Adele

A product of the BRIT performing arts school in Croydon, Adele first started writing and performing at 16, initially building a following by putting her music on her MySpace page on the internet. As a result she was signed by the XL label and hit it big with her second single Chasing Pavements - co-written with Eg White - in 2008. A thoughtful song, described by Adele as "heartbreak soul", it was classily orchestrated and went on to win numerous awards, with Prime Minister Gordon Brown even contacting Adele to say he was a fan. Her subsequent album 19 established her internationally, selling over 2.2 million and she was viewed alongside Duffy and Kate Nash as part of new British invasion of female talent. Another track Hometown Glory was featured in TV shows One Tree Hill and Grey's Anatomy, helping to break her in the US, where she even collaborated with Jack White and The Raconteurs. Adele had a golden beginning to 2012 winning five Grammy and two BRIT Awards within the space of a week.