Adele – 19 (10th Anniversary Edition)

Adele's 19 introduced her in 2008 as a BRIT School graduate whose early MySpace demos led to a deal with XL Recordings, and it still feels like the sound of a major voice arriving fully formed. Named for her age at the time, the album quickly became more than a debut: it topped the UK chart, helped establish Adele as one of the year's most talked-about new artists, and went on to earn her the Grammy for Best New Artist.

What makes 19 stand out is how confidently it balances youthful perspective with older musical instincts. Adele wrote most of the material herself, with key help from collaborators including Jim Abbiss, Eg White and Sacha Skarbek, drawing together soul, jazz, folk and pop without sounding overly polished. Songs such as "Chasing Pavements" and "Hometown Glory" gave her breakthrough singles, while her version of Bob Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love" showed how naturally she could inhabit another writer's song.

There is plenty of hindsight value here too: before the global scale of 21, 19 already had the emotional directness, smoky phrasing and sharp melodic sense that would define Adele's catalogue. If later records are bigger and more dramatic, this one has a particular intimacy—heartbreak, daydreams and defiance delivered with a voice that already sounded unmistakable.

Features

• Includes MP3 download code and Live Acoustic EP download code

Reviews

• A beyond stellar debut in both quality and originality. - AllMusic.com