week making it the biggest-selling January release in five years. In mid-February 2011, after a performance at the Brit Awards, the album track "Someone Like You" went straight to number 1 on the UK singles chart, while the album 21 also remained at number 1. According to the Official Charts Company, Adele is 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. It is the first time that one act has held the top two places in the UK albums chart since The Corrs in 1999. The album spent eleven consecutive weeks at number one, before being knocked off the top spot by Wasting Light by the Foo Fighters. Next week, though, she regained the number one spot and was holding in for five more weeks in a row. In July "Someone Like You" single set another record, having become the first song to sell over a million copies in the UK this decade. In September the album sold over 3 million units and Adele became the first artist in UK music history to hit 3 million sales of an album in one calendar year. "Someone Like You" became her second consecutive number-one single on the Hot 100 making Adele the first ever British female singer to spawn two consecutive number one singles from the same album. It also made Hot 100 history by achieving "the biggest jump to No. 1 in the chart's 53-year history that wasn't spurred by the release of a single." The song became the first strictly voice-and-piano ballad to top the Billboard Hot 100.
To promote the album, Adele embarked upon Adele Live tour. The tour has become a profound success with the entire North American leg sold out. Her audience at a May 2011 concert at the Beacon Theater in New York was described as a "varied blend as they shuffle to the exits—some are tearstained, some are whistling" with "snatches of regretful conversation between women, missing one man, still resenting another".
In the August 2011 issue of Q Adele revealed that she has written seven songs for her next album, which she promised would be more intimate and stripped-down than her first two. "It won't be a big production. I want it to be quite acoustic and piano-led", the singer said. "I want to write it all, record it all, produce it all and master it on my own. I think it'll take a lot longer because I want to do it this way", she added. 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.
==Artistry and influence==
Adele's voice is categorized as contralto. Initially, critics suggested that her vocals were more developed and intriguing than her songwriting, a sentiment that Adele agreed with. 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.[40] However, Adele called the comparisons between her and other female soul singers lazy, noting "we're a gender, not a genre".[41][59][101] 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." American singer Beyoncé Knowles cited Adele as one of the influences for her fourth album, 4.
Her videos and songs on YouTube now have over 700 million views altogether.
==Discography==
Main article> Adele discography
*2008: 19
*2011: 21
==Tours==
*An Evening with Adele (2008–09)
*Adele Live (2011)
==Awards==
Main article> List of awards and nominations received by Adele #"Adele Unearths Country-Soul Gem » Cover Me". Covermesongs.com. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
# Nicole Frehsée ( January 28, 2009), "Meet Adele, the U.K.'s Newest Soul Star". Rolling Stone. (1070):26
#"Certified Awards Search". British Phonographic Industry.
#"Brits on top: Duffy, Adele and Coldplay clinch top awards as they lead British winners at Grammys". Daily Mail (London: Associated Newspapers). 9 February 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-12.
# Coldplay, Robert Plant, Radiohead, Duffy and Adele win at Grammy Awards Daily Mirror Retrieved 2011-02-21
#"Adele: New Record is 'Quite Different'". Spin Magazine. 2 November 2010. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
#"Adele to Release '21' Sophomore Album in February Billboard 2 November 2010". Billboard. 14 September 2009.
#"British soul singer Adele preps summer U.S. tour". Los Angeles Times. 8 February 2011.
#Adele dominates UK album chart.
#Keith Caulfield (March 2, 2011). "Adele's '21' Debuts At No. 1 on the Billboard 200 With 352,000 Sales".
#Adele scores US number one album BBC News
#"Adele breaks Madonna's album record and closes in on Bob Marley"
#Adele Ties Beatles Record on UK Charts, BRIT Awards Boost Winners
#"Adele beats Lady Gaga to No 1... and matches Beatles for two top five singles and two top five albums in the same week" Daily Mail
#"RIANZ".
# "Top 50 Singles Chart - Australian Record Industry Assocation".
# Adele's 'Someone Like You' Soars To No. 1 On Hot 100
#Adele's 'Someone Like You' Tops UK Singles Chart
#Adele makes music history again with album chart record BBC
#Gil Kaufman (September 14, 2011). "Adele, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber Land New Guinness Records".
#Keith Caulfield (August 10, 2011). "Adele's '21' Notches Most Weeks at No. 1 Since 2000".
# Adele matches Madonna, Beatles records
#"Chart-topping Adele makes music's rich list with £6million fortune".
#Sylvia Patterson (January 27, 2008). "Mad about the girl".
#Adele: i have all the say, i have power over everything i do
#"Grammy-nominated Adele taking fame in stride".
#"Singing Stronger Every Day: Adele Express.
#Marie Walker "Adele: I Love the Spice Girls!".
#"Chasing Adele Minneapolis Star Tribune January 15, 2009".
#Stuart Husband (April 25, 2008). "Adele: young soul rebel".
# Sylvia Patterson (January 27, 2008). "Interview: Adele Atkins, singer".
# Sophie Heawood (December 28, 2007). " 'Adele Nation' starts here". .
#Melinda Newman (February 1, 2009). "Amy Who? Now, Adele's the One With the Buzz Washington Post 33. "ADELE: Up Close and Personal".
# Adele Recalls Hearing Pink Performing Live
#Adele Says Hearing Pink Sing Changed Her Life
#Jacqui Swift (January 18, 2008). "I will Always Keep Feet on Ground".
#Ian Young (January 7, 2008). "Soul singers top new talent list".
#^ a b c d Collis, Clark (19 December 2008), "Spotlight on... Adele". Entertainment Weekly. (1026):62
#^ a b c d "Interview: Adele - Singer and Songwriter - Blogcritics Music". Blogcritics.org. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
#^ "Platform 04". Platformsmagazine.com. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
#^ "Billboard presents: Adele". Link.brightcove.com. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
#^ a b c "Interview with Jonathan Dickins". HitQuarters. 14 Jul 2008. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
#^ Jones, Damian (6 April 2009). "Peñate collaborates with Adele". BBC News. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
#^ "Q&A: Adele's charity acoustic set BBC Radio 1". BBC News. 12 November 2008. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
#^ "Adele hits the big time". ITN. 12 November 2008.[dead link]
#^ Sound of 2008: Adele BBC News. Retrieved 26 September 2011
#^ Adele Wins Brits Critics Choice Award Billboard. Retrieved 26 September 2011
#^ Cairns, Dan (1 February 2009). "Blue-eyed soul: Encyclopedia of Modern Music The Times". London. Retrieved 2010-04-23.
#^ "This Week's Releases: 21 January 2008". NME (UK). 21 January 2008.
#^ Jade Wright (23 July 2008). "Views & Blogs - Columnists - Echo columnists - Last Shadow Puppets tipped for Nationwide Mercury music prize". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
#^ "Winners for 6th Annual Urban Music Awards 2008 Announced Urban Music Awards website". 16 November 2008.
#^ "Duffy nominated for Q awards double Wales Online". 3 September 2008.
#^ "Estelle And Leona Lewis Lead 2008 Mobo Nominations". Gigwise. 11 September 2008. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
#^ a b "Adele Inks U.S. Deal With Columbia". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
#^ "Adele Explains Booze & Love Meltdown". Contactmusic. 8 June 2009. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
#^ "Battle of the not-so-young ones at the top of the US charts Music Week".
#^ a b "The Richmonnd Times Dispatch". 23 October 2008.[dead link]
#^ Reed, James (12 January 2009). "'19' going on superstar". The Boston Globe.
#^ "Saturday Night Live Season 34 Josh Brolin/Adele". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
#^ "Adele enjoys an "SNL" bump". Newsday. 20 October 2008.
#^ "AC/DC Debuts At No. 1 With 784,000". Billboard. 29 October 2008.
#^ "Perry's Platinum Pucker". RIAA. 23 March 2009. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
#^ "Adele 'puts career on hold for dog". Digital Spy. 21 July 2009. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
#^ "Soul diva Alicia helps raise half a million[dead link], 11 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
#^ "Grammy Award Website 2009 Winner List Page".[dead link]
#^ "The 51st Annual Grammy Awards Nomination List 22 September 2008".[dead link]
#^ "Best British breakthrough act". BBC News. 20 January 2009. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
#^ "Prime Minister Thanks Adele For Keeping Britain Happy In Dark Times". Contact Music. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
#^ Liwanag, Punch (20 September 2009). "VH-1 Divas returns with new batch". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
#^ "Adele, Leona Lewis and Kelly Clarkson for VH1 'Divas'". NME. UK. 21 July 2009. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
#^ "NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE". NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
#^ "Two-time Grammy Award winner Adele to perform on CBS". CBS Radio. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
#^ Klier, Marcus (2 February 2010). "Live: First heat in Germany". ESCToday. Retrieved 2011-02-22.
#^ (German)"Musicline.de – Chartverfolgung – Adele – My Same". Media Control Charts. 21 February 2010. Retrieved 2011-02-22.
#^ "Oasis, Radiohead and Adele set for chart re-entries thanks to 'The X Factor'?". NME. UK. 29 September 2010. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
#^ "Adele and Darius Rucker perform Need You Now on CMT Artists of the Year". Kncifm.radio.com. 16 January 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
#^ 2011 CMT Music Awards Nominees Revealed. Country Music Television. 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
#^ a b Levine, Nick (2 November 2010). "Adele announces second album details". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2010-11-02.
#^ Kaufman, Gil (16 March 2011). "Lupe Fiasco's Lasers Blasts To Top Of Billboard 200". MTV. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
#^ Matthew Perpetua (7 July 2011). "Adele Leads Record Industry to Sales Spike". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
#^ Adele - Album and Song Chart History Billboard. Retrieved 26 September 2011
#^ Grein, Paul (24 August 2011). "Week Ending Aug. 21, 2011: Rolling To A Record". Yahoo. Retrieved 2011-08-28.
#^ Adele matches the Beatles in latest chart success The Guardian Retrieved 2011-02-23
#^ It’s A-dell of a week for chart star The Sun Retrieved 2011-02-23
#^ "Adele scores fifth week at album No.1". Digital Spy. 27 February 2011. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
#^ "Adele tightens grip on charts". Yahoo! News UK & Ireland. 27 February 2011. Retrieved 2011-02-28.[dead link]
#^ Williams, Paul (30 April 2011). "Adele heading back to number one". Music Week. Retrieved 2011-04-19.
#^ "21". www.chartstats.com. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
#^ "Adele Sets New Sales Record With 'Someone Like You'". www.mtv.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
#^ "07/09/2011 - Adele breaks Official Charts history with 3 million album sales". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
#^ "Adele Makes Billboard Hot 100 History With 'Someone Like You'". Keith Caulfield, Billboard. 9 September 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
#^ "Is Adele's 'Someone Like You' The First No. 1 Piano-And-Vocal-Only Ballad?". 13 September 2011. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
#^ Jones, Anthony (15 December 2010). "Adele Announces European Tour In Support Of "21"". All Headline News. Retrieved 2011-02-08.
#^ Anderson, Stacey (20 May 2011). "Live: Adele Dispenses Her Own Brand Of Comfort At The Beacon Theater Village Voice". Blogs.villagevoice.com. Retrieved 2011-06-01.
#^ Q magazine, August 2011 #301 issue. Q now. Adele working on a new album. p.016.
#^ Adele Cancels U.S. Tour Due to Illness Rolling Stone. 4 October 2011
#^ Gilbert, Andrew (26 January 2009). "Singer-songwriter Adele brings introspection to Brit-soul scene". Seattle Times.
#^ "Despite four Grammy nominations, Adele is figuring out how to be herself Westworld 21 January 2009".
#^ Pool, Hannah (11 December 2008). "Adele Guardian Interview". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 2010-04-23.
#^ "Beyonce inspired by Adele and Florence And The Machine on new album ‘4’". Nme.com. 3 June 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
#^ http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=videos&search_query=adele&search_sort=video_view_count&suggested_categories=10
==External links==
*Media related to Adele (singer) at Wikimedia Commons
*Official website
Category:Artists