Coleman
Journalism
15 November 2012
Adele:
Rise of a Superstar
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins
was born on May 5, 1988 in North London, England where she was also raised. She
is an only child. Her mother, Penny Adkins, who never married her father, had
Adele at 18 years of age. Her father, Mark, who was Welsh, left the family when
Adele was only 4 years old. He tried to stay in contact with her up until her
teenage years, when they became distant. He constantly battled with alcoholism, which caused their
father-daughter relationship to diminish.
Despite troubles and letdowns, Penny
saw something special in her daughter. She enrolled her into the BRIT School
for Performing Arts & Technology. This is a free performing arts and
Technology School, and is an independent, city funded college in Croydon,
England for ages 14-19 . This school has notable alumni such as Adele
herself, Amy Winehouse, Leona Lewis, Jessie J, and many others.
The
school might’ve been the best thing to happen to her; it was a factor in
sparking an illustrious career. During School, Adele recorded a demo with three
songs, and posted it on her MySpace page. Executives at XL Recordings heard the
demo. They contacted her, and decided
to give her a record deal in November 2006; four months after she graduated
school. She recorded her first album 19, at
19 years of age, and it hit stores in 2008. This album included songs "Hometown Glory" and "Chasing Pavements"; her rise to fame began. The album went from no. 40 on iTunes to no. 1—in less than a day.
The real beginning of superstardom began when Adele released the album 21 in 2011, which also represented the age that she recorded it. Songs like "Rolling in The Deep", and "Someone Like You" helped the album sell 352,000 copies in the first week. She broke the record for a female artist staying at the no. 1 spot for 11 weeks.
Adele has been nominated for 139 awards, and she has won 78. Here are the American based awards that she received: American Music Awards (2011)
:Favorite Adult
Contemporary Artist,
Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist, Favorite Pop/Rock Album—(21);
Billboard Music Awards (2012):
Top Artist of the Year,
Top Female Artist of the Year,
Top Billboard 200 Artist of the Year,
Top Digital Songs, Artist of the Year,
Top Radio Songs Artist of the Year,
Top Hot 100 Artist of
the Year, Top Digital Media
Artist of the Year,
Top Pop Artist of the Year,
Top Streaming Song of the Year
(Audio) –"Rolling in The Deep",
Top Alternative Song of the
Year—"Rolling in The Deep", Top Billboard 200 Album of the
Year—(21), Top Pop Album of the Year—(21); Grammy Awards(2009):
Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance—"Chasing Pavements",
Grammy Awards(2012): Album of the Year—(21), Best Pop Vocal Album—(21), Record of the Year—"Rolling in The Deep", Song of the Year—"Rolling in The Deep", Best Short Form Music Video—"Rolling in The Deep", Best Pop Solo Performance—"Someone Like You"; MTV Video Music Awards
(2011):Best Art Direction in a Video—"Rolling in The Deep", Best Cinematography in a Video—"Rolling in The Deep", Best Editing in a Video—"Rolling in The Deep".
Adele took a short break from her career to prepare for motherhood. On June 29, 2012, she posted that she was expecting baby number 1 with charity entrepreneur and fiance Simon Konecki, on her website. This sparked rumors that she would take a much longer 5 year break, in which she denied. She gave birth to their son on October 19, 2012, who is not yet named. Despite motherhood, Adele plans to get back in the studio. She recently recorded and released the single "Skyfall" as the main theme for the new James bond movie, Skyfall— the single went straight to the top of the iTunes charts.
As
far as Adele's career goes, I believe that she will have longevity. Although
she has broken out into the mainstream, she's one of the few who display real
unaltered talent. Many describe her voice as soulful, and beautiful. She
constantly pulls people in with her sound, and she has a unique quality that
will cause her to be remembered for ages to come.
Works Cited:
