Adele

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Adele

Q: What is Adele best known for?

English pop singer-songwriter Adele was one of the most broadly popular performers of her generation, known for her soulful, emotive voice and traditionally crafted songs. Her best-selling albums included 19 (2008), 21 (2011), and 25 (2015).

Q: What was Adele’s early life like?

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins was born in 1988 and raised in London by a single mother. In her early teens, Adele began to consider a music career. While she attended a secondary school for the performing arts, a friend posted her songs on Myspace . In 2006, shortly after graduating, Adele signed a recording contract.

Q: What are Adele’s major accomplishments?

With her first album, 19 (2008), Adele became known for her powerful voice and for songs that channeled her intimate emotional experiences (especially heartbreak). Her success continued with the hugely popular 21 (2011), which was credited with helping to revive the recording industry, and 25 (2015). For her work, Adele received numerous Grammy Awards .

British singer-songwriter

Also known as: Adele Laurie Blue Adkins

Written by John M. Cunningham

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Jan 5, 2025 • Article History

Quick Facts

Byname of:: Adele Laurie Blue Adkins

Born:: May 5, 1988, Tottenham, London, England (age 36)

Awards And Honors:: Grammy Award for best new artist; Grammy Award (2017); Grammy Award (2011); Grammy Award (2008)

Notable Works:: “19”; “21”

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What is Adele best known for?

What was Adele’s early life like?

What are Adele’s major accomplishments?

News •

Independent record labels like the one that launched Adele are under pressure, coalition says • Dec. 31, 2024, 12:46 AM ET (Globe and Mail)

‘I don’t want a fight’: the Brazilian samba composer suing Adele for plagiarism • Dec. 24, 2024, 9:42 PM ET (The Guardian)

Brazilian judge orders Adele song removed over plagiarism claim • Dec. 19, 2024, 6:22 AM ET (Reuters)

Adele told to pull song after Brazilian composer cries copycat • Dec. 18, 2024, 2:02 AM ET (The Telegraph)

Brazilian judge orders Adele song be pulled globally over plagiarism claim • Dec. 17, 2024, 6:46 AM ET (The Guardian)

Adele (born May 5, 1988, Tottenham, London, England) is an English pop singer and songwriter whose soulful emotive voice and traditionally crafted songs made her one of the most broadly popular performers of her generation. Adkins was raised by a young single mother in various working-class neighbourhoods of London. As a child, she enjoyed singing contemporary pop music and learned to play the guitar and the clarinet. However, it was not until her early teens, when she discovered rhythm-and-blues singer Etta James and other mid-20th-century performers, that she began to consider a musical career. While she honed her talents at ...(100 of 652 words)

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