Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, [əˈdɛw]; born 5 May 1988), known mononymously as Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a record deal with XL Recordings. Her debut album, 19, was released in 2008 and spawned the UK top-five singles "Chasing Pavements" and "Make You Feel My Love".19 has sold over 2.5 million copies in the UK and was named in the top 20 best-selling debut albums of all time in the UK. Adele was honoured with the Brit Award for Rising Star as well as the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. Adele released her second studio album, 21, in 2011. It became the world's best-selling album of the 21st century, with sales of over 31 million copies. It was certified 18× platinum in the UK (the highest by a solo artist of all time) and Diamond in the US. According to Billboard, 21 is the top-performing album in the US chart history, topping the Billboard 200 for 24 weeks (the longest for...