Adele

Though she had no formal musical training as a child, Adele clearly had an affinity for it. She would imitate The Spice Girls and Destiny's Child, and even wrote a song at 16, "Hometown Glory," which would later become her debut single. As a student, she had the opportunity to attend The BRIT School, a music-oriented facility. There she was finally able to formally train, and began writing and performing songs.

The turning point came when one of Adele's classmates set up a MySpace page for her and posted a couple of her songs. It soon led to a meeting with XL Recordings, who signed her to the label. In 2007 she released her debut single, with the album "19" coming a few months later in 2008. It was an immediate success in the UK, and led to a partnership with Columbia Records to branch into the US market.

Adele came to the US in 2008 to promote her album, a visit that included a performance at Coachella. While she was finding success, she hit a tipping point when she was the musical guest on a highly rated episode of "SNL." The next week she moved up in all the charts and topped the iTunes list. In 2009, she won two Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist.