Adele

Adele's evocative vocals, confessional songwriting, and soul-infused sound could have easily landed her at the top of the charts in the 1960s, decades before her birth. As a teenager, the British chanteuse entered the music scene with the critically lauded, neo-soul debut album, 19 (2008), that spawned the international hit "Chasing Pavements." The post-breakup ballad, inspired by Adele's own heartbreak, launched her promising career all the way to winning a Grammy Award in 2009 for Best New Artist. Celebrated by millions for her self-assured and fun-loving personality as much as her artistry, Adele defied the conventions of a mainstream pop star. Adele conquered the charts once again with her second album, 21 (2011), which broke records all over the world and established her as a compelling artist and a legend in the making. That was topped yet again by the staggering success of 2015's 25, which broke first-week sales records when it sold over 3 million copies in the United States alone in only seven days.

Adele was born Adele Laurie Blue Adkins on May 5, 1988 in London, England and began singing at the age of four. Inspired by an eclectic mix of musical artists, from Etta James to the Spice Girls, Adele attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in London, which also boasted chart-topping alumni such as Amy Winehouse and Leona Lewis. Adele considered going into the music business as an A&R (Artists and Repertoire) person, someone who launched other people's careers. However, not even Adele could deny how much talent and star potential she possessed. She started writing songs at 16 and recorded a three-song demo for a class project. A friend posted the demos on networking site MySpace where it caught the attention of music label XL Recordings. Adele's meeting with the label eventually led to her signing a contract and releasing her first single in the U.K., "Hometown Glory," the very first song she had ever written.

In 2008, Adele released her debut album, which she titled 19 to reflect her age when she wrote it. The album yielded the massive hit "Chasing Pavements," a ballad inspired by a real-life breakup. Adele told Rolling Stone magazine that after discovering her boyfriend had cheated on her, she punched him in the face and was thrown out of the pub. The phrase "chasing pavements" came to her while she ran home, where she proceeded to write the song that became her breakout track. It landed Adele on the U.S. Billboard charts and turned her into an internationally renowned music sensation. Adele made her American television debut that same year, chatting with the female hosts of "The View" (ABC, 1997- ) and appearing as the musical guest on seminal late night comedy series "Saturday Night Live" (NBC, 1975- ). Her music was featured in a number of mainstream Hollywood projects, from the medical drama series "Grey's Anatomy" (ABC, 2005- ), to the sci-fi feature "I Am Number Four" (2011).

At the 51st Grammy Awards in 2009, Adele beat out teen superstars the Jonas Brothers and fellow British singer Duffy for Best New Artist. She also picked up a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Chasing Pavements." That same year, Adele was a headlining performer alongside Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, Jordin Sparks, Miley Cyrus and Leona Lewis on "VH1 Divas 2009," a star-studded benefit concert for the cable network's Save the Music Foundation. In the midst of Adele's Stateside popularity surge, famed photographer Annie Leibovitz photographed the singer for Vogue magazine. The stunning photograph, however, was publicly criticized for not featuring enough of Adele's curvy figure. Some blamed the fashion magazine, notorious for using rail-thin models and actresses, for choosing a photo of a way-too-covered-up Adele in a pose that seemingly contorted her voluptuous frame. In 2011, Adele released her sophomore album, 21, again signaling her age and a new chapter in her life. Unlike her soulful, R&B-inspired debut, Adele's second album was deeply rooted in contemporary pop music. The lead single "Rolling in the Deep" featured a bluesy, gospel sound and helped 21 land at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 200 chart. The album also made music history in her native United Kingdom, where she beat Madonna's record set in 1990 as the first female solo artist with the most consecutive weeks spent at No. 1. Following the international success of the album, Adele took an extended breather, releasing only the James Bond theme "Skyfall," which won the 2012 Academy Award for Best Original Song. In October 2015, a teaser commercial appeared on the British version of "The X Factor" (ITV 2004- ), consisting of 30 seconds of the song "Hello" against a blank screen. The song was an immediate international hit upon its release the following week, setting the stage for the unprecedented success of Adele's third album, 25. In the first week following its release on November 20, 2015, the album sold 3.38 million copies in the United States alone, shattering the Soundscan-era record previously held by N'Sync's No Strings Attached. By Marc Cuenco