Adele

Adkins was the daughter of a young single mother born in a variety of working-class London neighborhoods. As a child she was fond of singing contemporary pop songs and also learning to play the guitar as well as the clarinet. But it wasn't until her teens, when she was introduced to the rhythm and blues singer Etta James and other mid-20th-century performers, that she began to think about a career in music. While she developed her talents in a state-funded secondary school that specialized in performing arts, a friend started posting songs Adkins had written and recorded on the social media site Myspace. Her music eventually attracted the attention of recording labels, and in 2006, several months after graduating, she signed a contract with XL Recordings.