Friday 23rd October 2015 by Andrew Trendell, Alex Pollard | Photos by Wenn

Adele - the making of an icon: a timeline of her rise to stardom

The relentless rise of a modern day legend

October 2007: Released her first single, 'Hometown Glory', as a limited edition 7" vinyl, of which only 500 copies were made. The song was written when Adele was 16, and was the first song she ever wrote.

December 2007: Announced as the BBC's Sound of 2008, beating the likes of Foals, Vampire Weekend and MGMT.

January 2008: Released her debut album 19, which reached No.1 in the UK charts on its first week.

February 2008: Awarded the Critics' Choice award at the BRITs.

September 2008: 19 nominated for Mercury Prize for best album. Beaten by Elbow's The Seldom Seen Kid.

February 2009: Received two Grammy Awards - for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

January 2011: Released her second studio album 21, which went on to sell nearly 5 million copies in the UK, and over 10 million in the US.

February 2011: Performed 'Someone Like You' at the BRITs, receiving a standing ovation, and propelling the single up 46 spots in the UK charts to No.1. The performance has received over 153 million views on YouTube.

February 2011: Won in all six of her nominated categories at the Grammy Awards, including Album Of the Year and Song Of The Year, equalling the record for most wins by a female artist in one night.

February 2012: Awarded British Female Solo Artist and Album Of The Year awards at the BRITs.

January 2013: Awarded the Golden Globe for Best Original Song for 'Skyfall', the theme song for the James Bond film of the same name.

March 2013: Awarded the Oscar for Best Original Song, also for 'Skyfall.'

October 2015: After years of rumours, hearsay and radio silence, Adele thrills the world by teasing her new single during the X Factor ad break on a Sunday night. Days later, third album 25 is announced as a 'make-up record'.

October 2015: Releases the epic single 'Hello' with huge and emotive video - destined to soundtrack the rest of the winter

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Adele Tickets

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For those of you who have been living in a deep underground nuclear bunker all week, you may not have heard that Adele is back! Expect her to dominate the airwaves and all popular consciousness for the next 12 months and beyond.

But how did we get here? How did a cheeky teen from Tottenham bloom into a globe-conquering whirlwind in less than a decade? Well, it probably has something to do with THAT voice, some era-defining soul pop, and a series of well-timed moments.

To celebrate Adele's return, here's a timeline of her career - mapping out how an icon was made.