Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, widely recognized by her first and stage name, Adele, has firmly established herself as one of the most successful and lyrically talented artists globally.
Her music journey began in 2006 after completing her studies at the BRIT School, quickly earning her acclaim. In just two years, she secured the Critics’ Choice Brit Award, the BBC Sound of 2008 title, and released her debut album “19”, which won her two Grammy Awards.
The 16-time Grammy winner has exceeded 140 million certified song sales, breaking multiple sales records in countries such as Japan, the U.S., the Netherlands, Canada, Brazil, New Zealand, and Portugal. Now at 36, she boasts a staggering $120 million in earnings from her reported total sales.
RECENTLY CONCLUDED CONCERT
Adele recently wrapped up a 10-night stint of her second residency concert, titled “Adele in Munich”, which attracted over 730,000 attendees.
The event started on August 2 and ended on August 31, 2024, in a custom-built 80,000-capacity stadium at Munich Messe, created specifically for her performances.
The singer, who recently announced her engagement to United States sports agent Rich Paul, shared with her audience that she has been focusing on building a new life and will now take an indefinite hiatus from music to “live it now.”
During her live performance in Munich on August 30, Adele announced she would be taking an extended break from music. The internationally acclaimed songwriter left fans teary as she canceled future concerts, revealing her plans for a lengthy hiatus from the music scene during her show in Germany.
TOUR SUCCESS AND RECORDS
Adele’s 10 performances last month at her custom-built venue for the residency at Messe in Riem, Munich, shattered multiple records with Adele tickets proving to be extremely popular.
According to Live Nation, the “Adele in Munich” concert residency drew in 730,000 attendees, marking the highest turnout for any concert residency outside of Las Vegas. The temporary stadium in Munich, designed by Florian Wieder, held over 73,000 seats and is believed to be the largest temporary arena ever constructed.
The show’s production boasted a massive 4,159.7 m² LED wall—the largest ever built for a concert—using ROE panels from Solotech and designed by Stufish Entertainment Architects, who also crafted the stage.
Meanwhile, the adjacent Adele World welcomed over 500,000 visitors to its 75,000 m² space, which offered various entertainment and catering options, including a replica British pub. LN asserts that this setup was the first of its kind. According to Clemens Baumgärtner, head of Munich’s economic department, the 10-night Adele residency contributed a €540 million boost to the city’s economy.
Live Nation stated that the stadium, conceived by co-promoter Leutgeb Entertainment CEO Klaus Leutgeb, along with Adele World, was constructed within four months and dismantled right after the final concert.
The entire venue and production were the culmination of over a year of planning.
Adele is expected to resume her Las Vegas residency from October 25 to November 23 before taking a hiatus from performing.
Having broken countless records and achieving a myriad of accolades, Xsnoize assesses Adele’s most successful albums over the past two decades.
“19”
Sixteen years ago, a music icon announced herself into the mainstream music sphere, when 19-year-old Adele released her debut album “19”, which debuted at the top of the charts.
In its opening week, “19” sold 73,341 copies, marking its highest sales week—though it nearly surpassed this figure over three years later when she released her second album, “21”.
Since then, the London-born artist has continued to rise, accumulating numerous chart achievements and breaking records. Four singles were launched from the album, with “Chasing Pavements” and “Make You Feel My Love” both securing spots in the UK Singles Chart’s top ten, while the former became Adele’s first Billboard Hot 100 entry.
The album received a nomination for the 2008 Mercury Prize in the Best Album category. Adele also took home an Urban Music Award for “Best Jazz Act.”
In the UK, “19” made its debut at the top of the charts. The same week that “21” was launched, “19” climbed back into the UK Albums Chart, landing in fourth place with 25,419 copies sold.
Following her two Grammy Award wins, the album surged to number 10 on the US Billboard 200, with total sales reaching 843,880. By February 2012, “19” had achieved a new peak at number four on the Billboard 200 and is now certified double platinum by the RIAA in the United States.
“21”
When Adele released her second studio album “21” in 2011, she became the artist with the best-selling album of the 21st century. The album featured some of the most celebrated love songs of the era, leading to her winning Album of the Year, along with six Grammy Awards from this album alone. Songs like “Someone Like You,” “Rolling in the Deep,” and “Set Fire to the Rain” were part of the tracklist.
By January 2012, “21” had become the best-selling digital album of all time in the U.S., with 1.879 million copies sold.
The album stayed on the Billboard U.S. 200 chart for nearly seven years, remaining within the top 35 for its first two. After surpassing Carole King’s “Tapestry” with 319 weeks, Adele set the record for the longest-charting album by a female solo artist, with a total of 353 weeks on the chart. By February 2020, Adele became the first woman to reach 450 non-consecutive weeks on the chart, thanks to the album’s frequent returns.
With over 31 million copies sold globally, “21” became the best-selling album of the last decade, topping the charts in more than 30 countries.
“25”
Adele’s third studio album, “25”, was released on November 20, 2015. Unlike her earlier albums, “25” featured electronic influences and inventive rhythmic patterns, with touches of 1980s R&B and organs. To promote the album, four singles were released. “Hello” became a worldwide number-one hit and the fastest-selling digital single in the U.S., with more than a million copies sold in its first week. “Send My Love (To Your New Lover)” reached the top 10, while “When We Were Young” and “Water Under the Bridge” secured top 20 spots across both Europe and North America.
In the U.S., “25” sold 1.49 million copies on its first day, averaging 62,000 copies per hour and 1,000 per minute. On iTunes, it moved 900,000 copies in a day, making it the fastest-selling album in the platform’s history, surpassing Beyoncé’s self-titled album. During its debut week, “25” sold more units than the top albums had sold in the prior 22 weeks combined. It became the top-selling album of 2015 in the U.S., overtaking Taylor Swift’s “1989”, which had sold 1.8 million. According to Nielsen Music, “25” set a record with 3.38 million copies sold in its first week.
“30”
Released in November 2021, “30” became Adele’s fourth studio album, achieving record-breaking sales and grossing figures. The album’s sales numbers significantly surpassed ABBA’s “Voyage”, which sold 203,909 copies two weeks earlier. “30” comprised 67% physical sales and was the top-selling album of the week on vinyl with 16,700 copies sold, though this was below ABBA’s weekly vinyl sales of 29,891.
“30” reached the top spot in twenty-five countries. In the UK, it recorded the highest first-week sales for any album by a female artist since Adele’s previous album, “25” (2015). The album maintained the number one position for five weeks in the UK and six weeks in the U.S. “30” was the best-selling album of 2021 globally, with 5.54 million copies sold that year.
The album received six Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year, and won the Brit Award for British Album of the Year at the 2022 Brit Awards. This accolade made Adele the first solo artist to win the award three times, following previous wins for “21” and “25”.
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