Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, known as Adele, is a British singer-songwriter. She was the first recipient of the BRIT Awards Critics' Choice and won Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 2009 Grammy Awards. Initially compared to Amy Winehouse, Adele's musical style is self-described as "heartbroken soul," with critics praising her vocals as more developed than her songwriting. Her success aligns with a wave of British female soul singers and is part of a British Musical Invasion in the US.