Adele double caps phenomenal year

Reflecting on the failed romance which fuelled her songwriting, she has said: “We’d just bicker over a cup of tea or the fact that my lighter wasn’t working.

“He made me an adult and put me on the road that I’m travelling on,” she told Rolling Stone magazine.

By the end of this week, 21 – already the UK’s biggest selling album of the century – is set to hit four million sales at home. And together with her debut 19, her UK sales tally will be six million albums, according to the Official Charts Company.

But during her year of colossal success, she has also endured the heartbreak of being temporarily robbed of her breathtaking voice. It is only the intervention of surgeons who repaired her ravaged vocal cords which allowed her to return to the spotlight.

The performer, still only 23, was born Adele Laurie Blue Adkins when her mother was just 18, and to a father she says she “never knew”.

From an early age she wanted to sing and her mother regularly arranged the lamps in her house to form a spotlight so Adele could perform to family and friends.

Adele was offered a recording contract with XL Recordings after a friend posted her demos on MySpace soon after she graduated from the performing arts Brits School in Croydon in 2006.

Her debut album '19', also inspired by heartache, went straight in at number one following its release in 2008.

She had already been tipped for success after becoming the first winner of the new Critics’ Choice Award at the Brits.

The singer went on to win two Grammys at the 2009 awards, including best new artist.

Adele’s astonishing success continued with second album 21, following a jaw-dropping performance of the single 'Someone Like You' at last year’s Brit Awards.

It catapulted her back into the spotlight and she went on to enjoy the longest run ever by a female at the top of the UK album charts, surpassing Madonna.

And she became the first woman to have two singles and two albums in the UK top five at the same time.

On average someone buys an Adele record every seven seconds.

But at the peak of her powers, things began to unravel late last year when the record-breaking star was forced to cancel a string of live shows due to throat problems.

She underwent an operation in the US in early November after being diagnosed with a vocal cord haemorrhage, which threatened to wreck her singing voice forever.

But the star – who refuses to play arena or festival shows – is expected to make a full recovery.

Her performance at the Grammy Awards – where she won a record six gongs, including album of the year for 21 and record and song of the year for 'Rolling In The Deep' – marked the first time she had been heard on stage since the surgery.

Adele, who is expected to make her live UK comeback at the Brit Awards, is now in another relationship – with bearded boyfriend Simon Konecki, 36, known as Swampy to his friends.

It is unlikely that any future relationship problems will be the inspiration for another record.

Adele recently said in a magazine interview she will “never” write a break-up record again and she’s “done being a bitter witch”.

The star’s weight has prompted much discussion since her rise to fame and recently prompted a backlash against Karl Lagerfeld who had claimed she was “too fat”.

But her plus-size frame has been no barrier to appearing as the cover star on the latest US edition of Vogue magazine.

Here is the full list of winners for the Brit Awards 2012 with MasterCard:

:: British male solo artist: Ed Sheeran

:: British female solo artist: Adele

:: British breakthrough act: Ed Sheeran

:: British group: Coldplay

:: British single: One Direction – What Makes You Beautiful

:: MasterCard British album of the year: Adele – 21

:: International male solo artist: Bruno Mars

:: International female solo artist: Rihanna

:: International group: Foo Fighters

:: International breakthrough act: Lana Del Rey

:: Outstanding contribution to music award: Blur

:: Critics’ choice: Emeli Sande

:: British producer: Ethan Johns