Adele Biography

Singer (1988)
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NAME
Adele
OCCUPATION
Singer
BIRTH DATE
May 5, 1988 (age 28)
EDUCATION
BRIT School for Performing Arts & Technology
PLACE OF BIRTH
London, United Kingdom
AKA
Adele
Adele Adkins
FULL NAME
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins
ZODIAC SIGN
Taurus

SYNOPSIS
EARLY YEARS AND INFLUENCES
COMMERCIAL SUCCESS
PERSONAL LIFE
RELATED VIDEOS
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Singer Adele is a Grammy Award-winning artist whose throwback, soulful
sound has made her an international success with hits like "Rolling in the
Deep" and "Someone Like You."
IN THESE GROUPS

FAMOUS GRAMMY WINNERS

FAMOUS PEOPLE BORN ON MAY 5
FAMOUS PEOPLE BORN IN UNITED KINGDOM
FAMOUS PEOPLE BORN IN LONDON
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QUOTES
I've seen people where it rules their lives, you know, who want to be thinner
or have bigger boobs, and how it wears them down, and I just don't want that
in my life.
Adele

Adele - Mini Biography (TV-PG; 2:47) Adele's throwback, soulful sound has
made her an international success. After winning the Grammy Award for Best
New Artist in 2009, her sophomore album "21" won the Grammy for Album of
the Year in 2012.
Synopsis

Adele was born in North London, England, on May 5, 1988, eventually

attending the performing arts BRIT School. Her first two albums, 19 and 21,
earned her critical praise and a level of commercial success unsurpassed
among her peers, with the artist selling millions of albums worldwide and
winning multiple Grammys. She also received a songwriting Oscar for the
James Bond track "Skyfall." After becoming a mom, Adele returned to the
charts in autumn 2015 with the ballad "Hello," the lead single for her
forthcoming album 25.

Early Years and Influences

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins was born on May 5, 1988, in North London, England.
She was the only child of Penny Adkins, an "arty mom" who was just 18 at the
time of her birth, and a Welsh father, Mark Evans, who left the family when
Adele was only 4 years old.

Evans remained in contact with his daughter up until her teen years, when his
problems with alcohol and increasing estrangement from his daughter caused
their relationship to deteriorate. By contrast, Adele grew close to her mom,
who encouraged her young daughter "to explore, and not to stick with one
thing."

Early on, Adele developed a passion for music. She gravitated toward the
songs of Lauryn Hill, Mary J. Blige and Destiny's Child. But her true, eyeopening moment came when she was 15 and she happened upon a collection
of Etta James and Ella Fitzgerald records at a local shop. "There was no
musical heritage in our family," Adele told The Telegraph in a 2008 interview.
"Chart music was all I ever knew. So when I listened to the Ettas and the
Ellas, it sounds so cheesy, but it was like an awakening. I was like, oh, right,
some people have proper longevity and are legends. I was so inspired that as
a 15-year-old I was listening to music that had been made in the '40s."

While clearly bright, Adele wasn't oriented towards traditional classroom

settings. Instead, her mother enrolled her in the BRIT School for Performing
Arts & Technology, which counts Amy Winehouse as an alum.

While at school, Adele cut a three-track demo for a class project that was
eventually posted on her MySpace page. When executives at XL Recordings
heard the tracks, they contacted the singer and, in November 2006, just four
months after Adele had graduated school, signed her to a record deal.

Commercial Success

Adele's debut album, 19, which is named for the singer's age when she began
recording the project, went on sale in early 2008. Led by two popular lead
singles, "Hometown Glory" and "Chasing Pavements," the record rocketed
Adele to fame.

Released in the United States through Columbia Records, 19 resonated with

American audiences, much as it had with British music listeners. Adele
cemented her commercial success with an appearance in October 2008 on
Saturday Night Live. At the taping of the show, the album was ranked No. 40
on iTunes. Less than 24 hours later, it was No. 1.

At the 2009 Grammy awards, Adele took home Best New Artist. In addition,
the album earned the singer the distinction of being named the "Sound of
2008" by the BBC. That same year, she earned the Critics' Choice prize at the
BRIT Awards.

Blockbuster Followup: '21'

Her much anticipated follow-up album, 21, again named for her age at time
of recording, did not disappoint upon its release in early 2011. Tapping even
deeper into Adele's appreciation for classic American R&B and jazz, the
record was a monster hit, selling 352,000 copies within its first week.

Anchored by hits like "Rolling in the Deep" and "Someone Like You," 21 placed

Adele in rarified air. In February 2011, she found herself with two Top 5
singles and a pair of Top 5 albums in the same week, becoming the only artist
besides the Beatles and 50 Cent to achieve that milestone. And with 21
staying at No. 1 for 11 weeks, Adele also broke the solo female artist record
previously held by Madonna's Immaculate Collection for consecutive weeks
atop the album charts. 21 went on to sell more than 30 million copies
worldwide.

In 2012, Adele swept the Grammy Awards, taking home six wins, including
Album of the Year. "This record is inspired by something that is really normal
and everyone's been through itjust a rubbish relationship," she said at the
ceremony. In 2013, Adele won her seventh Grammy (Best Pop Solo
Performance) for her hit single "Set Fire to the Rain." That same year, the
singer won a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for "Skyfall," the theme
song for the 2013 James Bond film of the same name.

Coupled with her success is Adele's maturity and ability to avoid the fameinduced pitfalls that plagued Winehouse. Adele, whose larger, curvier body
bucks the trend of most Top 40 female celebs, is also confident in not just her
talent, but in her looks. "I've seen people where it rules their lives, you know,
who want to be thinner or have bigger boobs, and how it wears them down,"
she told Vogue magazine in 2011. "And I just don't want that in my life."

Make-Up Album: '25'

On October 22, 2015, Adele announced that she would release her third
album, 25, in November. She posted 25's cover on Instagram, and said of her
first full-length studio project in several years: "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 realizing. And I'm sorry it
took so long but, you know, life happened."

The following day Adele released the ballad "Hello," an epic track that again
showcased her soaring voice over classic pop craft. The accompanying visual

clip, featuring actor Tristan Wilds as the romantic interest, was directed by
up-and-coming filmmaker Xavier Dolan and is reportedly the first music video
to be shot with IMAX cameras.

"Hello" debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's pop charts, thus becoming Adele's

fourth chart-topper and making history as the first single to receive more
than one million downloads in a week's time. The song has remained at No. 1
for multiple weeks in the U.K. as well.

25, released on Nov. 20, is a collection of emotional, sometimes plaintive

songs looking at the ins and outs of relationships, owing much of its sound to
traditional pop craft. The album is an international sales juggernaut as well,
reaching No. 1 on iTunes in 110 countries. In the U.S., 25 sold 3.38 million
copies in seven days, beating the 'N Sync record of 2.42 million album copies
sold in a week. Among other feats, 25 is also the fastest album to reach a
million copies sold in the U.K., doing so in 10 days.

Adele's second single off of 25 was "When We Were Young," a meditation on

looking back and growing older. In 2016, she performed the ballad "All I Ask,"
co-written by Bruno Mars, on the 58th Annual Grammy Awards while also
dealing with technical glitches from the accompanying piano.

Personal Life

On June 29, 2012, Adele announced on her website that she was pregnant
with her first child. The baby's father is Adele's boyfriend, Simon Konecki.
Adele spoke to People magazine about being a mother: "I really want to be a
mum. I better start getting on with it!" she said, adding that she wants to
have a trio of boys by the time she's 30.

She gave birth to her son Angelo on October 19, 2012.