Sade (singer)

Helen Folasade Adu, OBE (Yoruba: Fọláṣadé Adú; born 16 January 1959), known professionally as Sade Adu or simply Sade (/ʃɑːˈdeɪ/ shah-DAY), is an English singer-songwriter, composer, arranger, and record producer. With members Paul S. Denman, Andrew Hale, and Stuart Matthewman, she gained worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the English band Sade. Following a brief stint as a fashion designer of men's clothing and part-time model Adu began backup singing for the band Pride. Growing attention from record labels led her, along with other fellow band members, to separate from Pride and form the band Sade. Following a record deal with Epic Records the band released their debut album Diamond Life (1984). The album sold over six million copies, becoming one of the top-selling debut recordings of the 1980s, and the best-selling debut ever by a British female vocalist.

Following the release of the band's debut album they went on to release a string of multi-platinum selling albums. Their follow up Promise was released in 1985 and peaked at number-one in the UK Albums Chart, the US Billboard 200, and went on to sell four million copies in the US. Sade would later go on to make her acting debut in the British film, Absolute Beginners (1986), before the release of the band's albums, Stronger Than Pride (1988) and Love Deluxe (1992). After the release of the fifth album, Lovers Rock (2000), the band embarked on a ten-year hiatus in which Sade raised her daughter. Following the hiatus the band returned with their sixth album, Soldier of Love (2010) which became a commercial success and won a Grammy Award.

Sade

Sade may refer to:

Ordinary Love

Ordinary Love may refer to:

No Ordinary Love

"No Ordinary Love" is a song by English band Sade from their fourth studio album Love Deluxe (1992). "No Ordinary Love" was released as the album's lead single in the United Kingdom on 8 October 1992, by Epic Records. It peaked at number 26 in the UK when originally released, but reached number 14 when it was re-released in June 1993. In the accompanying music video, Sade Adu is dressed as a mermaid and a bride.

"No Ordinary Love" is considered Sade's signature song, alongside 1984's "Smooth Operator", 1985's "The Sweetest Taboo", and 1988's "Paradise."

Awards

Sade won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals in 1994.

In popular culture

Media

"No Ordinary Love" was featured prominently in the 1993 film Indecent Proposal, though it was not included on the film's soundtrack album.

"No Ordinary Love" appeared in the second season episode of NBC's 30 Rock, "Jack Gets in the Game", when Kenneth Parcell tried to seduce Tracy Jordan's wife, Angie Jordan.

This song was used in British English version of TV Series Galaxy World of Alisa in episode Flameful Babies of Blook Sun.

Smooth Operator

"Smooth Operator" is a song by English band Sade from their debut studio album Diamond Life (1984). It was released as the fourth and final single from Diamond Life (in both the United States and the United Kingdom) as a 7-inch single with "Spirit" as its B-side, and as a 12-inch maxi single with "Smooth Operator" and "Red Eye" on side A and "Spirit" on side B.

"Smooth Operator" became Sade's first Top Ten hit in the US, peaking at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks in May 1985. The song spent 13 weeks in the Top 40, and also topped the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart for two weeks. Although "Your Love Is King" remains Sade's biggest hit in the UK to date, "Smooth Operator" is the band's breakthrough hit on the US charts, and their most successful single internationally.

Background

Ray St. John, who co-wrote "Smooth Operator" with Sade Adu, was previously a member of Adu's former band Pride, although he was not a member of the band Sade. The pair co-wrote the song in 1982 while still members of Pride, yet did not get around to recording it because St. John left Pride shortly after Sade joined. St. John later went on to play guitar with the band Halo James, which scored a UK Top Ten hit with "Could Have Told You So" in February 1990.