Leader comment: Adele is truly a phenomenon

It can be hard recalling a time when Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, to use her full name, did not dominate the music world. It is actually nearly a decade since a TV debut on the BBC's Later...With Jools Holland and breakthrough single 'Hometown Glory.'

Adele performs onstage during the 59th GRAMMY Awards in Los Angeles, California. Picture: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for NARAS

She has been pretty much unstoppable on both sides of the Atlantic since the release of her debut album, 19, in 2008.

Within months she had won the Critics’ Choice prize at the Brit Awards and was named best new artist at the Grammys.

Since then she has won countless awards, including an Oscar, set umpteen records and notched up more than 100 million album sales. After triumphing at the Brit Awards last year with her third album 25, Adele was being hailed as one of the world’s biggest entertainment brands. Much of this was down to the sheer volume of records she can sell at time when her industry is in decline. But she has also been ranked alongside the likes of Grand Theft Auto and Star Wars.

She has over a year to wait until she celebrates her 30th birthday, but it is hard to imagine what else is left for Adele to achieve. But, strange as it may sound, there is still a lingering feeling around the singer that she has not quite had the recognition she deserves from the industry. Her down-to-earth nature and heart-on-sleeve approach to her music has won her millions of admirers, but may have something to do with the fact she is still treated less than seriously in some quarters.

Perhaps her latest haul of five Grammys will make the doubters wake up and realise that she is not only a hugely talented and determined performer, but a modern-day musical phenomenon and a shining example to aspiring songwriters everywhere.