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not completely believing they were serious or
possibly even real, but eventually agreed to a
meeting. She was signed immediately.
The following year (2007) she released
her break-out track
Hometown Glory
, which
is fascinating to listen to now: Adele was
still honing her sound, and the influences
of R’n’B and jazz (particularly the scat-
singing towards the song’s conclusion) are
identifiable between the swelling chorus
and tender delivery for which she is known
now. The song rippled through the industry’s
awareness, and by early 2008, hype was
burgeoning: Adele was tipped to be the next
big thing. When her album
19
was released at
the end of January, it went straight to number
one on the UK charts. She was poised to
break into America with an enormous US tour
booked for the end of that year.
But it wasn’t to be: the combination of
a pernicious relationship and the singer’s
struggle with alcoholism resulted in her
cancelling the dates – a decision for which
she has expressed regret and incredulity in
subsequent interviews. Various singles from
19
charted in countries all over the world,
and
Hometown Glory
was nominated for a
Grammy for Best Female Pop Performance.
Adele now set her sights on her second
album, the inspiration for which came from
the break-up of her relationship and
her determination to overcome
the crutch of alcohol which
had propped her through the
romance’s dissolution.
21
was released at
the beginning of 2011 to
almost instant worldwide
ovation. It soared to
number one in more
than 26 countries,
including the US,
UK and of course
Australia; we were
responsible for
more than a million
of the eventual 30
million sales across
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the world, sending it platinum 15
times. Singles
Rolling in the Deep
,
Someone Like You
and
Set Fire
to the Rain
were ubiquitous but
there was no backlash to be seen,
and the ‘Adele Live’ tour quickly
sold out.
Just before she was due to
begin her US dates in October
of 2011, without warning
Adele suffered a laryngeal
haemorrhage and underwent
sudden microsurgery;
convalescing back
in Britain, she
discovered
that
21
was
nominated
for six Grammy Awards.
She decided the 2012
Grammy ceremony
would be her live
comeback, and made it
so in spectacular fashion:
after performing
Rolling
in the Deep
, Adele went on to
win in every single category for
which she had been nominated,
including Album of the Year.
Now, after a quiet hiatus (the
singer did release the theme song
for James Bond flick
Skyfall
in
January 2014, for which she won
her tenth Grammy Award for Best
Song Written for Visual Media),
this month we will be hearing
Adele’s third album, entitled
25
.
Lead single
Hello
immediately
broke the Vevo record for single
clip views in a day (previously
held by Taylor Swift for
Bad
Blood
), and the song
cannonballed way
up the top of the charts
worldwide. It’s a perfectly
fitting beginning to what
promises to be another
gem in the singer’s crown;
do not miss
25
, due in-store
on November 20.
25
by Adele
is out on
November 20.