The Voice Behind Breakout Star: Adele

Since her debut album 19 was released in 2008, British singer-songwriter Adele has been dominating the world of pop music with her powerful voice and soulful lyrics. Her second album of great songs, 21, debuted at number one on the Billboard Charts when it was released in 2011, propelled by the megahit power ballad “Someone Like You” – likely to be one of best breakup songs of all-time. (You know you’re more likely to belt out “Someone Like You” in the shower than “How’s It Gonna Be” by Third Eye Blind!)

Adele’s performance of “Someone Like You” at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards was one of the show’s most memorable, even inspiring fellow pop star Britney Spears to get teary-eyed in the audience. In November 2011, Saturday Night Live used “Someone Like You” in a sketch where host Emma Stone and other cast members all broke down crying in their office as they lip-synced to the song, which helped them get in touch with their own emotional problems.

Adele dished about her now-famous ex and explained the “Someone Like You” meaning and lyric translation in Interview magazine: “Even though on some songs I’m really portraying him in a really bad light and I’m being quite bitchy about him, it was the most phenomenal relationship I’ve ever been in so far,” she said. “I’m very young, so hopefully I will find someone that will be better than him or at least find someone like him again. It was very intense and very extreme and my first kind of all-or-nothing relationship.” No wonder we can all relate to her “Someone Like You” lyrics!

Adele was forced to cancel her late 2011 tour dates due to throat problems, including a hemorrhaged vocal cord (but not throat cancer, as some gossip sites reported). After undergoing throat surgery, she wrote on her official Adele blog: “Thank you for all your positive thoughts and get well wishes. I’m doing really well, on the mend, super happy, relaxed and very positive with it all. The operation was a success and I’m just chilling out now until I get the all clear from my doctors.”