Adele

Adkins was raised by a single mom in various areas of working class London. She was a lover of contemporary pop music as a young girl and was proficient at playing the clarinet and guitar. It wasn't until she was in her teens that she was exposed to Etta James, a rhythm and blues singer, as well as other performers in the late 20th century which was when she began thinking about a profession in music. While she was honed in her skills at a secondary school funded by the government for the performing arts a friend began posting songs Adkins had written and recorded on the social networking Web site Myspace. The music she wrote and recorded eventually caught the attention of record companies, and in 2006, shortly after her graduation, she signed a contract with XL Recordings.