Adele

Biography

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, a singer, songwriter, and of late a pop-culture icon, was born in Tottenham, north London, England in 1988. She graduated from the BRIT School for Performing Arts & Technology in May 2006 (later telling a reporter for The Sun that the school is “a great place and the support you get is amazing.”) Among her influences: the Spice Girls, Pink, Ella Fitzgerald, and Etta James. In 2008 she had a great success with her debut album. 19 (named for her age). The sound of the album is blue-eyed soul. Its two standout sings are Hometown Glory and Chasing Pavements. By July 2009 the album had sold, worldwide, 2.2 million copies. She followed it up with the similarly titled 21. Its songs have a much more Nashville/country sound to them than did those of the first album. The second album’s tracks include Rolling in the Deep and Someone Like You.