19

The first moment she walked onto the stage, I couldn’t wait for her to sing. She opened her mouth and I sat there in awe of her voice, which sounded better than her recordings. It was a soulful, steamy voice. 

Adele made an impression on many, just like the one she made on me, even winning her a Grammy this year for Best New Artist. 

Hailing from Enfield, London, Adele, only twenty, could be compaired to the likes of Jill Scott and Jazz greats as Aretha Franklin and Etta James. 

“As soon as I got a microphone in my hand, when I was about 14, I realised I wanted to do this,” she says. “Most people don’t  like the way their voice sounds when it’s recorded. I was just so excited by the whole thing that I wasn’t bothered what it sounded like.” 

When I heard her open for John Mayer's concert this past December, it sounded as if the sound engineer in the concert venue had put on her album. The clarity and resonance of her voice was that good, if not better, than the recording even though, only playing with half of the instruments included on her CD. 

This is a clip of the performance that night.

 Released in June 2008, her American debut CD titled: 19, is named for her age at the time of the record's release.  The way she was discovered is as exciting as her style of music.  She created a Myspace music page putting up some songs from her demo she created when she was sixteen. She later signed with her current record label XL.  The best thing about her fame was that she was discovered for being herself 

not having her label mold her into someone she is not. She sings the type of music she wants to sing, and writes the type of music she wants to write. Because of this people have gravitated to her music. 

Her style of music is described by the Richmond Times Dispatch music critic as "a perfect backdrop to a lazy afternoon in the coffee shop." Her hit songs such as "Chasing Pavements" a mid-tempo ballad about choosing between giving up or moving on, has a string section that reminds me of songs like Barry White's "Love Unlimited Orchestra". Her song "Right as Rain", a poppy uptempo, has harmonies that are are reminiscent of the Supreemes. 

Adele's music has been an inspriation for many other types of art,  Many fan of FOX's dance competition show, So You Think You Can Dance, remember her song "Hometown Glory", from this show.  Because of the show, this is her most famous song up to date, popularized from a solemn and thoughtful dance that was choreographed by Mia MIchaels, who is known for her storytelling and passion in the dances she creates. In this number she captures the song's longing lyrics and aching tone. 

Adele has may followers because she is so young and has so much potential talent to be even greater artist than she is now in her young age. Her voice and simple song writing inspires me to work in her field of music.  Her style makes me believe that her voice is free to break boundaries. She has become so successful because of the music she created and not because she molded herself into something a record company wanted her to be. It gives me hope to be a great musician as well as artist who can play by their own rules as Adele has so far. Her talent exceeds her years and will continue to bring much to the music community.   

Here is the dance from "So You Think You Can Dance" using Adele's song "Hometown Glory"