Adele
Aug 1, 2011
Adele first hit the music scene in January of 2008 when she released her debut album titled 19. The album's lead single "Chasing Pavements" debuted at number one on the UK charts on its first week and has been certified four times platinum in the UK. The album helped Adele be the first recipient of the BRIT Awards Critics' Choice and was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2008 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2008. At the 2009 Grammy Awards, Adele won the awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
Adele released her second and most recent album 21 in January 2011 in the UK, and February in the US. The album was a critical and commercial success, selling 208,000 copies in its first week in the UK and debuting at number one on the UK Albums Chart, a position it managed to hold for sixteen weeks. In the UK, 21 has been certified eight times Platinum for shipment of 2.4 million units. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in the US, selling 352,000 copies in its first week and has charted at number one in 17 European countries and the US.
The first single is a revenge tune "Rolling in the Deep", Adele described it as a "dark bluesy gospel disco tune. The single was a major success and was well received by critics. It has reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. By May 2011 "Rolling in The Deep" had reached the top of the Billboard 100 as the album which had sold 1.7 million U.S. copies had occupied the top of the Billboard 200 for 9 (not all consecutive) weeks.
Adele's new single "Someone Like You" is a piano ballad and lyrically the song talks of coming to terms with a broken relationship. Adele said, "When I was writing it I was feeling pretty miserable and pretty lonely, which I guess kind of contradicts 'Rolling in the Deep'." The track features a strong vocal performance throughout and has climactic points and has also been compared to the single "Hometown Glory" from the album 19.
To promote the album, Adele performed in Europe and North America on her Adele Live tour. The tour has become a profound success with the entire North American leg sold out. After coming down with severe laryngitis Adele had to take some time off and will be continuing on the tour this summer.
