Vital Stats
Born 5 May 1988
Star sign Taurus
Age 23
You know her from the music charts, which she’s been dominating with tracks including ‘Someone Like You’

BACKGROUND
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins was born in North London. She knew from the age of four that she wanted to be a singer. The star enrolled in the BRIT School in Croydon, the very same perfor ming arts academy from which Leona Lewis and Amy Winehouse graduated.

In 2007 Adele’s track ‘Hometown Glor y’ was discovered on MySpace by record execs and her career took off. The song was released on radio and the then newcomer went on to win the first Critic’s Choice award at the Brit Awards. Her single ‘Chasing Pavements’ followed soon after and she became unstoppable. Hit after hit has since followed.

BIG BREAK
Like so many other aspiring stars, Adele released her first songs on MySpace. There they caught the attention of the top dogs at XL Recordings, the company who signed Prodigy and Radiohead. They quickly took the talented singer under their wing, releasing her single ‘Hometown Glory’ (which she wrote at the age of 16) to critical acclaim. In 2008 Colombia Records joined XL Recordings to represent her.

ADELE ON…

PERFORMING AT MUSIC FESTIVALS
‘I will not do festivals. The thought of an audience that big frightens the life out of me. I don’t think the music would work either. It’s all too slow.’

HER LYRICS
‘I like pouring my heart out on a record as I find it comforting. It feels a bit anonymous when I’ve put it in a song and it’s very cheap therapy.’

HER SUCCESS
‘It’s pretty overwhelming, very extreme. I wasn’t ever expecting any success like this.’

NEXT UP
Rumours are circulating that Adele will be recording the theme song for the next James Bond film.

BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW…

• Adele is the first woman to have two singles and two albums in the top five of the UK charts at the same time!
• Beyoncé Knowles and Kanye West are just two of Adele’s biggest celebrity fans.
• Adele’s first single, ‘Hometown Glory’, has been used in TV shows including So You Think You Can Dance, Skins and Grey’s Anatomy.