Adele says becoming famous has helped her be less 'stubborn and bitter'.

The British singer remains amazed by how popular her recent record 21 is all over the world. She never expected to be able to make money from singing so has vowed not to take anything for granted.

''ve become less stubborn, less bitter and taken a bit more time for myself to relax because I got too exhausted from all the touring. I also lost my voice and that scared me so I'm learning to pace myself,' she explained.

Adele's record has done well across Europe and in America and she counts superstar couple Jay-Z and Beyoncé Knowles among her fans. For her, life couldn't get any better.

''m amazed how well the album has done in Europe. I wasn't expecting that and it's good to see how people are connecting to it,' she told Look magazine. 'When you're starting out, you're just hoping to be able to play in clubs and so what you love. But now it's all pretty surreal.'