A 23-year-old singer/songwriter from south London, Adele stormed the music industry with her trademark powerful vocals in her debut album “19.” Her second album, “21”, released earlier this year, is one of the greatest selling albums. However, the “Rumour Has It” singer suffered a setback in October, when she was diagnosed with vocal cord hemorrhage and was forced to undergo throat surgery. Nevertheless, the Grammy-award winning artist has reasons to smile; her hit singles “Rolling in the Deep” and “Someone Like You”, this year alone, earned her several nominations and three American Music Awards, as well as the Best Independent Artist accolade at the BT Digital Music Awards, Glamour magazine’s UK Musician of the Year award and the Platinum Award by IFPI Platinum Europe Awards.REUTERS
A 23-year-old singer/songwriter from south London, Adele stormed the music industry with her trademark powerful vocals in her debut album “19.” Her second album, “21”, released earlier this year, is one of the greatest selling albums. However, the “Rumour Has It” singer suffered a setback in October, when she was diagnosed with vocal cord hemorrhage and was forced to undergo throat surgery. Nevertheless, the Grammy-award winning artist has reasons to smile; her hit singles “Rolling in the Deep” and “Someone Like You”, this year alone, earned her several nominations and three American Music Awards, as well as the Best Independent Artist accolade at the BT Digital Music Awards, Glamour magazine’s UK Musician of the Year award and the Platinum Award by IFPI Platinum Europe Awards.REUTERSBorn Jessica Ellen Cornish on March 27, 1988, the British singer/songwriter also known as “Jessie J”, is the newest force on the music charts. After debuting in 2010 with the hit single, “Do It Like A Dude”, she released her first album, “Who You Are” the following year. As a measure of her work, she was awarded four categories at the 2011 MOBO Awards, three BT Digital Music Awards, the Best Video at the Q Music Awards and the Critics’ Choice BRIT Award.REUTERSA British rapper/songwriter, Tinie Tempah has consistently reinvented his musical self, with hit singles like “Pass Out”, “Written in the Stars”, “Miami 2 Ibiza” and “Till I’m Gone”. The artist’s hits this year were “Eyes Wide Shut”, “Wonderman”, “We Bring the Stars Out”, “Simply Unstoppable”, “Hitz”, “Till I’m Gone” and “Earthquake”. The 23-year-old was recognized as the Best Breakthrough Act and for having the Best Single, at the Critic’s Choice BRIT Awards, as well as the Best Contemporary Song at the Ivor Novello Awards and two BET Awards.REUTERSLily AllenREUTERSTaio Cruz, a British singer/record producer/rapper/entrepreneur, has worked with the likes of Kylie Minogue, Ludacris, David Guetta, Cheryl Cole, Flo Rida, Bruno Mars and others. It was even rumuored that he was dating Cheryl Cole earlier this year, while working on her new album. However, the singer denied reports stating the duo were an item. Romantic affairs aside, the 28-year-old artist shot to fame with his 2008 album “Departure”, which was followed by “Rokstarr” in 2009. Cruz’s previous number one singles, “Break Your Heart” and “Dynamite”, ruled the UK and U.S. Billboard charts. The BRIT-award winner won three categories at the year’s Billboard Awards for “Dynamite.”REUTERSThe British singer was sacked as a judge from the U.S. run of “The X-Factor”, with co-judge Simon Cowell saying she looked “bewildered” during her time on the panel.REUTERSThe former lead guitarist and vocalist of British pop band Oasis, Noel Gallagher is back in the news, with a solo career kick-started by his debut album, “Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds.” Gallagher made his debut with Oasis in 1995, with a UK hit single, “Some Might Say”. However, after an altercation with his brother, Liam Gallagher, in 2009, he quit the band. The hit singles from Noel’s debut album are “The Death of You and Me”, “AKA…What a Life!” and “If I Had a Gun…”REUTERSElena Jane Goulding, a songwriter and the British Critics’ Choice Award winner, for both the Best Female Solo Artist and the Best Breakthrough Artist, established herself with her debut studio album, “Lights”, in 2010. The album went to Number One on the UK Official Charts Company and stayed there for a fantastic 71 weeks. She won the Pandora Newcomer of the Year award, from Glamour Magazine and is planning the launch of a “definitely different” second album.REUTERSThe winner of the fifth season of “The X-Factor”, Alexandra Burke, R&B and pop artist, debuted with a single, “Hallelujah”, in 2008. Since then, the 23-year-old has had had several hits - “Bad Boys”, “Broken Heels”, “All Night Long”, “Start Without You” and “The Silence”. Alexandra became the first former contestant of her breakthrough show, “The X-Factor”, to be a judge on “So You Think You Can Dance” and even made it to the panel of the former, when called as a replacement for singer Kelly Rowland.REUTERSRapper Stephen Paul Manderson, also known as Professor Green, was born in London. The 28-year-old artist released his debut album “Alive Till I Am Dead” in 2010 with guest vocalists including Lily Allen, Emeli Sande, Fink, Labrinth and Example. In 2011, Green released his second studio album, titled “At Your Inconvenience”, as a digital download in the UK. The promotional track of the album was played on the BBC and Professor Green was awarded the Best DanceFloor Filler –Jungle Award by NME.REUTERS
From Adele's soulful rendition of "Someone Like You" to Jessie J's pop sensation "Price Tag," British singers are the latest rage in the music industry. Legends like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd are still revered but it's the current crop of artists like Adele and Jessie J, who have made the idea of pop so irresistible to die-hard music lovers! If Taio Cruz did "Break Your Heart," then Cheryl Cole made it up with her romantic "3 Words", for both the British and international audience.
An inspiration for many, the current generation of singers has added their own raw emotion, spunk and creativity to present their uniqueness to the global audience.
Check out photographs of the top 10 British singers who have made it to the Class of 2011.
