Adele

For other uses, see Adele (disambiguation).

Adele
MBE
Adele smiling
Adele in 2021
Born
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins

(1988-05-05) 5 May 1988 (age 36)
London, England
Alma materBRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology
OccupationSinger-songwriter
Years active2006–present
Works
Spouses
Simon Konecki
​
​
(m. 2018; div. 2021)​
Partner(s)Rich Paul (2021–present; engaged)
Children1
AwardsFull list
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Labels
Websiteadele.com
Signature

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins MBE (/əˈdɛl/;[2] born 5 May 1988), known mononymously as Adele, is an English singer-songwriter. She is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. Her accolades include 16 Grammy Awards, 12 Brit Awards (including three for British Album of the Year), an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award.

After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006,[3] Adele signed a record deal with XL Recordings. Her debut album, 19, was released in 2008 and included the UK top-five singles "Chasing Pavements" and "Make You Feel My Love". 19 was named in the top 20 best-selling debut albums ever in the UK.[4][5] She was honoured with the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. Adele released her second studio album, 21, in 2011. It became the world's best-selling album of the 21st century. 21 holds the record for the top-performing album in US chart history, topping the Billboard 200 for 24 weeks, with the singles "Rolling in the Deep", "Someone like You", and "Set Fire to the Rain" heading charts worldwide, becoming her signature songs. The album received a record-tying six Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. In 2012, Adele released "Skyfall", a soundtrack single for the James Bond film Skyfall, which won her the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Adele's third studio album, 25, was released in 2015, breaking first-week sales records in the UK and US. In the US, it remains the only album to sell over three million copies in a week. 25 earned her five Grammy Awards, including the Album of the Year. The lead single, "Hello", achieved huge success worldwide. Her fourth studio album, 30, released in 2021, contains "Easy on Me", which won her a Grammy Award in 2023. 25 and 30 became the best-selling albums worldwide, including the US and the UK, in 2015 and 2021, respectively. As of 2023, all of her studio albums, except 19, have topped the yearly best-selling albums chart worldwide in the 21st century.

Adele is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 120 million records worldwide. The best-selling female artist of the 21st century in the UK,[6] she was named the best-selling artist of the 2010s in the US.[7] Her studio albums 21 and 25 were the top two best-selling albums of the 2010s in the UK and both are listed among the best-selling albums in UK chart history, while in the US both are certified Diamond, the most of any artist who debuted in the 21st century.

  1. ^ Genre citations:
    • "Pop singer Adele parts with husband". Reuters. 20 April 2019. Archived from the original on 21 April 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
    • Jeffries, David. "Adele: AllMusic". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
    • "Adele | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Archived from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  2. ^ Kennedy, John R. (2 November 2022). "Adele Praises Fan For Saying Her Name 'Perfectly'". iHeartRadio.ca. Archived from the original on 13 September 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "After 37 weeks, Ed Sheeran's = moves ahead of Adele's 30 to top 2020s sales rankings". Music Week. Archived from the original on 6 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  5. ^ Moore, Sam (14 October 2022). "The top-selling debut albums in UK chart history have been revealed". NME. Archived from the original on 4 April 2024. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  6. ^ Brandle, Lars (9 March 2021). "Adele Is the U.K.'s Best-Selling Female Artist of the 21st Century". Billboard. Archived from the original on 3 January 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  7. ^ Rolli, Bryan. "Eminem Was The Bestselling Male Artist Of The 2010s". Forbes. Archived from the original on 26 October 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2023.