Born on the 5th of May 1988 in Tottenham, London, Adele Laurie Blue Adkins is by far one of the most broadly popular pop singers and songwriters. She broke out in 2008, and since that time, she has introduced four studio albums, two extended plays, nine music videos, 16 singles, and one video album.
The appeal of her music is undeniable, and the way she masterfully bases her songs around broad themes is what seems to appeal most to her fans. Her astonishingly powerful voice and gravitas continue to maintain the noise around her, and her songs and albums see roaring success as soon as they see the light of the day. The London-born singer astounds with her looks and her iconic winged eyeliner, and her constantly evolving style makes an indelible impression on her fans. Adele knows how to stun not only with her style but, above all, with the rebellion of her work.
Each new song Adele releases leaves its mark, and the appeal of her music lies in the ubiquitous soul-stirring sentiment of sadness. Her earth-shaking ballads set new heights and usually top the Billboard Top 100 chart for weeks.
Adele is one of the most celebrated female artists, and she has been setting the bar by not just telling a story in a single song or through the course of an album. As a result, each of her new projects gets immediately in the limelight and attracts a great deal of attention from bookmakers and punters alike. Whether her new song or album will rank high in charts is the market bookmakers are expected to add. Whether she will ultimately return to live performances is one more question punters might be able to answer.
Adele’s Way to the Top
Today, Adele is one of the most universally admired singer-songwriters on a global scale that ups the stakes with each new song she releases. She enjoyed singing from a young age and learned to play the guitar and clarinet when she was a child.
When she was a teen, she started considering a musical career, greatly influenced by Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James, and other 20-century performances. As it seems, this was Adele’s awakening in 2003, when she started studying at the BRIT School of Arts. While studying there, she wrote and composed Hometown Glory, and two years later, she presented two more songs in an online magazine.
While honing her talents at school, Adele recorded several songs for a project that can be easily described as the jumping-off point of her career as one of her friends uploaded the demos to Myspace. The songs caught the attention of Richard Russel, owner of British record label XL Recordings, who got in touch with her right off. Initially, she was on the fence about whether to go on the meeting, but in 2006, she signed her first recording contract.
Although it was written long ago, Hometown Glory was introduced to the public in 2007, and shortly after this, Adele presented her second song Chasing Pavements.
Her second album was introduced in 2011, and its sales exceeded 31 million, thus making 21 became the world’s best-selling album of the 21 century. Not to mention that it topped Billboard 200 for 24 weeks, which is a phenomenal achievement no other female artist has beaten.
Back in 2011, Adele became the first woman to have three singles in the top 10 of Billboard Hot 100, more specifically Someone Like You, Rolling in the Deep, and Set Fire to the Rain. Besides, all three songs topped the chart. The earth-shattering success of 21 brought Adele six Grammy Awards and smashed several Guinness Records.
Her career did not lose momentum, and back in 2012, Adele presented Skyfall, a song, which brought her a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and Academy Award. The song was also used as a soundtrack single in the same-named film from the James Bond series.
— Adele (@Adele) November 20, 2015
Adele’s third studio album, 25, was made available in 2015, and it quickly made it to the top, thus becoming the best-selling album of the year. It brought the songstress five Grammy Awards and was certified Diamond in the US.
Easy on Me, the most recent chart-topping song of Adele, is part of her last studio album 30, which was introduced in 2021. In next to no time, 30 became the best-selling album of 2021 in the US, the best-selling album of the 2020s in the UK, and brought her the award for British Album of the Year at the 2022 Brits Awards.
Obviously, Adele has been looking to remain consistent in her work, not only when it comes to the recurring themes of nostalgia and insecurity, but also in terms of the covers of her albums. The omnipresent monochrome artwork of Adele’s face, along with the titled number has turned into a trademark for the singer.
Her enduring popularity cannot only be ascribed to her songs, and, in spite of bluntly ignoring trends, Adele’s instantly recognisable soulful emotive voice makes her invariably stand out from the crowd. As it seems, she undoubtedly knows how to turbocharge excitement whenever a new song or album rolls around, which is the reason why her fans always wait to find out what comes next with bated breath.
Adele’s Tremendous Success and Popularity
Adele undoubtedly has a knack for creating songs in which she pours her life experience, and as it seems, this is exactly what makes them resonate with fans. She continues to mark major milestones with her work, but this is not to say that her stellar success is universally approved.
Figures show that Adele is more popular among women, and she is popular among 71% of female respondents. Her popularity among the male respondents is 60%. The share of men who have heard of the singer is higher than the share of female respondents who recognise her.
Unsurprisingly, 95% of respondents said that they are familiar with Adele, while those who like her are 65%. The singer-songwriter is disliked by 10% of respondents, whereas those who are uncertain are 10%.
| Like Adele | Dislike Adele | Cannot decide |
|---|---|---|
| 65% | 10% | 20% |
What is interesting to note is that there is not such a marked difference in Adele’s popularity rate among baby boomers, millennials, and generation X.
| Millennials | Generation X | Baby boomers |
|---|---|---|
| 67% | 64% | 64% |
Interestingly, the popularity of the songstress is identical among Brexiteers and Remain voters, and it is 67%. When it comes to her fame, it is 99% among Remain voters and 97% among Brexiteers.
How Adele’s Popularity and Fame Changed in the UK?
While measuring Adele’s popularity from the last quarter of 2020 and throughout 2021, it becomes evident that there are no significant ups and downs in that rate. Throughout the probed period, the popularity of the songstress fluctuated between 65% and 69%.
| Q4 2020 | Q1 2021 | Q2 2021 | Q3 2021 | Q4 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 65% | 69% | 65% | 69% | 65% |
How Adele’s Popularity and Fame Changed in the US
| Like Adele | Dislike Adele | Cannot decide |
|---|---|---|
| 65% | 9% | 20% |
It turns out that Adele’s popularity is highest with millennials as 72% of them like her. Generation X comes second, and the respondents who like her are 66%. She is least popular among baby boomers, as 58% of them favour her. The share of millennials and generation X respondents who have heard of the London-born singer is 97%. The share of baby boomers who have heard of her is 94%.
Adele’s Popularity in 2020 and 2021
| Q4 2020 | Q1 2021 | Q2 2021 | Q3 2021 | Q4 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 64% | 64% | 64% | 64% | 65% |
It comes as no surprise that the singer is more popular among women than among men. The poll says that the share of female respondents who like her is 70%, while the male ones are 60%. There is no marked difference between her fame among female and male respondents as it is 95% and 94%, respectively.
Interestingly, during the last quarter of 2021, Adele climbed to the first position in a ranking of the most popular contemporary music artists and left behind The Eagles, Lady Gaga, Alicia Keys, Kelly Clarkson, and Rihanna, among others, which shows her continued and overwhelming dominance in the industry. That being said, when her fame was measured back then, she took the 10th position, while Taylor Swift ranked first. Back in 2018, Adele was once again the front-runner among the 20 most popular music artists.
Americans’ Opinion of Adele in 2017
| Very Favourable opinion | Somewhat favourable opinion | Very Unfavourable opinion | Somewhat unfavourable | Cannot decide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32% | 32% | 3% | 7% | 26% |
According to a survey executed among Americans back in 2017, the share of female voters who had a very favourable opinion of her was 39%, while the male respondents who had a very favourable opinion of the singer were 25%. The male respondents who had a somewhat favourable opinion of the singer were 35%, while the female respondents who approved of her were 30%. The share of male respondents who have unfavourable or very unfavourable opinions of Adele was higher when compared to the number of female respondents who disapproved of her.
| Opinion of respondents based on their age | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-54 | 55+ | |
| Very favourable | 28% | 41% | 30% | 34% | 28% |
| Somewhat favourable | 30% | 34% | 42% | 31% | 27% |
| Somewhat unfavourable | 9% | 8% | 6% | 6% | 7% |
| Very unfavourable | 5% | 2% | 3% | 2% | 4% |
| Not sure | 28% | 15% | 19% | 27% | 34% |
Adele’s Popularity at the Early Stages of Her Career
According to a poll executed in the early stages of her career, back in 2012, she was the number one artist for more than 700.000 fans. After she released her second album, her fans spent well over £36 million to buy her merchandise and attend the shows she was starring at.
Adele’s Studio Albums Sales
Adele has already cemented her position in the music industry, and her album sales go to prove this beyond doubt. In terms of sales, her last studio album logged six weeks at number one Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart. Additionally, her album saw the largest annual sales for any album since 2018, when the soundtrack to the Greatest Showman. When she introduced her third studio album, 25, it took the lead for seven consecutive weeks. Interestingly, 25 was at No. 1 on Top Album Sales for 11 non-successive weeks.
During the last week of 2021, 30 scored sales of 72,000 copies in the USA alone. Adele’s last studio album became the top-selling album of the year as after just six weeks after it was put up for sale, it sold 1.463 million copies in the USA. It also gets further ahead of all other albums as it is the only one to sell millions of copies. In spite of the fact that it was released on the 19th of November 2021, 30 became the biggest-selling album in the USA for any year.
“30” has now over 1.4 BILLION streams on Spotify. This is @Adele’s fourth album to do so and the fastest. pic.twitter.com/zxV0cokZx6
— Adele Stats (@StatsAdele) February 20, 2022
Rolling in the Deep, which saw the light of the day back in 2010, has been at No. 1 for 29 weeks, and has spent a total of 29 weeks in the Adult Alternative Airplay chart. Send My Love (To Your New Lover) is another song, which has been for quite a while in the chart.
When it comes to the weeks Adele’s albums have spent in the Billboard 200 chart, 21 was listed there for 528 weeks, 24 of which it has been on a peak position. Her first studio album, 19, ranks second as it spent 222 weeks on the chart, 4 of which it was at the lead. Her third album, 25, has ranked first for four weeks and has remained on the chart for a total of 204 weeks. After it reached its peak date on the 4th of December 2021, 30 has taken a peak position for six weeks, and has stayed on the chart for a total of 12 weeks.
Adele’s second album, 21, has spent 88 weeks on The Official UK Albums chart, 23 of which in a peak position. It is followed by 25, which has been on the chart for 77 weeks, 13 of which it has been in a peak position. Her first album has been on the chart for 42 weeks, while 30 has spent 12 weeks on the chart, five of which, it has been ahead of all other contenders.
Adele’s second album has been on the Top Current Album Sales Chart for 145 weeks, 24 of which it has been in a peak position. Her third album has been on the chart for 95 weeks, 11 from which it has been in a peak position. Her first album has spent 66 weeks on the chart, ten of which it has been at the lead. Her last album has been on the chart for 12 weeks, eight of which it has been at the fore.
So far, Easy on Me is Adele’s only song, which has topped the Billboard Global 200 chart, and the song held the leading position for six weeks in total. Up to this date, it has spent 18 weeks on the chart. Adele has spent a total of 272 weeks in the Artists 100 chart, 20 of which she has been at a peak position.
| Album | Release date | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| 19 | 28 January 2008 |
|
| 21 | 24 January 2011 |
|
| 25 | 20 November 2015 |
|
| 30 | 19 November 2021 |
|
Over the past few years, there is a noticeable downward trend in the sales of albums, and the number of artists who sell such in volumes has significantly dwindled. Figures show that since 2018, the only musicians who have sold over 1 million copies of their albums in the US are Adele and Taylor Swift.
Adele Steals the Show at the Brits Awards 2022
After walking the red carpet and wowing the audiences and her fans, Adele enjoyed a dominant night during the awards that celebrate the best international and British music. With 18 nominations for women and all-women groups, the awards that took place last year featured more women nominations than any of these events held during the past ten years.
The singer took the stage at the Brits Awards 2022, which were the first-ever genderless awards, and took three of the most important awards home, thus blowing away the competition. She got an award for song of the year for Easy on Me, the best artist, and the best album and now, she is just one step away from breaking the record of Robbie Williams, who has 13 trophies in his career. While collecting her third prize for the album of the year, Adele paid tribute to her son and her ex-husband. It turns out that 30 is said to be her most incredibly moving and graceful album and is often described as her most ambitious enterprise up to this date.
the winner of Song of the Year with @MastercardUK is @Adele's 'Easy On Me'! #BRITs pic.twitter.com/eiqTzTjUHW
— BRIT Awards (@BRITs) February 8, 2022
Her enduring popularity has made her the most decorated female solo artist during the awards. Interestingly, Adele is now the only solo artist who has received the award for album of the year three times. The only bands that have won the prize so many times are Arctic Monkeys and Coldplay.
Adele’s Number-One Singles on Bookmakers’ Radars
Adele’s fourth studio album was much-awaited, and it attracted lots of attention from bookmakers and punters who are keen on placing entertainment bets. The singer has gradually become a chartbuster, and it makes sense that bookmakers wanted to make sure that the variety of betting markets they will provide will be sufficient.
Back in 2021, bookmakers were quick to introduce odds whether her album 30 will rank first in charts at Christmas. Lines were also offered whether it will turn into her best-selling album and whether it will be UK’s top-selling album.
As she sparked engagement rumours with Rich Paul at the 2022 Brit Awards, this might turn into yet another betting market for bookmakers to capitalise on. Speculations over her engagement to her boyfriend Rich Paul started growing because of the ring she wore on her fourth finger on the night of the awards.
.@Adele's most popular songs on Spotify currently. pic.twitter.com/LFh2w57qfK
— Adele Charts (@AdeIeChart) October 29, 2021
Now, since all bets on how successful Adele’s album will be are off, bookmakers have started honing in on her personal life, as well as her social following. In an attempt to grab the attention of punters, some bookmakers have even introduced special bets on whether Adele’s followers on Twitter will exceed 30 million by the end of this year.
In light of her fresh success, some bookies also offer lines on whether she will headline Glastonbury. She headlined there back in 2016, and last year, she fuelled the rumours that she will do this again in 2022 when she announced her comeback single. This caused bookmakers to slash the odds on her landing the top spot during the festival.
The delayed concerts might also be used by bookmakers to create betting markets that have to do with the London-born singer. She delayed her Las Vegas Caesar Palace residency at short notice, which infuriated her fans, who paid exorbitantly priced tickets. Just one day after the opening show, Adele shared a video in which she announced that all shows will be rescheduled because of Covid-related issues. The last-minute cancellation of the shows and whether she will return to live performances are among the questions that are expected to attract the attention of bookmakers.
Would there be a Wembley concert is a question her fans keep asking themselves for quite a while. In October 2021, Adele announced that two huge London Hyde Park shows will be held in 2022. The BST Hyde Park is expected to run from 24 June to 10 July this year, and her performances are scheduled for the 1st and 2nd of July. Whether this event will ultimately take place, and if her fans who missed to see her live back in 2017 will have the chance to do so this year, might appear as betting markets as well.
- Author
Harry Evans
