Adele

Adkins was born to a young single mother and was raised in various working-class London areas. Adkins enjoyed listening to contemporary pop music while she was young and was learning to play the clarinet as well as the guitar. But it wasn't until her teens, when she discovered the blues-based rhythm singer Etta James and other mid 20th century artists, that she began to think about pursuing a career in music. As she was honed at a secondary institution for performing arts funded by the federal government A friend of hers began posting songs Adkins wrote on Myspace. Her music soon caught the attention of recording companies and, in 2006, about a year after her graduation, she signed a contract with XL Recordings.