As a teenager, Adele Laurie Blue Adkins left her comprehensive school in Balham to attend the Brit School - Amy Winehouse’s alma mater – and write songs. She wrote her first song Daydreamer and was contacted by a talent scout at XL Recordings. She went on to sign with the label and released her debut album 19 in 2008.
The first of three albums, it was a commercial success in Britain. It was also a cultural one: lauded for its supple phrasing, tasteful arrangements and a knack for channelling her intimate emotional experiences into songs with wide resonance.
A major breakthrough for a young singer in a world of power ballads. Her songs topped the charts in the US, where she has a huge following of fans who adore her vocals and the depth of her harmonies.
Her second album 21, which was released in 2011, was a worldwide smash hit, selling more than 100 million copies. Its first single, "Someone Like You" spent five weeks at the top of the charts.
The song drew comparisons with Whitney Houston and Shania Twain and the accompanying video was a global hit. The song also won the Grammy for best pop performance and was a critical and commercial success in the United States.
She then toured the world in 2017, performing to millions of fans at festivals such as Glastonbury. However, she had to cancel a number of shows after suffering a voice injury.
