Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, known to the world simply as Adele, sat across from the journalist, her eyes filled with both strength and vulnerability as she recounted her story—a journey that would transform her from a girl growing up in a tough part of Tottenham, London, to one of the most powerful voices in the music industry.

Born to a teenage mother who struggled to make ends meet, Adele’s childhood was far from easy. “My mom was only a teenager when she had me,” she began. “She worked her butt off cleaning houses just to put food on the table. My dad, on the other hand, just vanished. He wasn’t there. He wasn’t a part of my life. And growing up, seeing friends with their fathers—it left a hole in me that was worse than hunger itself. It hurt more than anything. There was always this space that no one could fill.”

As a young girl, Adele found comfort in music. “At 9, I discovered I could sing, but it wasn’t just about hitting the right notes. It was about something deeper. It was about healing, about speaking the things I couldn’t express with words. By the time I was 14, I was already writing songs. They were my way of processing the pain that no one really understood. The lyrics were my way of crying.”

Despite her raw talent, Adele struggled to fit the traditional mold of a pop star. “The industry didn’t want me,” she recalled with a rueful smile. “I wasn’t the ‘perfect’ image. I was told I was too fat, that I wasn’t marketable, that my body didn’t work. One producer, I’ll never forget, told me, ‘You’ve got a good voice, but you don’t look like a star.’ And that was hard to hear. But you know what? I didn’t let it break me. I just kept going.”

Adele admitted that the harsh words didn’t come without pain. “I’d go home, lock myself in the bathroom, and cry. I felt worthless sometimes, like I wasn’t enough. But then, I’d sit at my piano and write. And every time I did, I became stronger. I wrote my first album with a broken heart, and the second with my soul in pieces. And, you know, both exploded. People connected with my pain, and it turned into power.”

But success didn’t come without its own set of challenges. “I lost my voice in the middle of a tour,” Adele explained. “I had to have surgery on my vocal cords. I was scared. I thought I might never be able to sing again. I was at my lowest point. That, combined with a devastating breakup, put me in a place where I didn’t know how to breathe. I had anxiety attacks that left me gasping for air. It was all so much to carry.”

The weight of these struggles took its toll on her. “There were times when I felt like I was suffocating. Like I was drowning in my own grief and pressure. I’d look in the mirror and wonder if I was ever going to find my way back.”

But Adele found her way back, not in a traditional sense, but through what she knew best: music. “I didn’t get better overnight. It wasn’t a quick fix. I rebuilt myself slowly, note by note, tear by tear. Music was my therapy. It was how I healed. I didn’t just sing; I poured every bit of myself into those songs. I found strength through writing, through performing, through being vulnerable with my fans.”

She smiled as she spoke about the process. “I guess you could say I found my strength in my brokenness. I didn’t let the pain take me down. I used it. I channeled it into my music, and that’s what kept me going. That’s what helped me rebuild.”

Adele shared that one quote, in particular, stuck with her throughout her darkest moments. “There’s a quote from Adele that’s always stuck with me: ‘It doesn’t make you weak to feel broken. What truly matters is what you do with those pieces.’ That really resonated with me. It helped me see that feeling broken doesn’t make you less. It makes you real. And it’s what you do with that pain, that rawness, that turns it into something powerful.”

The journey to reclaiming her voice wasn’t just about healing from personal heartbreak. It was also about reclaiming her sense of self in an industry that had told her she wasn’t enough. “I didn’t fit the image of what the world thought a pop star should be, but I refused to let that define me. My voice was my strength. It was what I was going to use to make my mark in the world. And when I sing, I’m not just singing for myself. I’m singing for anyone who’s ever been told they’re not enough. I want them to know they are.”

When asked about her legacy, Adele’s eyes softened. “I’m not here to be perfect. I’m here to be real. My story isn’t about being flawless. It’s about overcoming, about using the things that have broken me to build something even stronger. If my music can give someone hope, then it’s all worth it.”

Her journey—from the struggles of abandonment and body shaming to losing her voice and dealing with anxiety—has shaped Adele into more than just a singer. She’s become a symbol of resilience, proof that even in the face of overwhelming odds, it’s possible to rise, to heal, and to transform pain into something beautiful.

Adele’s message is clear: “No matter where you come from, no matter what you’ve been through, you have the power to rebuild. You have the strength to turn your pain into power. And never, ever let anyone tell you you’re not enough.”