Happy birthday, Adele! As the British singer turns 32 today (May 5), Billboard takes a look at her biggest songs on the Billboard Hot 100.
The powerhouse British pop singer-songwriter first entered the Hot 100 (at age 20) with “Chasing Pavements,” the lead single from her debut album, 19. The song peaked at No. 21 in February 2009.
Her sophomore album, 21, earned her four more entries on the chart, including “Rolling in the Deep,” her first No. 1 on the list, and the top title on the 2011 year-end Hot 100. “Deep” dominated the Hot 100 for seven weeks, paving the way for two more No. 1s from 21: “Someone Like You” (for five weeks) and “Set Fire to the Rain” (two).
Following the 2012 soundtrack single “Skyfall,” a No. 8 Hot 100 hit, Adele returned with a vengeance in November 2015 with “Hello,” which introduced her third LP, 25. The ballad debuted atop the Hot 100, where it ruled for 10 weeks. 25 sold 3.38 million copies in its first week in the U.S., marking the largest single sales week for an album since Nielsen Music began tracking point-of-sale music purchases in 1991.
The set has sold 9.3 million copies in the U.S. to date. Meanwhile, 21 is up to 11.8 million sold and ranks as the No. 1 album in the Billboard 200‘s entire history.
Let’s do a “deep” dive into Adele’s biggest hits on the Hot 100.
Adele’s Top 10 Biggest Hot 100 Hits
1, “Rolling in the Deep,” peak position No. 1 (7 weeks), peak date May 21, 2011
2, “Someone Like You,” No. 1 (5 weeks), Sept. 17, 2011
3, “Hello,” No. 1 (10 weeks), Nov. 14, 2015
4, “Set Fire to the Rain,” No. 1 (2 weeks), Feb. 4, 2012
5, “Send My Love (To Your New Lover),” No. 8, Sept. 24, 2016
6, “Rumour Has It,” No. 16, May 5, 2012
7, “When We Were Young,” No. 14, March 5, 2016
8, “Skyfall,” No. 8, Oct. 20, 2012
9, “Water Under the Bridge,” No. 26, Feb. 11, 2017
10, “Chasing Pavements,” No. 21, Feb. 28, 2009
Adele’s Biggest Billboard Hot 100 hits chart is based on actual performance on the weekly Billboard Hot 100, through the May 9, 2020, ranking. Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at No. 100 earning the least. Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, eras are weighted to account for different chart turnover rates over various periods.