Adele makes Billboard history taking top three awards

The singer is still recovering after having throat surgery in the United States

Adele has made history by becoming the first female singer to be named Billboard's top artist and have the top album and single in one year.

The 23-year-old British singer beat Rihanna into second place in the Billboard magazine rundown of 2011.

Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj made up the rest of the top five.

"Her success is inspiring because it shows there is still room for an artist to make it with true, raw talent," Billboard.com editor Tye Comer said.

"It's not necessarily always about the outrageous outfits or flashy videos, but an amazing voice coupled with the right song still has the ability to turn the ears of millions of people and keep them interested."

The singer's single Rolling in the Deep, which was named the number one song, beat pop and dance tracks like LMFAO's Party Rock Anthem, Katy Perry's Firework and E.T. featuring Kanye West, as well as Pitbull's Give Me Everything.

Adele, who earned six Grammy nominations last week, was also named top female while rapper Lil Wayne was awarded the top male prize and Wiz Khalifa was the best new artist.

"I think one of the things that sets me apart from other artists who have had the same kind of success is that my life isn't speculated about [by the media]," Adele told Billboard.

"I'm incredibly private but I'm also incredibly honest, and I think that creates a kind of 'meet in the middle' respectable ground."