Who is Adele?

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins - Adele - is an English singer-songwriter.  In 2006, after completing her studies at the BRIT School (a performing arts and technology school just outside of London), Adele signed on with XL Recordings.  

Success -

19 (Debut album, 2008) ... 8x Platinum in the UK/3x Platinum in the U.S.

Guest appearance on Saturday Night Live (2008) 

21 (Second album, 2011) ... 17x Platinum in the UK/Diamond in the U.S.

21 - Best selling album worldwide in 2011 & 2012 ... Over 31 million in sales

25 (Third album, 2015) ... Best selling album ... Diamond in the U.S.

Honors -

Referenced in the Guinness Book of World Records

First female artist to have two albums in the Top 5 of Billboard 200*

*At the same time

First female artist to have two singles in the Top 5 of Billboard Hot 100*

*At the same time

First female in the history of Billboard Hot 100 "to have three simultaneous top 10 singles as a lead artist" (Wikipedia)

2011/2012/2016 - Artist of the Year by Billboard

2012/2016 - Songwriter of the Year at Ivor Novello Awards

2012 - No. 5 on VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Music

2012/2016 - "One of the most influential people in the world" (Time)

"21 is the longest-running number one album by a female solo artist in the history of the UK and U.S. Album Charts." (Wikipedia)

"Hello" (lead single from 25) - First song in the U.S. to sell over one million digital copies within first week 

Awards -

Brit Awards Critics Choice (2007)

BBC Sound of 2008 poll*

*Annual poll of music critics and industry figures 

*Find the most promising new music talent 

Grammy/International Awards - 

2 Grammy Awards - Best New Artist & Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (2009)

6 Grammy Awards - especially Album of the Year (2012)

2 Brit Awards - especially British Album of the Year (2012)

3 American Music Awards - especially Favorite Pop/Rock Album (2012)

5 Grammy Awards - especially Album of the Year (2015) 

4 Brit Awards - especially British Album of the Year (2015)

"Skyfall" (2012)

- Co-wrote and recorded for the Skyfall James Bond film

- Academy Award, Grammy Award, and Golden Globe 

- Best Original Song

- Brit Award for British Single of the Year

Adele Live 2016 - Finale concerts at Wembley Stadium in 2017

Adele Live 2016 - Broke attendance records in the UK, Australia, U.S.

The image you see here was taken on June 28, 2017 at Wembley Stadium.  The total attendance was 98,000 - "a stadium record for a UK music event." (Wikipedia)

To date, Adele has sold over 120 million records - one of the world's best-selling music artists.

Adele's successes, honors, and awards are as extensive as her musical background.  A detailed read about her career background can be found on Wikipedia.

This post truly is dedicated to Adele but I cannot help but note two points of intrigue -

Duran Duran recorded the theme song, "A View to a Kill," for the 1985 James Bond film of the same name.

Duran Duran played at Wembley Stadium during their Astronaut tour and had no mention of breaking attendance records.  I will always remember, however, how excited the band was to be playing at Wembley.

Side note -

In the British music industry, Wembley Stadium must be a coveted venue for performance.

My overall take away -

Adele is a relatively young talent - 31 years old (May 5, 1988).  Her achievements leading to the present time are profoundly impressive and shocking in a most positive way.  Her career leading to the present is equally impressive...as are her early influences.  I could easily go on for some time to fill out her career background but that would make for an exhaustive post, so follow the "detailed read" link above.

I know of Adele but after writing this post, I am eager to know more through her music.