Ten Facts You Didn’t Know About Adele

Adele has become a household name since the release of her album 21 in 2011. She immediately stood out with her powerful vocals and classic style which is reminiscent of legends like Etta James and Ella Fitzgerald. After a few years out of the public eye she has won us all over again with the release of her third album 25 which features the hit single Hello. We have all fallen in love with her down to earth personality. We know the lyrics to all of her songs. But what do we really know about her? Here are ten facts you don’t know about Adele.

Ten Facts You Didn’t Know About Adele

1. Full Name: Adele Laurie Blue Adkins

Her middle name (Blue) came from her father’s love of blues music.

2. She was contacted and later contracted by English independent record label XL Recording after finding a three track demo that she had done for a class project on her Myspace page.

Adele had never heard of XL Recording even though they represent other famous artists including FKA Twigs, Vampire Weekend, MIA, and Beck.

3. Adele attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology.

Though she may be the most famous artist to emerge from the school in recent years BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology has had its fair share of famous alumni. Adele was classmates with fellow singers Jessie J and Leona Lewis. Amy Winehouse also attended BRIT School before Adele started.

4. She has five known tattoos.

Her wrist tattoo of a penny is in honor of her mother Penny Adkins who raised her alone. Below this tattoo she has three dots (a tattoo that she got with Joy Williams from The Civil Wars). The rest of her tattoos are for her son Angelo – the letter “A” behind her right ear, “Angelo” on her hand, and the word “Paradise” because she says Angelo is her paradise.

5. Adele wrote her hit song “Rollin’ in the Deep” just hours after her breakup with British musician and actor Slinky Winfield.

The song would go on to win four Grammys.

6. She loves movies but her favorite is The Godfather.

7. Adele is not only a talented singer but a gifted musician as well. She can play guitar, bass guitar, as well as the clarinet.

8. She wrote her first album, “Hometown Glory” when she was only sixteen years old. It was all about Norwood in South London where she lived with her mother.

9. Adele used to be a heavy smoker. She is said to have topped off at around twenty cigarettes a day but decided to kick the habit. As she told Rolling Stone,”I absolutely loved it but it’s not that fu**king cool when I’m dying of a smoking related illness and my kid is like….devastated.”. True words.

10. You would think that since performing in front of large audiences is a huge part of Adele’s career that she would have no problem with crowds. But she actually suffers from anxiety and panic attacks and becomes very nervous when she has to perform in front of many people. She has stated before that she won’t do festivals because she feels that her songs are too slow and would bore people, therefore making her nervous and possibly bring on an attack.