Adele

Adele began dating charity executive Simon Konecki in 2012. The couple welcomed a son, Angelo, in October of that year. They later married in private. In 2019, the couple separated, and their divorce concluded in March 2021. She later started a relationship with American sports agent Rich Paul, announcing their engagement in August 2024.

Her family background was modest. Adele was raised primarily by her mother, Penny Adkins, who worked multiple jobs including furniture making and massage therapy. Her relationship with her father, Mark Evans, deteriorated after he left the family in her youth and later spoke to tabloid newspapers about her personal life.

Physical strain on her vocal cords has presented recurring health issues. In October 2011, a vocal-cord hemorrhage forced her to cancel international tour dates. She underwent laser microsurgery in Boston to repair the damage and made a full recovery. Similar vocal fatigue caused the cancellation of the final dates of her world tour at Wembley Stadium in 2017.

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins was born on May 5, 1988, in Tottenham, London. She began singing at four years old. As a young girl, she loved the Spice Girls and pop music. At fourteen, she discovered vintage records by Etta James and Ella Fitzgerald in a local shop. That moment shifted her perspective. She began studying jazz vocal techniques and practicing scales.

She enrolled at the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Classmates included Jessie J and Leona Lewis. For a school project, Adele recorded a three-song demo. A classmate posted the audio files on Myspace. The songs quickly gained attention from music executives. Four months after graduating in 2006, she signed a contract with XL Recordings and secured talent manager Jonathan Dickins.

Adele released her debut single, "Hometown Glory," in October 2007. She had written the song at sixteen about her home district of West Norwood. Her first studio album, 19, arrived in January 2008 and entered the British charts at number one. The album title reflected her age when writing the tracks.

Her American breakthrough followed later that year. On October 18, 2008, Adele performed "Chasing Pavements" and "Cold Shoulder" on Saturday Night Live. The episode drew high viewership due to an appearance by politician Sarah Palin. Overnight, her album jumped from number 40 to number one on iTunes. In early 2009, she won Grammy Awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Her second studio album, 21, arrived in early 2011. The songs drew heavily from a recent breakup, blending roots, soul, and pop styles. Producer Rick Rubin joined her team to shape the recording. The album produced global hit singles, including "Rolling in the Deep" and "Someone Like You."

The commercial response was substantial. The album topped charts in more than twenty-six countries and sold over thirty million copies worldwide. At the 2012 Grammy Awards, Adele won all six categories for which she was nominated, including Album, Record, and Song of the Year. The record helped boost physical album sales across the music industry.

In 2012, Adele co-wrote and recorded "Skyfall" alongside producer Paul Epworth. The track served as the theme for the twenty-third James Bond film. The performance won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and a Brit Award for British Single of the Year. In late 2013, she received an MBE from Prince Charles for services to music.

Her third studio album, 25, debuted in November 2015 after a multi-year hiatus. The lead single, "Hello," sold over one million digital downloads in the United States in its first week. The album broke first-week sales records in the United Kingdom and the United States. In 2017, she won Album, Record, and Song of the Year once again at the Grammy Awards.

In November 2021, Adele released her fourth album, 30. The record explored themes of divorce, maternal anxiety, and personal healing. Its lead track, "Easy on Me," broke single-day streaming records and earned a Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance.

She transitioned to long-term live residencies in the years that followed. In late 2022, she opened Weekends with Adele at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. In 2024, she completed an open-air residency in Munich in a custom-built arena before announcing plans for an extended break from live performance.