There’s no doubt that Adele is one of the most famous and loved singers in the world. Selling over 120 million records worldwide, she is one of today’s best-selling artists. Adele has always been on top of the charts every time she releases new music, infamously known for taking a long hiatus from the industry. She has officially kicked off her new album, 30, with the ballad “Easy On Me,” the award-winning singer’s first new song since the release of 25 in 2015. But her story of fame is one that deserves more attention.
Born on May 5, 1988, Adele Laurie Blue Adkins grew up in the Tottenham district of London, England. Growing up, Adele moved around England until her college years when she got into the prestigious BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon, from where she graduated in May 2006. In September of the same year, Adele recorded a three-song demo and handed it off to a friend, who then uploaded it on MySpace. Her music generated a lot of great feedback, which led to a phone call from XL Recordings, a record label. Adele took her friend to the meeting since she doubted the validity of the offer. Adele was signed to the label in September 2006 after the offer was confirmed to be genuine.
After almost an entire year of writing and recording, Adele released her debut song, Hometown Glory, in October 2007. In multiple interviews, Adele has talked about how she wrote this song when she was 16 after her mother urged her to go to university in London’s West Norwood area. Adele had risen to the top of the UK charts by 2008 and was declared the number-one expected breakthrough act of 2008 in an annual BBC poll. She was also selected as the inaugural recipient of the Brit Awards Critics’ Choice.
On the 14th of January 2008, she released her second single, “Chasing Pavements,” two weeks before her debut album. The song charted at number two in the United Kingdom for four weeks. The album, 19, which was titled after her age at the time she penned and created several of the tracks, debuted at number one in the UK charts. According to The Times Encyclopedia of Modern Music, 19 was named an “essential” blue-eyed soul recording.” After receiving multiple awards for her album, she signed a record deal with Columbia records for her debut in the U.S, and started a short North American tour in March 2008, during which her album was released in the U.S. From the start, the press showcased Adele as a future icon with Billboard magazine stating that “Adele truly has potential to become among the most respected and inspiring international artists of her generation.”
After hitting major success with her album and embarking on multiple successful tours, her career went through a rough patch. On top of facing drinking and relationship problems, Adele’s attempt to break into the American music scene in October 2008 was a flop. But the turning point of her career appeared when she was booked on NBC’s Saturday Night Live in 2008. Her appearance gave the program a stunning 17 million viewers, the best in 14 years and the following day, 19 topped the iTunes charts and reached number 11 on the Billboard 200. Winning Best New Artist at the 51st Grammy Awards in 2009, she went on a release break until 2011 when her second album 21 was released with the title song, Someone Like You.
When she released her album, 25 in 2015, her first album sales were like no other and the title, Hello, topped world charts for a stunning 10 weeks. According to the Business Insider, this album was certified diamond for selling more than 10 million copies less than a year after its release. After winning a number of awards including Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 2017, Adele went into another hiatus. Taking a break for a little over 6 years, Adele went through mental, physical and personal changes in her life, including a massive weight-loss program which she talked about with Oprah; ““I’m not shocked or even fazed by it, because my body has been objectified my entire career,” Adele said. … “I’m either too big or I’m either too small.” Releasing 30 on November 19, 2021, her title song, which was pre-released in October Easy on Me, has been number 1 on the Billboard Global Charts and has drawn over 178 million streams in less than two months. The classic-Adele ballad talks about her divorce with her ex-husband, Simon Konecki, and discusses motherhood and her scrutiny under fame.
Adele is a legend in the music industry and there’s no doubt that her music will continue to succeed as long as she is active. Her songs, hitting an emotional tone both with the music and lyrics will always be unique to her. The story behind her career is one of struggle, and success and has shaped and will continue to shape her music.