Adele Laurie Blue Adkins MBE (born 5 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. After graduating from the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in 2006, she signed with XL Recordings following a demo posted on Myspace. Her debut album, 19, released in 2008, was certified seven times platinum in the UK and three times platinum in the US. It included the song "Hometown Glory," written at age 16 about her London suburb West Norwood. Adele won the Brit Awards "Critics' Choice" award in 2007 and the BBC Sound of 2008 poll. She earned Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 51st Grammy Awards in 2009.
Her second album, 21, released in 2011, received critical acclaim and won six Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. It is certified 16 times platinum in the UK and diamond in the US, with over 31 million copies sold worldwide. Adele set multiple Billboard records with this album, including simultaneous top 10 singles and albums. In 2012, she released "Skyfall" for the James Bond film, winning an Academy Award, a Grammy, and a Golden Globe. After a break, she released her third album, 25, in 2015, which became the best-selling album of the year, broke first-week sales records, and earned five Grammys. Adele has sold over 100 million records and was named Artist of the Year by Billboard in 2011, 2012, and 2016. Time magazine listed her among the most influential people in 2012 and 2016.
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