21 (Adele album) music inflections. Instruments such as the saxophone, harp, banjo and the accordion contributed to its exploration of blues and soul. The singer drew from the music of Mary J. Blige, Kanye West, Elbow, Mos Def, Alanis Morissette, Tom Waits, and Sinéad O'Connor in the cultivation of the album's sound, and credited Yvonne Fair, Andrew Bird, Neko Case, and The Steel Drivers with its musical direction. Adele's style on "21" is generally characterised by critics as soul, although some suggest that the album eschews any distinct stylistic epithet. John Murphy of musicOMH characterises the album as British soul. Jon Caramanica of
Rebecca Ferguson (singer) Rebecca Ferguson (singer) Rebecca Caroline Ferguson (born 21 July 1986) is a British singer and songwriter. She came to prominence in 2010 when she became the runner-up of the seventh series of "The X Factor", losing to the winner that year, Matt Cardle. She subsequently signed a joint record deal with Syco Music and Epic Records in the UK. She later signed to Columbia Records in the US. Ferguson's debut album, "Heaven", was released in December 2011 to commercial and critical success. The album sold 128k in its first week and peaked at No. 3 in the UK Official Charts,