Singer-songwriter Adele is one of the biggest stars of the century so far with a devoted following all over the world.
But it seems we may have been saying her name wrong all these years.
To celebrate the launch of her new music video for the track "I Drink Wine" off her most recent album 30, which was released last fall, Adele hosted a live Q&A for fans called "Happy House with Adele"
And when a certain British fan said her name, Adele instantly recognized her as someone who must be from the same part of the UK as her, because the star praised the fan's pronunciation as "perfect." See the moment below.
\u201cIts all about the accent for a certain north London lass called Adele For years it appears people have been saying her name wrong but thanks to a QampA hosted on Adeles website idrinkadelecom we now know its pronounced Uhdale\n#accent #London #lass #Adele #years #people #name\u201d— Shahryar Sultan (@Shahryar Sultan) 1667383906
The question that started it all came from a fan named Annie from London, who asked the singer about how she had changed between 30 and the album that preceded it, 25. Annie said:
"Hi Adele, I'm Annie and I'm from London. And my question is: On your journey to self-love while writing '30' did your perspective on how you saw yourself when you wrote '25' change at all and how? Cheers babes, love ya!"
Annie's accent was a dead-ringer for Adele's, right down to the pronunciation of "thirty" as "firty." Even the crowd tittered a bit at the similarity.
But Adele seemed truly blown back by the likeness. She quipped:
"Where's she from, Enfield or something? Love that, she said my name perfectly!"
Enfield is a borough of North London, where Adele grew up. The distinct accent of that part of the city is often called "Estuary English," and bears similarities to the Cockney and Essex accents, which Adele is often mistakenly identified as speaking with.
Adele then demonstrated how she, and Annie, say her name—not so much Ah-dell like most of us say, but more like Uh-dale, with the 'l' on the end almost becoming a 'w.'
Adele went on to explain that her co-host had asked her how to properly pronounce it, and that Annie's version was perfect.
"He came and asked me how I say my name and I was like, 'Uh-dale' and she was like 'Uh-dale."
On social media, people were shook to discover there are different ways to pronounce "Adele."
\u201cur telling me adele said her name is pronounced \u201cuh-dale\u201d and not \u201cah-dell\u201d??\u201d— jordan thee stallion (@jordan thee stallion) 1667407787
\u201cY\u2019all\u2026 it\u2019s not UHDEL. It\u2019s pronounced HUHDALE. We\u2019ve been saying her name wrong!!! #Adele\u201d— \u2665 Gloria Calder\u00f3n Kellett \u2665 (@\u2665 Gloria Calder\u00f3n Kellett \u2665) 1667371955
\u201c"Adele" is pronounced "a-dale"?\u201d— peanut (@peanut) 1667400231
\u201c@GMB Hahahaha that's better lol \ud83d\udc4d\ud83d\udc4d\ud83d\udc4d\u201d— Good Morning Britain (@Good Morning Britain) 1667395850
\u201cA whole story about my girls name\u2026 iconic\u201d— Ellie \ud83e\uddda\ud83c\udffb\u200d\u2642\ufe0f (@Ellie \ud83e\uddda\ud83c\udffb\u200d\u2642\ufe0f) 1667411608
Though not everyone could hear the difference.
\u201cSo it turns out Adele\u2019s name is pronounced Adele.\u201d— GlennyRodge (@GlennyRodge) 1667416211
\u201c@GamingAnarchist I've been pronouncing it "Adele" all this time when it's actually pronounced "Adele".\n\nI feel like such a fool.\u201d— SickBoy (@SickBoy) 1667411186
\u201cit's actually the way everyone already pronounces it\u201d— Jack Hamilton (@Jack Hamilton) 1667409143
\u201c@MailOnline She pronounces it \u201cAh-del\u201d in the video. Which is how everyone says it \ud83e\udd28\u201d— Daily Mail Online (@Daily Mail Online) 1667389263
\u201c@boobygraffoe None of the above. I pronounce it Adele.\u201d— Boothby Graffoe (@Boothby Graffoe) 1667414238
As for Annie, she seems to be enjoying her viral moment. She took to Twitter to make an Adele-themed joke about her sudden fame.
\u201cMe after all these articles about how I pronounce Adele\u2019s name\u201d— \ud83e\ude90Annie (@\ud83e\ude90Annie) 1667410689
You know you're an icon when even the pronunciation of your name becomes news.
@GavinNewsom/X
