Adele

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, born in Tottenham, London, is one of the most acclaimed British singer-songwriters of her generation, celebrated for a powerful, soulful voice rooted in R&B and soul traditions while crossing freely into pop and rock balladry. She rose to prominence with her debut album 19 in 2008, but it was her second record 21, written in the aftermath of a painful breakup, that turned her into a global phenomenon, propelled by songs like «Rolling in the Deep» and «Someone Like You».

Adele's songwriting is known for its raw emotional honesty, favoring live-sounding, piano- and guitar-driven arrangements that keep the focus on her voice rather than heavy production. Several of her albums are named after the age at which she wrote them — 19, 21, 25, 30 — marking distinct chapters of her life, from heartbreak to motherhood to divorce. Tracks such as «Hello», «Set Fire to the Rain», «When We Were Young» and «Easy On Me» became defining pop ballads of their eras.

Beyond her studio albums, Adele contributed the theme song «Skyfall» to the James Bond franchise, showing she is equally at home with sweeping orchestral arrangements and intimate, stripped-down performances. Her influence on contemporary confessional songwriting and pop balladry remains substantial.