April 11, 2017 | Miles Brucker

Little Known Facts About Adele


The award winning singer/songwriter has been dominating the music charts since her debut in 2008. The London born musician has been a musical staple ever since, winning a whopping 86 awards, and outselling her Billboard Top 100 competition combined, several times over.

Here are some facts you may not know about the musical titan!


Adele Facts

1. Feeling Blue

Adele's full name is Adele Laurie Blue Adkins.

Adele attends The BRIT Awards 2022 at The O2 Arena in London, England.Fred Duval, Shutterstock

2. Bad Dad

Adele's dad walked out on her and her mom when Adele was just 2 years old.

Adele arrives for the DFree, Shutterstock

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3. Early Bird Gets The Grammy

Adele started singing when she was just 4 years old. 10,000 hours and many, many more dollars have followed as a result.

Singer Adele performs onstage during The 58th GRAMMY AwardsLarry Busacca, Getty Images

4. Don't Read Into It

Adele has said she stopped reading books when she was 6 to focus on singing, just 2 years after she started singing. The last book she remembers reading was Roald Dahl's Matilda, a novel about a 4 year old girl who comes from a broken home but has a special gift. Sounds familiar…

Adele in the press room at the 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards.s_bukley, Shutterstock

5. Girl Power

Adele has said among her favourite artists growing up were the Spice Girls and Ella Fitzgerald. The Spice Girls hailed from Adele's hometown of London. Ella was referred to as the First Lady of Song. Way to pick good role models, Adele.The Spice Girls perform during the Closing Ceremony on Day 16 of the London 2012 Olympic GamesJeff J Mitchell, Getty Images

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6. Aged To Perfection

All of Adele's albums are named after the age she was when she wrote them. 19, 21, and 25 are her three studio albums. Something tells us 30 is going to be an amazing album with a lot of self-reflection, look for it in 2018.

Sign about Adeles new record, Adele 30, in Stockholm, SwedenJeppe Gustafsson, Shutterstock

7. Twenty-Six Countries

That's the number of countries where 21 (her second album) reached the number one spot. That's more countries than most people will ever visit in their lifetime. Many of those countries don't even speak English as their first language. Love, and more importantly the loss thereof, truly is a universal language.

B&W portrait of AdeleFernAWeonao, Flickr

8. Sweetest Devotion

Adele has stated that she used to drink 10 cups of tea a day with two sugars. She cut the tea out of her diet and credits her weight loss to the reduced sugar intake.

Adele - Live 2016, Glasgowmarcen27, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

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9. Shoot For The Stars

Adele's first taste of success came from MySpace, but it was actually a friend of hers who uploaded her singing to the once popular social media platform. A MySpace success story is probably the only thing Adele and Dane Cook have in common.

Adele performs at the Brit Awards 2008Gareth Cattermole, Getty Images

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10. Weeks on Top

Adele's second album 21 spent 23 weeks at the top of the UK Album Charts, back when there still was a UK. After 23 weeks, 21 made a graceful (Br)exit.

Adele attends The BRIT Awards 2012Gareth Cattermole, Getty Images

11. Live From New York (By Way Of London)

Adele has accredited her Saturday Night Live appearance in 2008 as a major factor in getting her career off the ground. The episode was watched by 17 million viewers, who had actually tuned in to watch then potential Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Sarah might have been able to see Russia from her house, but she couldn't see that Adele would be as big a star as she is now.

Adele performs on the Main Stage - 2008Rosie Greenway, Getty Images

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12. Not Live From New York (Or Any Other American City)

Adele cancelled her 2008 American tour to spend time with an ex-boyfriend, which she later said she regretted. Fans didn't seem to mind, as we're sure she was just doing research for her next album.

Adele arriving at the 2011 MTV Video Music AwardsJoe Seer, Shutterstock

13. Musical Chairs

Adele went to high school at the prestigious BRIT School and was friends with another famous singer, Jessie J. The school has many famous alumni including Imogen Heap and Amy Winehouse, though they did not attend the same years that Adele did.

Jessie J arrives for the VH1's 3rd Annual 'Dear Mama: A Love Letter to Moms' on May 3, 2018 in Los Angeles, CADFree, Shutterstock

14. Fan Girl

Adele has received fan mail from many people, most notably former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who thanked her for keeping peoples' spirits high during the economic recession. We're not entirely sure he's heard her music before.

Gordon Brown at a press conference - 2008Downing Street, Flickr

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15. I Found A Boy

Actually, she made one, giving birth to her son in 2012. Hopefully he treats women better than the men in Adele's past.

Adele arriving for the Brit Awards 2012 at the O2 arena, Greenwich, London. 21/02/2012Featureflash Photo Agency, Shutterstock

16. Rumor Has It

Adele kept her son's name a secret for 94 days after his birth. His name was discovered when she was seen wearing a necklace with the name Angelo in public.

Adele at the 54th Annual Grammy AwardsFeatureflash Photo Agency, Shutterstock

17. EnRiched Life

Adele was ranked as the sixth highest paid celebrity under 30 by Forbes in 2012, the same year her son was born.

Adele arrives to the 2013 Grammy AwardsDFree, Shutterstock

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18. Don't Take It All

Adele has been a long-time supporter of the Labor Party, but has said that she supports lower taxes for higher earners. She makes up for it by supporting charities with her time, not her money, and her time is extremely valuable these days.Adele attends the television show 2015! Menschen, Bilder, Emotionen - RTL Jahresrueckblick on December 6, 2015Sascha Steinbach, Getty Images

19. Moving on Down

Adele used to live in a 10-bedroom mansion, but she decided to move to a smaller home because she was only using 1 of those bedrooms. The other 9 possibly housed her huge award stash.

Adele at the 59th GRAMMY Awards held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, USA on February 12, 2017.Tinseltown, Shutterstock

20. Rolling In The Grammys

Adele has 11 Grammys to her name. While she's still a ways away from the all-time record of 31, she still has a very long career ahead of her. Maybe one day they'll change the name to Adeles.

Adele accepts the award for Record of the Year Kevork Djansezian, Getty Images

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21. Queen Adele

Adele is tied with Beyoncé for most categories won in one night at the Grammys. She took home a total of 6 Grammys in 2012, including Best Music Video for Rolling In The Deep. We're still waiting for Kanye West to interrupt someone's acceptance speech to remind us that Adele had one of the best music videos of all time. Of all time!

Adele, winner of the GRAMMYs for Record of the Year Kevork Djansezian, Getty Images

22. Not a Fan of the Razor

Adele a long period of not shaving her legs, she said she finally broke down because she thought people in the front row at her concerts might notice them when she runs up the stairs to the stage. When she was asked if her boyfriend minded, she said, “He has no choice. I’ll have no man telling me to shave my [redacted] legs. Shave yours.”

Adele performs on stage during the BRIT Awards 2016Ian Gavan, Getty Images

23. Broken Record

Along with all her other awards, Adele holds 3 Guinness World Records. She set those records back in 2012 when 21 was released. We get it, Adele. You're amazing.

Adele at the 54th Annual Grammy AwardsFeatureflash Photo Agency,Shutterstock

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24. Romantically Inked

Adele has five tattoos: Two on her left wrist, one on each hand, one behind her right ear, and one on her back. They all have a special meaning to her, though she hasn't publicly shared them.

Adele performs onstage during The 59th GRAMMY AwardsKevin Winter, Getty Images

25. For The Love of Your Child

Adele’s heavy-drinking inspired the creativity behind 21, but she says she’s put that behind her now that she has a son.

“Having a hangover with a child is torture. Just imagine an annoying three-year-old who knows something’s wrong; it’s hell…I can see from an outsider’s perspective that I will never write songs as good as the ones that are on 21, but I’m not as indulgent as I was then, and I don’t have time to fall apart like I did then. I was completely off my face writing that album, and a drunk tongue is an honest one. I would drink two bottles of wine, and I would chain-smoke…But since I’ve had my baby, I’m not as carefree as I used to be. I’m scared of a lot of things now because I don’t want to die; I want to be around for my kid.”

We respect your life decisions and believe you’ll still be writing awesome music!

Adele arriving at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards at the LA Live on August 28, 2011 in Los Angeles, CAKathy Hutchins, Shutterstock

26. That's It, I Quit

In 2011, Adele had to have throat surgery, which her doctors blamed on her smoking habit. In 2015, she finally kicked the habit. She admitted that she thought her smoking would eventually kill her. We think we speak for everyone, including your doctors, when we say we're glad she quit.

Adele For Vogue In 2021Condé Nast (through Vogue Taiwan), CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

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27. FemiNice!

Adele spoke about feminist in 2015, stating that she believes in equality for everyone regardless of race, sex, or gender.

Adele performs live on stage during the television show 2015Sascha Steinbach, Getty Images

28. Unconditional Love

Adele has a Dachshund named Louis Armstrong. That's one source of love that will never knowingly break her heart.Adele arriving for the Brit Awards 2012 at the O2 arena, Greenwich, London.Featureflash Photo Agency, Shutterstock

29. Self-Love

Adele has said her goal in life is to never be skinny. She believes music should be made for the ears, not the eyes. Yep, she can be more awesome.

Adele performs at Domain Stadium on February 28, 2017Paul Kane, Getty Images

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30. Hometown Glory

Adele has said she doesn't like flying, and gets homesick often. The title of her debut track makes a lot more sense now.

Adele 'Adele Live 2016' - NashvilleKristopher Harris, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

31. Rockstar

Adele doesn't need peace and quiet to make music. In fact, she's at her most creative when she's had a few too many to drink. Don't we all do some of our best work when we've had some liquid courage?

Adele arriving at the 2011 MTV Video Music AwardsKathy Hutchins, Shutterstock

32. Not Right As Rain

Despite being a global superstar, Adele still suffers from stage fright, often experiencing panic attacks and even vomiting before her shows.

Adele performing a tribute to George Michael Kevork Djansezian, Getty Images

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33. Tweet mishaps

Adele’s management team decided to ban her from accessing her own Twitter account because she was sending out drunk tweets. “I mean I'm not a drinker any more, but when Twitter first came out I was, like, drunk tweeting, and nearly put my foot in it quite a few times.”

The new system meant that she could only publish a tweet after going “through, like, two people, and it has to be signed off by someone.”

She later admitted that she now has a secret Twitter account for drunk tweeting.

Adele at the 85th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles. February 24, 2013 Los AngelesFeatureflash Photo Agency, Shutterstock

34. Skyfall

It's rumored that it took Adele only 10 minutes to record the vocals for the Skyfall song. Producer Paul Epworth has denied this, but we think he's just jealous.

Adele Concert PosterFlickr, Montreal Concert Poster Archive

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4


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