Adele

United Kingdom, 2006–now

English singer-songwriter (b. 1988, Adele Adkins). A mezzo-soprano known for emotive, soul-inflected ballads. Her albums 19, 21, 25 and 30 were commercial and critical successes; 21 (2011) was the best-selling album worldwide of the 2010s. She has won numerous Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year twice.

MusicRoots documents 4 artists who influenced Adele and 0 artists Adele influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced Adele?

• Etta James — Adele cited Etta James as a formative influence, saying she taught herself to sing partly by studying James's passion and phrasing.
• Aretha Franklin — Adele's soul-inflected balladry draws on the classic soul and Motown tradition Aretha Franklin defined; critics regularly place her in that lineage.
• Dusty Springfield — Critics place Adele in the blue-eyed-soul lineage of Dusty Springfield — Jon Pareles likened her emotive timbre directly to Springfield's.
• Ella Fitzgerald — Adele taught herself to sing on records — Ella Fitzgerald for the acrobatics and the scales.