20 Things You Never Knew About Adele
1. She had to undergo throat surgery
Back in 2011 it was widely known that Adele had to undergo surgery on her throat. This was because she suffered from a haemorrhage to her vocal chords triggered when she was singing live on a French Radio station. This surgery was incredible high-risk and was an extremely delicate procedure for her to undergo.
In 2015 she made the decision to quit smoking, which she has been known to describe as one of the things she enjoyed most in life. But, after becoming addicted she knew that this habit would lead to an early grave so she made the decision to kick the habit.
2. She received a letter from the Prime Minister of England
Its no question that Adele fans come in all shape and sizes. But, she has been known to receive some fan mail from some highly reputable sources. She rose to fame back in 2008 when she released her first album 19. Which shot her right into the hall of fame and one of the greatest singers of her time.
But, back during Britain’s economic recession, Gordon Brown was the Prime Minister of the UK at the time. He actually personally wrote to Adele during that period in order to praise her for keeping the spirits of everyone in the UK high at such a difficult time for everyone.
3. She wrote “Hometown Glory” in record time
‘Hometown Glory’ was recognised as her debut hit and she wrote this song in record time. In fact, it took her as little as ten minutes to put pen to paper and write this classic hit. This featured on her album “19” and she was only 18 years old when she wrote it.
The main focus behind the song was based around her life in London. The song was actually written in protest to her mother, who had been encouraging her to get out of the city and attend university to pursue a career in something specific. She wrote the song, released it and the rest is history!
4. She went to the same school as Amy Winehouse
When she did end up attending school, Adele went to study at the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology. She graduated from here in May 2006, and was also in class with the likes of Leona Lewis and Jessie J. Adele gives credit to the school for being able to nurture her talent.
She was originally more interested in exploring a career in artists and repertoire, where she would have propelled other people’s careers. But, did you know that Amy Winehouse also attended the school? This has to be one of the most famous schools that has produced some of the world’s biggest artists and this is where Adeles career and life just began.
5. She has an alter ego called Sasha Carter
Adele actually invented herself an alter ego in order to hype herself up before she was going to meet Beyoncé back in 2011. This is what she had to say: “I was about to meet Beyoncé and I had a full-blown anxiety attack. Then she popped in looking gorgeous, and said ‘You’re Amazing! When I listen to you I feel like I’m listening to God.’ Can you believe she said that?”
Imagine getting that compliment from the one and only Queen B. After the conversation, Adele explained she was crying and though, “What would Sasha Fierce do? That’s when Sasha Carter was born.” The name comes from a mixture of the famed singer June Carter and from Beyoncé‘s “Sasha Fierce”.
6. Adele threw herself a Titanic party
You have to be pretty obsessed with a film to throw yourself a party based around one whole film. Well, this is what Adele did with Titanic. For her 30th birthday she wore a custom made replica of one of Rose’s outfits from the film. As well as featuring period-piece outfits, she also made sure they had a replica of the infamous staircase on the ship.
She was a huge fan of the film, but being under everyone’s eyes she was then criticised for deciding to theme the whole celebration of her 30th birthday around a real life tragedy that occurred in 1912. Over 1,500 people died on the Titanic when the ship hit an iceberg and sank.
7. Hello from the other side
Without a doubt, this has to be one of Adeles most famous tracks. For the most part, she writes her own tracks but does get help from other sources. In fact, it took her a massive six months to write the track ‘Hello’ and she was helped by Greg Kurstin over this time.
He also produced the track and played many of the instruments. But, what you probably didn’t realise is that Adele played the drums for this track – her talents just never end! This hit single has racked up over 2.5 billion views on YouTube and continues to be played on radio stations frequently, it’s definitely a classic!
8. She hates walking red carpets
She hasn’t been shy to tell the public that she really doesn’t like walking red carpets. In fact, she’s had this to say: “I don’t feel insecure, I just feel like, Oh, I don’t want to do this. I literally get a stomach cramp.” You wouldn’t expect this from someone who has to walk the red carpet as part of their job.
She has also explained that her anxiety stretches out to her life on stage too. She is scared that her uneasiness on stage has an influence on her performing style. But, as fans these are probably the quirks that people absolutely love about Adele – how real and honest she is.
9. Her tattoos are really meaningful
She has a tattoo on each of her hand, one reads “Angelo” and the other reads “Paradise”. For those that aren’t away, her son is called Angelo. When asked by Rolling Stone to explain what her tattoos mean she had this to say about her tattoos: “Angelo is my paradise.”
She continued to explain: “All the things I really like about myself, he brings out in me, and he’s the only person that tells me no. He completely rules me. He’s the boss of me, and it’s so funny for other people to watch, because I’m the boss of everything in my work life.”
10. The first time she was heart broken
When Adele was growing up was the era of the Spice Girls – one of the world’s most famous girl bands. Adele once told James Corden about her love for this pop band. “It was a huge moment in my life when they came out. It was girl power and it was these five ordinary girls who just, like, did so well and just go out.”
Apparently, according to Adele, she even had a Spice Girls birthday party when she was just ten years old. She was always Geri apparently and when Geri announced that she was leaving the pop group, this was Adele’s response: “That was the first time I was truly heartbroken.”
11. Adele’s famous neighbour
Adele now lives in LA, but it will come as no surprise to learn that she has celebrity neighbors. In 2020, Katy Perry revealed that she lives just next door to Adele. Apparently, the pair are extremely friendly and due to the fact they’ve known each other for a long time they’re really close.
Katy actually had this to say about Adele when she popped round in unexpectedly last year: “I remember sometime last year, she just knocks on my door and comes in. I’m in my robe, I mean, that’s how, like, it’s fun. She’s great. She’s very… She’s very real.” Who else would just love for Adele to be their neighbor?
12. She’s won countless awards
Until 2017, Adele was at the top of the list for the artist who has the record for most Billboard Music Awards, which was a record breaking 12 awards. However, it was then broken by Drake who won 13 awards. In 2012 she was also awarded an MBE in the Queen’s birthday honours list.
Not only this, but she has also broken plenty of Guinness World Records. From the ‘First female to have two singles and two albums in the UK top five simultaneously’ back in 2011, all the way to ‘First UK artist to reach digital sales of one million in the US’ just the year later!
13. She loves animals
If you tuned into that famous Instagram live that Adele did in October 2021, then you will be more than aware that she has animals in her house. She has a little dog that is called Louie. His name was inspired by Louis Armstrong, despite the different spelling o the name.
She also has two other dogs, one called ‘Bobbity Bob’, and these dogs apparently have exactly the same hair color as her and her son. Finally, back in 2018 she also reveals that she had a pet black cat who she rescued from a shelter. When she announced this new arrival, she encouraged others to adopt from a shelter.
14. MySpace was where her career began
Adele began singing when she was just four year old and then went on to perform for her friends in Brockwell Park in London when she was in her teens. But, this just wasn’t enough to get her noticed enough to be able to become the star that she is recognised as today.
For a class project when she was at BRIT School, she had to record a three-song demo. She gave it to one of her friends, who then posted it on MySpace. From there, more and more people viewed her songs and she became more and more popular. Publishing these songs on the site led to her signing a recording contract with XL Recordings.
15. Adele’s favorite crisps
Thinking back to the Instagram live, we learnt a lot about Adele and what she was up to during the lockdown. Everyone was asking her random questions which she was answering. But, one the stuck out was when she was asked about her favorite flavor of crisps – which are chips to us Americans.
She said that her favorite was Walkers Prawn Cocktail or Walkers Ready Salted Crisps lathered with Worcestershire sauce on top of them. Not only this, but she was asked on her favorite lockdown hobby and explained that it was drinking wine (like a lot of us!) and that her favorite go to drink was a nice refreshing Aperol Spritz.
16. Skyfall was written in minutes
Just like her hit song Hello, Adele also had the ability to write Skyfall quickly. This song appeared on James Bond and became an instant classic. She even won an Oscar for Best Original Song. But, apparently it didn’t take her long at all to come up with the idea for the song.
Producer Paul Epworth actually told Hollywood this about her ability to create the song: “She put down most of the vocals. She had the lyrics in her head when she drove over. It was the most absurd thing. She’s fast, but it was quite phenomenal.” This just goes to show that
17. Where does she keep all her awards?!
There’s been plenty pictures of Adele struggling to hold all the awards she collects at different awards ceremonies. But, when she gets home where on earth does she display these amazing achievements? Well, she doesn’t have them in a classic trophy closet like you’d expect most celebrities.
Instead, Adele likes to keep all of her iconic awards next to her toilet. She had this to say: “I kick myself every day. When I go for a poo and see my awards and think, ‘Wow, I did good.” Well, that’s one way to motivate yourself. She does, however, keep her Oscar in her bedroom.
18. She isn’t allowed on her social media accounts
A lot of celebrities Tweet for themselves and a lot of celebrities hire someone to do the Tweets for them. But, it was sad that Adele had to learn the hard way that she wasn’t allowed to Tweet for herself unfiltered. She has to go through certain people before she can press send on many things on her social media.
Apparently, when she was younger and new to Twitter she would start drunk Tweeting a lot and there were many occasions where she nearly put her foot in it. Now, she has to write the tweets, send them through two people to be signed off and then it can be posted. Seems like a lot of work, doesn’t it?
19. Make-up
Adele has a whole team of people that help her with her career. From the people authorising her tweets, all the way to her hair and make up team that help her get ready for every performance. But, did you know that it actually takes a massive two and a half hours for her to get ready to go on stage.
Apparently, she loves the first hour but then gets quite bored after that as her bum gets numb. She also hates wearing false lashes and really struggles to do them herself, she jokes: “They’re so wonky that they look like the end of the night at the beginning of the night“.
20. Growing up
Adele’s full name is Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, but she decided to go by one name when becoming an artist and it works so well. She had a difficult time when she was growing up and her dad actually walked out on her and her mom when Adele was only two years old.
At just six years old she made the momentous decision to stop reading altogether, just so she could focus on her singing. Apparently, the last book that she even remembers reading was Matilda, written by Roald Dahl. Well, it was a really good decision for a six year old to make because look at her now!
