Hello: A Friendly Greeting for All Occasions

Weaving classic soul, confessional songwriting, and pop polish, English singer Adele has become a global phenomenon, breaking records and collecting accolades since the 2010s with her powerhouse vocals and all-too-relatable songs. Beginning with her 2011 sophomore set, 21, no singer could compare in terms of sheer sales or stardom and Adele existed in a different stratosphere than her British or American peers, selling tens of millions of albums at a time when many musicians...

Weaving classic soul, confessional songwriting, and pop polish, English singer Adele has become a global phenomenon, breaking records and collecting accolades since the 2010s with her powerhouse vocals and all-too-relatable songs. Beginning with her 2011 sophomore set, 21, no singer could compare in terms of sheer sales or stardom and Adele existed in a different stratosphere than her British or American peers, selling tens of millions of albums at a time when many musicians struggled just to get to a million. The key to Adele's appeal lay in her sly, subtle execution, first heard on her 2008 debut LP, 19 (named, like her subsequent albums, for her age upon the time of its creation), and its U.K. Top Ten single "Chasing Pavements." However, it was 21 and its hit singles "Rolling in the Deep," "Someone Like You," and "Set Fire to the Rain" that established her as an artist of a generation. In 2015, she continued to break records with her third effort, 25. Ushered in by the global smash "Hello," the set became the best-selling album in the world in 2015, staying at number one in the U.S. for ten consecutive weeks and taking home Grammy Awards for Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance. After an extended break, she returned in 2021 with her fourth LP, the aptly titled 30, which again proved a Brit Award- and Grammy-winning global chart-topper, paving the way for her first Las Vegas residency. Less