Individuals with extraordinary abilities abound in this world. In their own kingdom, everyone is a king or queen, but the queen we’d like to focus on today is Adele. This iconic pop star’s name is so well-known that it’s improbable that anyone in the world hasn’t heard of her.
There have been many before Adele, but she is one-of-a-kind. So, what exactly is it about Adele that makes her so unique?
Is it her iconic Adele Chords or perhaps how she makes us feel when she sings?
Let’s find out.
Adele’s upbringing
Most times, when you are looking at someone’s success, it makes sense to take a few steps back and looking at how she started. Unlike most pop stars who look for a fancy stage name, Adele is her birth-given name. And it is a pretty memorable one for sure. Her full name is Adele Laurie Blue Adkins.
Adele is a Taurus born on May 5th, 1988, in London. Her mum, Penny Adkins, raised Adele alone after her dad, Marc Evans, left when she was two. This did not break her spirit as she began singing at the tender age of four.
Her upbringing was rather humbling and a massive part of her career as she constantly referred to her home in her music. One song in particular, ‘Hometown Glory.’ Besides singing, According to Chordify, Adele could play the guitar pretty well, mastering the art early on, playing and singing to her friends. She yet again referenced these good times in her song, ‘Million Years Ago.’
Adele graduated from BRIT School for Performing Arts & Technology in Croydon. And believe it or not, she was classmates to two other UK’s finest Jessie J and Leona Lewis. Her time here is what makes her so passionate about launching her career.
Adele’s breakthrough
Adele’s debut into the singing life was a bit of an accident. She had recorded two songs as a sing project, and the friend she sent it to posted the piece on myspace. Then it went viral, leading to her getting a call from one famous Richard Russell, the music label XL Recordings boss.
Well, this phone call seemed too good to be true to Adele because the only label she was familiar with was Virgin records. Regardless she went for that meeting, and as they say, the rest is history.
The start of her winning streak
Now, we all recall some of her songs in the album 21, but what shook the world was Rolling in the Deep, which was when Adele officially got introduced to the world. This album reached the top of the 100 Billboard charts six months after being released and stayed there for seven weeks!
Yes, you read right, SEVEN!
You would think that was it, but boy, are you wrong!
In that same year, 2011 January, Adele’s 21 albums hit number one on the Billboard 200 album charts. And this time, the album has owned the fort for 13 weeks at number one. A month later, she won six Grammys in one single night.
She racked up the award for the new artist, album, record, and song of the year. In 2012, 21 still held the number one spot for yet another 11 weeks.
Since then, Adele has bagged a total of 15 Grammys, 18 Billboard Music Awards, 11 Guinness World Records, and so many more. Currently, her list of wins stands at 86 plus an additional 150 nominations.
What makes Adele so unique?
From a business point of view, Adele is doing it big. She is selling albums and making memorable music, and people love it. But why is this so? What makes her special?
Perhaps these reasons might help shed some light on that.
Her unique voice
Adele’s voice is like none other. The moment she opens her mouth to sing, you will right away know it is the queen herself. It is mellow, deep, slow, and very comforting to hear, something you do not come across every day.
Her style of music
Adele is always inclined to acoustics, meaning her lives are nothing but exceptional. The center of her music is always her voice, such that when you listen to the songs she sings, the instruments are nothing but accompaniments.
The themes of her songs
Everyone is a fan of love songs that tell of all the heart tales, and Adele’s songs are just that. She is also famous for singing about breakups and change, which are also very personal issues to many. Even so, her songs comfort and empower anyone going through the issues she addresses in her songs.
She brought back piano ballads
‘Someone Like You,’ was the follow-up single after her iconic ‘Rolling in the Deep.’ What made it beloved by many is the style it was delivered in the vocal-and-piano ballad. Many may not have realized it, but this song opened doors to many artists who took up ballads in their albums. Bruno Mars came with his song ‘When I was your man,’ and Rihanna dropped hers, ‘Stay.’
We are not saying that these songs could not have made waves because they are already established artists. We strongly believe that Adele’s ingenuity made the world experience the words beyond just listening.
She leads a quiet, drama-free life
Gossip and success stories run the world, and Adele is inclined to offer us good news. She leads a very private life keeping what she does not want in the limelight private. She even sues one photographer for taking a photo of her son while they were out for a family date.
Adele was once married and finalized her divorce in March 2024, but all that was done on the down-low, how she likes it. Suppose this is one of the things that make her an exceptional artist.
Take away
Adele is an artist that we will all live to remember, not because she knows to play all the chords for guitar, but because she holds a particular part in our world. Indeed a force to reckon.
