Sade (singer)

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Template:Short description Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox person Helen Folasade Adu Template:Post-nominals (Template:Langx Template:IPA; born 16 January 1959), known professionally as Sade (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell or Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell),<ref>Template:Cite LPD</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is a Nigerian-born British singer and songwriter who is the lead vocalist of her band, Sade. One of the most successful British female artists in history, she is often recognised as an influence on contemporary music.<ref name="SundayTimes2010131">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Subscription required</ref><ref name="VH1-100Women">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="VMag2016">Template:Cite web</ref> Her success in the music industry was recognised with the honour Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2002, and she was made Commander in the 2017 Birthday Honours.<ref name="Courant19860126">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Subscription required</ref>

Sade was born in Ibadan, Nigeria,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and was brought up in England from the age of four. She studied at Saint Martin's School of Art in London and gained modest recognition as a fashion designer and part-time model before joining the band Pride in the early 1980s. After gaining attention as a performer, she formed the band Sade, and secured a recording contract with Epic Records in 1983. A year later, the band released the album Diamond Life, which became one of the era's best-selling albums and the best-selling debut by a British female vocalist.

In July 1985, Sade was among the performers at the Live Aid charity concert at Wembley Stadium and in November the band released their second album, Promise. The next year, she appeared in the film Absolute Beginners. The band released their third album (Stronger Than Pride) in 1988, and a fourth album (Love Deluxe) in 1992. The band went on hiatus in 1996 after the birth of Sade's child.

The band reunited in 1999 and the following year, released Lovers Rock, their first album in eight years. Lovers Rock was a departure from the band's earlier jazz-inspired sounds. In 2010, the band released Soldier of Love, their sixth studio album, and toured arenas worldwide. Since that tour ended in 2011, the band has released three songs: "Flower of the Universe" for the soundtrack of Disney's A Wrinkle in Time, "The Big Unknown", part of the soundtrack of Steve McQueen's film Widows,<ref name="WaPo20180307">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Pitchfork20181109">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="SundayTimes20150426">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Subscription required</ref> and "Young Lion", part of the Red Hot compilation album TRAИƧA in 2024.

Early life

Helen Folasade Adu was born on 16 January 1959 in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.<ref name="Sunday Times Jan 10">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Subscription required</ref> Her middle name, Folasade, means "crowned with wealth" in Yoruba.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Her parents are Adebisi Adu, a Nigerian lecturer in economics of Yoruba background from Ikere-Ekiti, and Anne Hayes, an English district nurse; they met in London, married in 1955, and moved to Nigeria.<ref name="Sunday Times Jan 10" /> Sade was four years old when her parents separated. Hayes returned to England with Sade and her elder brother, Banji, to live with their maternal grandparents near Colchester, Essex.<ref name=bio>Template:Cite web</ref> At age 11, Sade moved to Holland-on-Sea, Essex with her mother and brother.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After completing her education at Clacton County High School and Colchester Institute at the age of 18, she moved to London and studied fashion design at Saint Martin's School of Art.<ref name="Sunday Times Jan 10" /><ref name=bio /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Career

1980–1984: Beginnings and Diamond Life

After completing a three-year course in fashion design, and later modelling briefly, Sade began backup singing with British band Pride. During this time, she formed a songwriting partnership with Pride's guitarist/saxophonist Stuart Matthewman; together, backed by Pride's rhythm section, they began doing their own sets at Pride gigs.<ref name=Background/> Her solo performances of the song "Smooth Operator", co-written with Ray St. John, attracted record companies' attention, and in 1983 Sade and Matthewman split from Pride, along with keyboardist Andrew Hale, bassist Paul Denman, and drummer Paul Cook, to form the band Sade.<ref name="Sunday Times Jan 10" /><ref name=Background>Template:Cite magazine</ref> By the time she performed her first show at London's Heaven nightclub, she had become so popular that 1,000 people were turned away at the door. In May 1983, Sade performed her first US show at New York City's Danceteria nightclub. On 18 October 1983, Sade Adu signed with Epic Records. The rest of the band signed in 1984.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Following the record deal, the group began recording their debut album, Diamond Life, which took six weeks to record and was recorded entirely at The Power Plant in London.<ref name=Recording>Template:Cite news</ref> Diamond Life was released on 16 July 1984, reached number two in the UK Album Chart, sold over 1.2 million copies in the UK, and won the Brit Award for Best British Album in 1985.<ref name="Brits">Template:Cite web</ref> The album was also a hit internationally, reaching number one in several countries and the top ten in the US, where it sold in excess of four million copies. Diamond Life had international sales of over six million copies, becoming one of the top-selling debut recordings of the '80s, and the best-selling debut ever by a British female vocalist.<ref name="Background"/>

"Your Love Is King" was released as the album's lead single on 25 February 1984 and was a success in European territories, charting at number seven in Ireland and number six on the UK Singles Chart.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The song was less successful in the US, where it peaked at number 54 on the US Billboard Hot 100.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The third single, "Smooth Operator", was released on 15 September 1984 and became the most successful song in the US from the album Diamond Life. The track peaked at number five on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the US Billboard Hot Black Singles, as well as peaking at number one on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.<ref name="allmusic">Template:Cite web</ref> In Europe the song fared well, peaking at number 19 in the UK,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and reaching the top 20 in Austria, Switzerland, France, and Germany.<ref name="swiss">Template:Cite web</ref>

1985–2000: Continued success and first hiatus

File:Sade - News-Pilot (1985).jpg
Sade performing in 1985

In late 1985, the band released their second album, Promise, which peaked at number one in both the UK and the US<ref name="BritChart">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Billboard">Template:Cite book</ref> and became the band's first album to reach number one on the US Billboard 200. The album topped the chart in 1986 and spent two weeks at the peak position.<ref name=Caulfield /> Eventually, the album went on to sell four million copies in the region and was certified four times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).<ref name="RIAA">Template:Cite web</ref> The album spawned two singles "Never as Good as the First Time" and "The Sweetest Taboo," the latter of which was released as the album's lead single and stayed on the US Hot 100 for six months.<ref name="mtv.com">Template:Cite web</ref> "The Sweetest Taboo" peaked at number five on the US Billboard Hot 100, number one on the US adult Contemporary chart, and number three on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Sade was so popular that some radio stations reinstated the '70s practice of playing album tracks, adding "Is It a Crime" and "Tar Baby" to their playlists.<ref name="mtv.com"/> The following year, 1986, the band won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.<ref name="Grammy">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1986, Sade made her acting debut in Absolute Beginners, a film adapted from the Colin MacInnes book of the same name about life in late-1950s London. Sade played the role of Athene Duncannon and lent her vocals to the film's accompanying soundtrack.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The film was screened out of competition at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival and grossed £1.8 million in the UK.<ref name="festival-cannes.com">Template:Cite web</ref> Sade's third album, Stronger Than Pride, was released on 3 May 1988, and like Sade's previous album became a commercial success and certified three times platinum in the US.<ref name="RIAA"/> The album was popularized by four singles, most notably the album's second single "Paradise", which peaked at number 16 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, becoming the band's first single to do so.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Love Deluxe was released as the band's fourth studio album on 26 October 1992. The album peaked at number three on the US Billboard 200<ref name="AMcharts">Template:Cite web</ref> and has sold 3.4 million copies in the United States.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The album was later certified four times platinum by the RIAA for shipments of four million copies.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The album was also commercially successful elsewhere, reaching number one in France,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and reaching the top ten in New Zealand,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Sweden,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Switzerland,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the UK.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The album went on to be certified gold in the United Kingdom. In November 1994, the group released their first compilation album, The Best of Sade. The album was another top ten hit in both the United Kingdom and the United States,<ref name='AllMusic-BestOf'>Template:Cite web</ref> certified platinum and four times platinum, respectively.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The compilation album included material from Sade's previous albums, as well as a cover version of "Please Send Me Someone to Love" (1950), originally by Percy Mayfield.<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>

2000–2010: Lovers Rock and second hiatus

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Sade onstage at the SAP-Arena, Mannheim, Germany, 2011-11-16

Following an eight-year hiatus, the band released their fifth studio album, Lovers Rock, on 13 November 2000 and received positive reviews from music critics.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The album reached number 18 on the UK Albums Chart, number three on the US Billboard 200, and has since been certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA),Template:Certification Cite Ref having sold 3.9 million copies in the United States by February 2010.<ref name="Sade To Take">Template:Cite magazine</ref> On 27 February 2002, the album earned Sade the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the lead single "By Your Side" was nominated for the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Although the single lost out to Nelly Furtado's "I'm Like a Bird", it has been listed as the 48th greatest love song of all time by VH1.<ref name="mdb">Template:Cite web</ref>

To promote the album, Sade and the band embarked on their fifth concert tour entitled Lovers Rock Tour. The tour was announced via the band's website in April 2001.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The announcement stated the tour would begin in the summer of 2001 with 30 shows. Initial dates were rescheduled due to extended rehearsal time. The shows sold well, with many stops adding additional shows. In August 2001, the tour was extended by eight weeks due to ticket demand.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Deemed by many critics as a comeback tour, it marked the band's first performances since 1994 and took place in 2001. Although many believed the trek would expand to other countries, this did not occur. With over 40 shows, it became the 13th biggest tour in North America, earning over $26 million.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Following the tour, the band released their first live album, Lovers Live on 5 February 2002 by Epic Records. Lovers Live reached number ten on the US Billboard 200 and number 51 on the UK Albums Chart, the band's first album to miss the top twenty in the UK. The album was certified gold by the RIAA on 7 March 2002, having reached US sales of 562,000 copies,<ref name="USsales">Template:Cite magazine</ref> while the DVD was certified platinum on 30 January 2003 for shipping 100,000 copies.

Following the release of Lovers Rock, Sade took a ten-year hiatus, during which she raised her child and moved to the Caribbean. During this time, she made a rare public appearance for an award ceremony that took place in 2002 to accept an Order of the British Empire (OBE) at Buckingham Palace for services to music.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2002, she appeared on the Red Hot Organization album, Red Hot + Riot, a compilation CD in tribute to the music of fellow Nigerian musician, Fela Kuti. She recorded a remix of her hit single "By Your Side" for the album and was billed as a co-producer.

2010–2017: Soldier of Love and third hiatus

File:Sade Chile 2011 (cropped).png
Sade performing in 2011

The band's sixth studio album, Soldier of Love, was released worldwide on 8 February 2010, and was their first album in ten years to contain new material.<ref name=bio/> Upon release, the album received positive reviews and became a success.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The album debuted atop the Billboard 200 in the United States with first-week sales of 502,000 copies. Soldier of Love became the band's first album to debut at number one and the band's second album to peak at number one on the chart. The album also had the best sales week by a group since Australian band AC/DC released their album Black Ice and entered the Billboard 200 at number one in November 2008.<ref name=Caulfield>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Consequently, the band became the act with the longest time between number-one albums, as the band's Promise (1985) and Soldier of Love were separated by 24 years, 10 months and 2 weeks.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The first single and title track, "Soldier of Love", premiered on US radio on 8 December 2009<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and was released digitally on 11 January 2010.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Subsequent singles, "Babyfather" and "The Moon and the Sky", were played by US urban adult contemporary radio on 13 April and 24 August 2010, respectively.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2011, the title track won Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, while the song, "Babyfather", was nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In April 2011, the band began their Sade Live tour (also known as the "Once in a Lifetime Tour" or the "Soldier of Love Tour").<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The band toured Europe, the Americas, Australia and Asia to promote the band's sixth studio album and their second compilation album, The Ultimate Collection (2011). This trek marked the band's first tour in nearly a decade<ref name="Concepcion September 2011">Template:Cite magazine</ref> and ranked 27th in Pollstar's "Top 50 Worldwide Tour (Mid-Year)", earning over 20 million dollars.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At the conclusion of 2011, the tour placed tenth on Billboard's annual "Top 25 Tours", earning over $50 million with 59 shows.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The tour was chronicled with Bring Me Home - Live 2011, released in May 2012.

2018–present: Return

In March 2018, she (and the reunited Sade band) released the acoustic ballad "Flower of the Universe" for the soundtrack to the Disney film A Wrinkle in Time. About asking Sade to contribute to the album, director Ava DuVernay wrote "I never thought she'd say yes, but asked anyway."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Later that year, Sade released "The Big Unknown" for the soundtrack to the 20th Century Fox film Widows. The film's director, Steve McQueen, stated that Sade agreed to write the song for the film, because "the original series of Widows had deeply resonated with her."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> For a couple of weeks in 2022, the band visited Miraval Studios in France for the first time since recording some of their albums Promise and Stronger Than Pride.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The successor to Soldier of Love is rumoured to be in progress.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Legacy and influence

The New Yorker described Sade's voice as a "grainy contralto full of air that betrays a slight ache but no agony, and values even imperfect dignity over a show of pain", a "deeply English" quality that makes categorising the artist's voice difficult.<ref name="Frere-Jones">Template:Cite news</ref> Her voice was described by the BBC as "husky and restrained" and compared to singer Billie Holiday. BBC called her songwriting "sufficiently soulful and jazzy yet poppy, funky yet easy listening, to appeal to fans of all those genres."<ref name="bbc.co.uk">Template:Cite web</ref> Sade has been called a "pop star".<ref name="Frere-Jones"/> With the musicians in her band, Sade, The New Yorker wrote, "created one of the most profitable catalogues in pop"; the band's "easy" sound backing songs "exploring the heavier lifting inside love: commitment, consistency, friendship."<ref name="Frere-Jones"/> Her success has been attributed to a combination of her unique beauty, seemingly indefinable origins, and mysterious persona.<ref name="Frere-Jones"/> In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Sade at No. 51 on their list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Sade's work has influenced and been recognised by many singers and hip hop artists. Rapper Rakim of Eric B. & Rakim stated he grew up listening to Sade's music and was influenced by her voice and style. Rakim has also referred to Sade's song "Smooth Operator" in the song "Microphone Fiend" (1988).<ref name="vulture.com"/> Talib Kweli stated he learned about precision from Sade due to her performance of Love Deluxe in its entirety at Madison Square Garden.<ref name="vulture.com"/> Rapper Missy Elliott cited Sade's performance of "Smooth Operator" as one of her favourites. Hip hop group Souls of Mischief stated they grew up listening to Sade's music.<ref name="vulture.com">Template:Cite web</ref> Hip hop group Tanya Morgan also described Sade as one of their favourite artists.<ref name="vulture.com"/> Other rappers to recognise Sade include the rap duo of Clipse – Malice and Pusha.<ref name="vulture.com"/> In reaction to the newly released album Soldier of Love, rapper Kanye West wrote, "This is why i still have a blog. To be a part of moments like this ... new Sade ... How much better this ... than everything else?".<ref name="vulture.com"/> Rapper Rick Ross stated in an interview that "People may know my infatuation with Sade. There's never been a bad Sade track. I love all different sides."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

The late singer Aaliyah said that she admired Sade because "she stays true to her style no matter what ... she's an amazing artist, an amazing performer ... and I absolutely love her."<ref name="Aaliyah">Template:Cite book</ref> American R&B singer Brandy has cited Sade as one of her major vocal influences.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Heavy metal singers Greg Puciato and Chino Moreno have also named her as an inspiration.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

Sade squatted in Tottenham in the 1980s, with her then-boyfriend Robert Elms.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1989, she married Spanish film director Carlos Pliego. Their marriage ended in 1995.<ref name="Sunday Times Jan 10" /> Sade moved briefly to the Caribbean to live with Jamaican music producer Bob Morgan in the late 1990s<ref name="Sunday Times Jan 10" /> and gave birth on 21 July 1996 to her first child, who later sang on Sade's song "Babyfather" in 2010. Sade and Morgan separated, and she has been in a relationship with Ian Watts, a former Royal Marine, since 2007; from this relationship, she has a stepson.

In 2016, on National Coming Out Day, Sade's child, Izaak Theo Adu, came out as a transgender man.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In September 2019, Izaak posted a message online, thanking his mother for her support through his transition.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the autumn of 2024, Sade and the Red Hot Organization's TRAИƧA project released "Young Lion", a song dedicated to her son.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In 2005, Sade moved to a village in the Gloucestershire countryside, where she bought a run-down cottage to renovate. Sade rarely gives interviews.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Honours, awards and nominations

Template:Main Sade was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2002 for services to music, and stated her award was "a great gesture to me and all black women in England".<ref name="Actress and singer collect OBEs">Template:Cite news</ref> She was promoted to Commander of the same Order (CBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours, also for services to music.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1986, she became the first Nigerian-born artist to win a Grammy Award when she was named Best New Artist. In 2023, Sade was invited to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Sade became a 2024 nominee for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Discography

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