30 is the fourth studio album by the English singer and songwriter Adele. It was released on 19 November 2021 by Columbia Records. Her first studio album in six years following 25 (2015), 30 was inspired by Adele's experiences and anxiety following her divorce and its impact on her son's life, along with motherhood and fame. Adele had begun working on the album in 2018 and collaborated with producers such as Greg Kurstin, Max Martin, Inflo, Tobias Jesso Jr., Ludwig Göransson, Shawn Everett, and Shellback. Musically, 30 is a pop, soul, and jazz album, which incorporates dance-pop, gospel, and R&B elements. The album was promoted with the television specialsAdele One Night Only and An Audience with Adele. Three singles were released from the album. The lead single, "Easy on Me", reached number one in several countries, including the US and UK. The follow-up singles, "Oh My God" and "I Drink Wine", charted in the UK chart's top five simultaneously with it.
30 received acclaim from music critics, who emphasized Adele's vocal performance as well as the lyricism and subject matter. Media outlets included it in their lists of the best albums of 2021. The album was nominated for six Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, and it won the Brit Award for British Album of the Year at the Brit Awards 2022, making Adele the first solo artist in history to win the award three times, having won previously for 21 and 25.
30 reached number one in twenty five countries. In the UK, it achieved the highest first-week sales for any album by a female artist since Adele's third studio album, 25 (2015). It spent five weeks at number one there and six in the US. 30 was the best-selling album of the year in both countries, as well as worldwide, with 5.54 million copies sold.
Background
During the conception of her third studio album, 25 (2015), Adele wrote enough material for what she believed could be three or four albums. She later revealed that she had four or five songs that she might revisit at a later date, among them a Greg Kurstin-produced song that she felt was more appropriate once she was older.[1] In 2018, mainstream media outlets reported that Adele was working on her fourth studio album.[2] Drummer Matt Chamberlain confirmed that he had been in the studio with her for her fourth studio album, along with Rick Nowels, John Legend and Raphael Saadiq, in hopes of crafting an album "full of soul, with a more eclectic sound."[3][4]
Following Adele's marriage to Simon Konecki in 2018,[5] she filed for divorce in 2019.[6] She began taking therapy sessions and mended her estranged relationship with her father.[6] Adele experienced anxiety which, along with her separation from Konecki and the scrutiny of fame and motherhood, inspired 30.[6] The divorce's effect on her son plagued Adele during the following years. She decided to have regular conversations with him, which she recorded following advice from her therapist.[7][6] These inspired Adele's return to the studio, and the album took shape as a body of work that would explain to her son why she left his father.[6]
Early on in the promotion for 25, Adele revealed that she planned to stop naming albums after her age.[8][9] However, on her 31st birthday, Adele published a rare social media post in which she– seemingly jokingly– referred to her next album as 30, alluding to the theme of her previous three albums' titles.[6] On 15 February 2020, Adele announced at a friend's wedding that her fourth studio album would be out by September 2020.[10] However, she would later confirm that the album's production and release had been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[11]
On 18 October 2020, Adele confirmed she would be hosting the 24 October episode of Saturday Night Live, reinvigorating fans' hope that new music would be imminent.[12] However, during the episode, Adele confirmed that her fourth studio album was not yet finished.[13] She later hinted via an Instagram post that she would be returning to music in 2021.[14] Comedian Alan Carr, a close friend of Adele's, also hinted that the album would be released in 2021, describing the material he had heard from the album as "amazing" during an interview with Grazia's UK edition.[15]
Using music as an outlet post-divorce, Adele went to the studio describing it as "basically running away".[16] Similarly to Adele's previous albums, the vocal tracks used on 30 are original demos.[17] Adele wanted to create a "safe space" during the album's recording and opted to work with fewer people than on her previous project 25.[18] Choosing producers Adele felt comfortable with influenced her choice in collaborators. Adele reunited with Kurstin, a long-time collaborator and friend, which allowed her to feel as though she "could say anything, sing anything, and they wouldn't judge me."[19] Together Adele and Kurstin worked on six songs; "Easy on Me", "My Little Love", "Cry Your Heart Out", "Oh My God", "I Drink Wine" and "All Night Parking".
Originally a 15-minute song, inspired by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, "I Drink Wine" was written by Adele to express her remorse for not being present for a close friend and was later cut short following label feedback.[20] "All Night Parking" posthumously credits American jazz pianist Erroll Garner as a featured artist, making it the first song on a standard Adele album to have a featured artist credit. Adele worked with previous collaborators and Swedish producers and songwriters Max Martin and Shellback, and Canadian singer-songwriter Tobias Jesso Jr. "Oh My God", produced by Kurstin, was written during a period of time when Adele's anxiety was subsiding.[21] Referencing dating post-divorce, Adele wrote the song inspired by her first time flirting after her split with Konecki.[21]
Adele also worked with producers for the first time, including Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson, and British producer Inflo (of the music collective Sault).[6][22] Heavily inspired by the Judy Garland biopic,[23] Adele was attracted to the new sounds, chords and cadences Göransson introduced to her which led to the song "Strangers by Nature".[19] Adele immediately gravitated towards Inflo, due to their similar age and both being raised in North London. The pair's recording sessions would often start with extensive conversations, before pin-pointing an emotion they wanted to write about.[18] Together they wrote and produced three songs, "Woman like Me", "Hold On" and "Love Is a Game". The latter was inspired by Breakfast at Tiffany's, which was played on mute during the recording sessions.[6] "Hold On" was written by Adele regarding the numerous times she lost hope during her divorce and features backing vocals from her friends. Recalling writing the track Adele said; "I remember I didn't belly laugh for about a year. But I didn't realize I was making progress until I wrote 'Hold On' and listened to it back. Later, I was like, 'Oh, fuck, I've really learned a lot. I've really come a long way.'"[23] By February 2020, 30 was mostly completed, except for some orchestral elements and backing vocals.[16]
Composition
I just felt like I wanted to explain to him, through this record, when he's in his 20s or 30s, who I am and why I voluntarily chose to dismantle his entire life in the pursuit of my own happiness. It made him really unhappy sometimes. And that's a real wound for me that I don't know if I'll ever be able to heal.
Stereogum described 30 as a pop, soul, and jazz record.[24] It also contains elements of R&B,[25]gospel,[26] and dance-pop.[27] The album incorporates choir vocals, harmonies, voice notes, violins, strings, organs, and horns.[28] Thematically, the album addresses Adele's divorce, anxiety, and motherhood. During an Instagram Live on 9 October 2021, Adele reiterated that 30 would centre on her divorce.[29] Adele noted that 30 is more introspective than her previous efforts. "I feel like this album is self-destruction, then self-reflection and then sort of self-redemption", she said. "I really want people to hear my side of the story this time."[29][30]
The album opens with "Strangers by Nature", a cinematic song featuring organs, strings and mournful lyrics. The song closes with the line "All right then, I'm ready", before leading into "Easy on Me".[31] The latter is a piano torchballad,[32] on which Adele addresses her divorce and pleads for forgiveness and understanding from her son,[33][34] ex-husband,[35][36] and herself.[25] "My Little Love" is a jazz,[37][38] R&B,[37][39] and soul song,[40] which incorporates voice notes of Adele's conversations with her son as she explains the effects of her divorce on his life and apologizes.[41] The album's fourth track, "Cry Your Heart Out" is an uptempo piano-driven song, contrasting with its lyrics about depression and anxiety, but also the feeling of relief.[42] The production of "Oh My God" incorporates claps, keys, the organ, and bass along with an R&B groove and dance-pop–electropopsample.[43] It lyrically details Adele's first time being flirted with after her divorce.[44] "Can I Get It" is an upbeat acoustic guitar-driven track with a whistled chorus. Lyrically, the song is about love and desiring a true and lasting relationship.[24] "I Drink Wine" is a gospel-oriented power ballad, addressing Adele's divorce and shedding her ego before regaining the ability to love again.[45]
"All Night Parking" is an interlude that features Garner. The song is built around a sample of Joey Pecoraro's "Finding Parking" (2017), which in turn samples Garner's "No More Shadows" (1964). The song is about falling in love in a long-distance relationship and the excitement that comes with it.[46] "Woman Like Me", the album's ninth track, has an acoustic instrumental. The song is about a partner who is not willing to move on from his previous relationship and lets it cloud his current one. Adele calls him out for his laziness and self-doubt.[47] "Hold On" is a gospel-tinged song, with Adele backed by a choir. The song describes her feelings about her divorce and telling herself to stay hopeful for the future.[48] "To Be Loved" is also a piano ballad, on which Adele explains her divorce to her son and hopes to find a path to true happiness.[49] The album's closer, "Love Is a Game", is a cinematic jazz-influenced song that lyrically details finding love again and navigating a romantic relationship.[50]
Release and promotion
On the weekend of 1 October, a series of advertising hoardings and projections displaying the number "30" appeared in various locations across the globe, with reports that it could be tied to Adele's forthcoming studio album, 30.[51] On Monday, 4 October, Adele's social media accounts and website were updated to match the blue colour from the advertisements.[52] The next day, Adele officially announced a 15 October release for the album's lead single, "Easy On Me", with a clip of its music video on her social media accounts.[53] Later that week, Adele became the first person to simultaneously appear on the covers of both British and American Vogue publications in the same month.[54] On 13 October 2021, Adele officially announced the album title as 30 and 19 November 2021 as the release date.[55] The track-listing of 30 was revealed on 1 November 2021. A preview of "Hold On" was featured in an Amazon television commercial entitled "Kindness, the Greatest Gift", portraying anxiety among young adults associated with the pandemic and premiered on 8 November 2021.[56]
On 4 November, Consequence reported that the production of vinyl records for 30 had contributed to "a major delay" in the vinyl industry. More than 500,000 vinyl LPs of 30 were manufactured in the months leading up to the release, as Sony Music removed other albums from its overseas pressing plants, which was a factor along with the pandemic.[17][57] Adele received criticism for this, however, subsequent reports stated it "probably wasn't [Adele's] fault".[58][59] Unlike 25, 30 was made available on streaming services the same day as its release on physical formats.[17]Columbia Records, which previously only handled Adele's releases in North America, promoted the album worldwide.[60] The Target-exclusive deluxe edition adds two bonus tracks and a duet version of "Easy on Me" with American singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton.[61][62] The vinyl variants were sold through digital retailers while cassette tapes were available on Adele's webstore.[63][64]
30 was promoted with television specials. The CBS special Adele One Night Only, which featured Adele's interview with Oprah Winfrey along with performances of previously released material and 30 tracks, aired on CBS on 14 November 2021.[65][66] It drew 11.7 million viewers.[67] The ITV1 special An Audience with Adele, which was filmed at the London Palladium, aired on 21 November.[68] Adele also announced a Las Vegasconcert residency, Weekends with Adele, which was initially scheduled to begin on 21 January 2022 and run for 24 concerts.[69] Adele delayed it, citing production delays and COVID-19.[70] It was eventually rescheduled to begin on 18 November 2022, and after a pair of extensions is now scheduled to end in June 2024.[71][72] Adele also performed two concerts at British Summer Time Hyde Park, London, on 1 and 2 July 2022.[73]
30 was promoted with three singles. "Easy on Me" was released on 15 October 2021.[74] Upon release, it became the most streamed song, both in a day and a single week on Spotify.[75] The song topped the charts in various countries, including the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100.[76][77] Its duet version with Stapleton was promoted to US country radio stations on 19 November 2021.[78] "Oh My God" was released as the second single on 29 November 2021.[79] It debuted at number two on the Official Singles Chart, behind "Easy on Me", and number five on the US Billboard Hot 100.[80][81] The Sam Brown-directed music video for the song was uploaded on Adele's YouTube channel on 12 January 2022.[82] "I Drink Wine" was sent for radio airplay in Italy on 4 November 2022, as the album's third single.[83] Its release was accompanied by a music video directed by Joe Talbot.[84]
Upon the announcement of 30 and the release of the lead single "Easy on Me", James Hall of The Daily Telegraph wrote that "a new Adele album isn't just a release − it's a global cultural event".[92] Media outlets and fans dubbed 30 as part of a 2021 music trend called "Sad Girl Autumn" or "Sad Girl Fall", which refers to the release of melancholic and introspective music by female artists during autumn.[93] Spotify removed the "shuffle" button for its Premium users as Adele proposed and commented that "Our art tells a story and our stories should be listened to as we intended." ABC News called her proposal "an example of her power in the music industry".[94]
30 received acclaim from music critics,[95] many of whom dubbed it as Adele's best album yet.[96][97] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalised score out of 100 to ratings from publications, the album received a weighted mean score of 88 based on 23 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[86] It is Adele's highest-rated album on the site.[98] Critics praised the rawness and intensity of the subject matter and the lyrical themes about hope and acceptance.[88][99][100]Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph believed it features "powerhouse" songs, "intense" emotions and "bravura" performances.[88] Kate Solomon, writing for i, said that 30 was a "reverent and messy, polished and painful" album from a "woman in turmoil, from raging wine-fuelled nights to quiet teary moments".[100]
Comparing with Adele's previous albums, veteran critic Robert Christgau described 30 as a "breakthrough" and thought Adele subtly veered into new territory on the album, which is "a step up variety-wise from its predecessors".[87]The Independent critic Annabel Nugent thought it was distinguished because of its inclusion of optimistic love songs, unlike her previous albums.[90]The Guardian'sAlexis Petridis thought 30 was monotonous musically and lyrically in comparison, but its tracks which veer from Adele's usual formula are the best ones.[101]
Adele's vocal performance on 30 also received praise, with Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield describing it as "even more expressive" than her previous releases and "a tank division that can tap dance".[28][40] Commenting on the production, Sheffield described it as "deft",[28] and Pitchfork's Jillian Mapes called it "nuanced".[25] David Cobbald of The Line of Best Fit complimented the theatrical essence of 30 and the use of electronic instruments and synthesisers but was less impressed by its upbeat songs.[102] Likewise, NME's El Hunt appreciated the incorporation of new sounds but disapproved of "Hold On", "I Drink Wine", and "Can I Get It" as jarring.[38]
The A.V. Club considered 30 Adele's homage to Amy Winehouse and a "thank you" for her impact: "As Winehouse did on Back To Black, here Adele also navigates the grief that comes with breaking the ties of love, washing herself in heartache."[103]The Ringer's Justin Charity opined that the people's interest in Adele was sustained purely because of her vocal prowess, which set het apart from other artists.[104]Time praised Adele for "remaining relevant while blatantly ignoring trends", called her "a master of turning life into art" who "comes off alternately as unreachable and relatable" and "responds winkingly to headlines in a way that creates more headlines".[105]30 was regarded as one of 2021's greatest pop culture moments.[106][107][108]
Three weeks before its release, 30 became the most pre-added album ever on Apple Music and achieved the largest number of pre-adds in a single day.[135] On 22 November 2021, the Official Charts Company reported that 30 logged more sales than the rest of the chart's top 40 combined within just the first half of its opening week.[136] The album achieved the biggest opening week of 2021 and the biggest by a female artist since 25.[137] It debuted at number one with 261,000 copies sold, while Adele charted three of its tracks on the Official Singles Chart's top five simultaneously.[80]30 spent five consecutive weeks atop the Official Albums Chart, tying Olivia Rodrigo's Sour as the longest-running number one album of 2021.[138] Ranking as the top album of 2021 in the UK, 30 exceeded 600,000 units in total activity, with 502,000 coming from pure sales.[139]30 debuted at number one in Germany, and with "Easy on Me" being at number one on the German Top 100 Singles chart, Adele became the first female artist to occupy the number one slots on the single and album charts thrice there simultaneously.[140] In Ireland, 30 debuted at number one, outselling the rest of the top 10 combined.[141]30 debuted at number two in France[142] and reached the top spot in its fifth week, achieving a double platinum certification less than two months later.[143][144] Debuting at number one in the Netherlands, 30 became the best-selling album of 2021 in the country. It marked Adele's sixth time doing so, and also made her the first artist to have the top-selling album in six different years there.[145]30 additionally topped the charts in Austria,[146] Belgium,[147] Denmark,[148] Finland,[149] Greece,[150] Iceland,[151] Lithuania,[152] Norway,[153] Scotland,[154] Spain,[155] Sweden,[156] and Switzerland.[157]
In the United States, 30 became the top-selling album of 2021[158] within its first day.[159]30 achieved 2021's biggest opening week,[160] debuting atop the Billboard 200 with 839,000 album-equivalent units, including 692,000 pure album sales. It achieved the fourth-biggest streaming debut week for an album by a woman in 2021 and surpassed the sales of any album in the previous 11 months combined.[161][162]30 also outsold the other 100 best-selling albums that week combined, as well as the other top 10 best-selling albums that week combined and tripled.[163] All 12 tracks from 30 charted on the Billboard Hot 100 following its release, with six of them in the top 40. Adele's sum of chart entries rose from 14 to 25, tying her with Billie Eilish as the female artist with the third-most entries on the chart in 2021.[164]30 also scored the biggest second-week sales of the year and the largest second-week total since 2018.[165] Midway through its third week, 30 had sold over a million pure copies in the US, becoming the first 2021 album to reach the milestone.[166][167] During its fourth week, 30 became the best-selling vinyl album of 2021.[168] The album spent six total weeks at number one.[169]30 was certified 4× platinum by the RIAA for selling of 3 million units in the US.[170]30 was 2021's year-end best-seller with 1.990 million copies—1.219 million physical copies and 845,000 digital downloads—the only album to sell a million copies. This marked Adele's fifth time with the year's best-selling album. 30 was the fourth-most consumed album of 2021 and second among women, and Adele was the second best-selling artist of 2021.30 was also the top-selling digital album, CD and vinyl LP of 2021.[171][172]CNN reported that 30 contributed largely to rise of both vinyl sales and CD sales, and they were reported to be up for the first time in 17 years.[173][174][175]30 ranked at number two on the 2022 Billboard 200 Year-End chart, as well as number one on the 2022 Billboard Top Album Sales Year-End chart.[176][177] The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry reported that Adele was the world's second best-selling female artist of 2021.[178]30 was the best-selling album of 2021 worldwide, topping the Global Album All-Format Chart, Global Album Sales Chart, and the newly created Global Vinyl Album Chart.[179][180]The Wall Street Journal believed that 30 "largely came and went" compared to Adele's previous albums.[181]
30 debuted atop the Billboard Canadian Albums Chart with 70,000 units in its first week, marking Adele's third number one album there. For 2021, 30 was Canada's top-selling album across all formats—digital, CD and vinyl LP. In total, the album spent six nonconsecutive weeks at number one.[182][183][184] The album topped Australia's ARIA Albums Chart for seven consecutive weeks.[185][186] It debuted at number one on New Zealand Albums Chart and was certified gold within its first week, spending seven additional consecutive weeks in the position.[187][188] In Japan, 30 debuted at number five on the Oricon Japanese Albums chart and number four on the BillboardJapanese Albums Chart, while reaching number sixty-eight on the Gaon Album Chart in South Korea.[189][190][191]
^[a] "All Night Parking" is built around the musical base of "Finding Parking" (2017) by Joey Pecoraro, which in turn samples the song "No More Shadows" (1964) by Erroll Garner.
Music Box is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released by Columbia Records on August 31, 1993. The album comprises ballads primarily written by Carey and Walter Afanasieff, with whom she had previously worked on Emotions (1991), and a few urban dance tracks. During the course of the album's development, Carey wanted to broaden her audience, choosing a more pop/R&B oriented sound. During this time frame, she experimented with different musical instruments, leading the album's sound away from her more contemporary previous two efforts.
American singer Madonna has released 94 singles and 23 promotional singles and charted with 23 other songs. Among those releases, a total of 44 singles have topped the official chart in at least one of the world's top 10 music markets, from "Like a Virgin" (1984) to "Give Me All Your Luvin'" (2012). She has sold more than 100 million singles, predominantly in physical formats, with single certifications spanning 40 years from "Holiday" (1983) to "Popular" (2023). According to Billboard, Madonna is the most successful solo artist in the United States singles chart history, second overall behind the Beatles. In the United Kingdom, Madonna is the most successful female artist, with a total of 64 top-ten songs and 13 chart-toppers. At the 40th anniversary of the GfK Media Control Charts, Madonna was ranked as the most successful singles artist in German chart history. Editors of The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004) wrote that Madonna is a "deserving candidate for the title of greatest singles artist since the 1960s heyday of the single"; the staff of Slant stated in 2020 that "by every objective measure, she's the most successful singles artist of all time".
Canadian singer Celine Dion has released 27 studio albums, seven live albums, 20 compilation albums, and 25 box sets. Referred to as the "Queen of Power Ballads", Dion is the best-selling Canadian artist of all time and the best-selling artist in the Nielsen SoundScan era in Canada. Dion is also the second best-selling female artist in the United States since Nielsen began tracking sales in 1991 with over 53.2 million albums sold in the country. Guinness World Records recognises her as the Top Selling Album Act in Europe with 33 million certified album sales since 1996. In 2003, Dion was honored by International Federation of the Phonographic Industry for selling 50 million albums in Europe. Billboard placed her second among the best-selling female album artist of the 2000s Decade in the United States with 17.3 million albums sold via Soundscan. According to Billboard, Dion is the sixth Greatest Billboard 200 female solo artist of all time, as well as the eighth Greatest female solo artist of all time in Billboard's chart history.
American singer Gwen Stefani has released five studio albums, two extended plays, 37 singles, six promotional singles, one video album, and 28 music videos. She has sold more than 60 million records worldwide. Stefani is also the lead singer of the rock band No Doubt, with which she has released several albums.
19 is the debut studio album by the English singer-songwriter Adele, released on 28 January 2008 by XL Recordings. Following Adele's graduation from the BRIT School in April 2006, she began publishing songs and recorded a three-song demo for a class project and gave it to a friend. They posted the demo on MySpace, where it became very successful and led to interest from the record label. This led to Adele signing a recording contract at age 18 with the label and providing vocals for Jack Peñate. During this session for Peñate's song she met producer Jim Abbiss, who would go on to produce the majority of her debut album.
English singer-songwriter Adele has released four studio albums, one video album, two extended plays, 17 singles and eleven music videos. Adele has sold over 72 million in pure album sales and over 100 million in album equivalent units worldwide over four studio albums and one video album as of December 2021. She was named the best-selling album artist of the 2010s decade in the US and worldwide. She has also sold over 100 million in single sales with total sales records over 170 million as of December 2021. She also became the best-selling female artist of the 21st century in the UK. Her album 21 became the best-selling album of the 21st century.
The Fame is the debut studio album by American singer Lady Gaga. It was released on August 19, 2008, by Interscope Records. After joining KonLive Distribution and Cherrytree Records in 2008, Gaga began working on the album with different producers, primarily RedOne, Martin Kierszenbaum, and Rob Fusari. Musically, The Fame is an electropop, synth-pop, and dance-pop record that displays influences from 1980s music. Lyrically, it visualizes Gaga's love of fame in general, while also dealing with subjects such as love, sex, money, drugs, and sexual identity. The album was primarily promoted through The Fame Ball Tour and multiple television appearances, and was reissued as a deluxe edition with The Fame Monster on November 18, 2009.
American singer Selena Gomez has released three solo studio albums, one compilation album, three extended plays (EPs), 36 singles, three promotional singles, and two charity singles. Gomez has sold 6.7 million albums worldwide by October 2015. As of August 2023, she has sold 3.6 million albums in the United States, and shifted more than 11.5 million album equivalent units, including her releases with The Scene. As of May 2017, she has sold 24.3 million songs in the U.S. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), she has achieved 47.5 million certified units, and a further 19.5 million as part of Selena Gomez & the Scene, in the U.S. She has a total of 41 chart entries on the US Billboard Hot 100, including a number one and nine top-ten songs.
American singer Kesha has released five studio albums, one compilation album, three extended plays, 34 singles, 13 promotional singles, and has made seven other guest appearances. Kesha had sold over 100 million records worldwide, including 87 million tracks and streams as of 2017 and 14 million album equivalent units as of 2019. She is also among the highest-certified artists in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with total record certifications of over 75 million in the country.
Greatest Hits... So Far!!! is the first greatest hits album by American singer-songwriter Pink. It was released on November 12, 2010, by Jive Records, in celebration of Pink's first decade on the music scene. The album features Pink's biggest hits from all her studio albums. Its track list differs depending on region, with four new tracks, only two of which are included in the North American edition.
21 is the second studio album by the English singer-songwriter Adele. It was released on 24 January 2011 in Europe by XL Recordings and on 22 February 2011 in North America by Columbia Records. The album was named after the age of the singer during its production. 21 shares the Motown and soul influences of her 2008 debut album 19, but also draws influence from the American country and Southern blues music that Adele started listening to during the North American leg of her tour An Evening with Adele. Composed in the aftermath of the singer's separation from her then partner, the album explores themes of heartbreak, healing, introspection, and forgiveness.
"Rolling in the Deep" is a song by English singer-songwriter Adele from her second studio album, 21 (2011). It is the lead single and opening track on the album. The song was written by Adele and Paul Epworth. The singer herself describes it as a "dark blues-y gospel disco tune". In 2011, it was reportedly the biggest crossover hit in the United States since 1985; "Rolling in the Deep" gained radio airplay from many different radio formats. It was released on 29 November 2010 as the lead single from 21 in digital download format. The lyrics describe the emotions of a scorned lover. The song's official MV uploaded to YouTube on 30 November 2010 has accumulated over 2.58 billion views and 13 million "Likes" as of 19 October 2024, similar to that of Adele's another hit Someone Like You released 10 months later, which Adele considered as having changed her life.
"Set Fire to the Rain" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Adele for her second studio album, 21 (2011). The song was written by Adele and Fraser T. Smith while the production was handled by the latter. It became Adele's third consecutive US number-one single from 21 and reached the top ten in most of other foreign markets. It is a pop power ballad with lush instrumentation and a swelling string arrangement, in contrast to the understated production of most songs on the album. The song has received acclaim from various critics with many complimenting on Adele's vocals. "Set Fire to the Rain" was voted by readers of Billboard as their favorite number one hit of 2012. Though no official music video was released for the song, a live performance from the DVD Live at the Royal Albert Hall was uploaded to video-sharing website YouTube. This rendition won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards.
"Skyfall" is a song recorded by English singer Adele for the James Bond film of the same name. It was written by Adele and producer Paul Epworth and features orchestration by J. A. C. Redford. British film production company Eon Productions invited the singer to work on the theme song in early 2011, a task that Adele accepted after reading the film's script. While composing the song, Adele and Epworth aimed to capture the mood and style of the other Bond themes, including dark and moody lyrics descriptive of the film's plot. "Skyfall" was released at 0:07 BST on 5 October 2012 as part of the Global James Bond Day, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the release of Dr. No, the first James Bond film.
25 is the third studio album by the English singer-songwriter Adele, released on 20 November 2015 by XL Recordings and Columbia Records. The album is titled as a reflection of her life and frame of mind at 25 years old and is termed a "make-up record". Its lyrical content features themes of Adele "yearning for her old self, her nostalgia", and "melancholia about the passage of time" according to an interview with the singer by Rolling Stone, as well as themes of motherhood, new love, and regret.
This Is Acting is the seventh studio album by Australian singer and songwriter Sia. It was released on 29 January 2016 by Inertia, Monkey Puzzle and RCA Records. The album is mostly composed of songs written by Sia for other pop artists that were not included on their albums. Sia described songwriting for others as "play-acting," hence the title This Is Acting.
"Hello" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Adele, released on 23 October 2015 by XL Recordings as the lead single from her third studio album, 25 (2015). Written by Adele and the album's producer, Greg Kurstin, "Hello" is a piano ballad with soul influences and lyrics that discuss themes of nostalgia and regret. Upon release, the song garnered critical acclaim, with reviewers comparing it favourably to Adele's previous works and praised its lyrics, production and Adele's vocal performance. It was recorded in Metropolis Studios, London.
A Head Full of Dreams is the seventh studio album by British rock band Coldplay, released on 4 December 2015, by Parlophone in the United Kingdom, and by Atlantic Records in the United States. Coldplay recorded the album from early to mid 2015, right after the completion of their previous album Ghost Stories, with a markedly different style and sound from its predecessors. For various songs, Coldplay collaborated with Beyoncé, Noel Gallagher, Tove Lo, Khatia Buniatishvili and Merry Clayton. The album was produced by Rik Simpson and Stargate. The album also features a sample of President Barack Obama singing "Amazing Grace" at Clementa C. Pinckney's funeral on the song "Kaleidoscope".
Everyday Is Christmas is the eighth studio album and first Christmas album by Australian singer-songwriter Sia, released on 17 November 2017 by Atlantic Records and Monkey Puzzle. Her first album with Atlantic, it features original Christmas songs. Initially released with ten tracks in 2017, the album has since been reissued in 2018, 2021, and 2022 with new bonus tracks each time. The lead single, "Santa's Coming for Us", was released on 30 October 2017, and "Snowman" was released as the second on 9 November.
"Easy on Me" is a song by the English singer Adele from her fourth studio album, 30 (2021). Adele wrote the song with its producer, Greg Kurstin. Columbia Records released it as the album's lead single on 15 October 2021. It is a torch song and ballad which places emphasis on Adele's vocals, set over progressively louder-growing piano instrumentation. In its lyrics, she addresses her divorce and pleads for forgiveness and understanding from her son, ex-husband, and herself.
↑ "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 47.Týden 2021 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
↑ "Slovak Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2022.Note: On the chart page, select SK - Albums - Top 100 under the left field and "202202" on the field besides the word "Zobrazit", and then click over the word to retrieve the correct chart data.
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