Adele soars high with success

Adele

Since making her debut in the late 2000s, Adele has become a household name with her powerful voice, plus size figure and indefatigable spirit that never dipped through the passing of time. Her numerous hits, chart-topping singles and dozens of awards only serve to prove that success comes to those with the talent and determination to win life’s hurdle.

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins was born on May 5 1988 to teenager Penny Adkins and Welshman Mark Evans. The father walked away from his family when Adele was only two and her 20-year-old single mother was left alone to raise her. Adele resented what his father did and to this day, she hasn’t forgiven him.

In 2006, Adele graduated from the BRIT School for Performing Arts & Technology in Croydon. Leona Lewis and Jessie J were among her classmates. Adele considers BRIT School as instrumental in honing her talent. After graduation, Adele successfully had her two songs published in the online arts publication PlatformsMagazine.com. Her song grabbed the attention of by XL label executive Nick Huggett who sent her to Jonathan Dickens of September Management.

Her breakthrough came in 2007 with the hit single “Hometown Glory.”

In 2008, Adele launched her debut album, 19. She was 19 at that time and it went on to become an enormous commercial and critical success, becoming certified platinum four times in the United Kingdom and double platinum in the United States.

Adele’s international appeal and fan base grew after appearing at Saturday Night Live in late 2008.In 2009, she won Grammy Awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

In 2011, her second album, 21, was released. The album’s immense success solidified her status as one of the most critically acclaimed and best selling artists of her generation. Critics applauded it, while its sales surpassed that of her debut album.

In 2012, Adele won the Album of the Year as well as five other awards at the Grammys, making her one of the very few female artists to win that much. The album was also honored with two Brit Awards and three American Music Awards. It was also certified 16 times platinum in the UK and Diamond in the U.S. and held the top spot at the charts longer than any other album since 1985.

The International Federation of Phonography Industry revealed that Adele has sold over 26 million copies worldwide.

21’s phenomenal success also earned Adele numerous citations from Guinness World Records. Adele is so far the first artist to have sold over 3 million albums in one year in the U.K. 19 and 21, as well as her two hit singles from 21, "Rolling in the Deep" and "Someone Like You", made her the first living artist with two top-five hits in both the UK Official Singles Chart and the Official Albums Chart simultaneously since the Beatles in 1964.

21’s third single, "Set Fire to the Rain", was also her third number one single in the America, making her the first artist in history with three consecutive no. 1’s at the Billboard Hot 100.

Adele is also the first female solo performer to have landed three consecutive no. 1 spot at the Billboard Hot 100 with three singles in the top 10 all at the same time. She is the first female artist with two albums in the top five of the Billboard 200 and two singles in the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 all at the same time.

21 remains the longest running number one album by a female solo artist both in the U.K. and U.S. Chart.

In 2011 and 2012, Billboard named Adele its Artist of the Year.

In 2013, Adele won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song for "Skyfall", written for Skyfall, the twenty-third installment of the James Bond film series.