Rumor has it … that a new Adele album is coming out, though even the artist herself doesn’t seem to know when she’ll release it.
The Oscar winner hasn’t debuted any new music since November 2015, when she dropped her third album, 25. Even though it came out late in the year, it quickly became the best-selling album of 2015, and eventually, the fourth best-selling album of the 21st century. (Adele’s second album, 21, holds the top spot on the latter list.)
Fans thought a reprieve might be coming when the London native signed on to host an October 2020 episode of Saturday Night Live, but the “Rolling in the Deep” singer only handled emcee duties while H.E.R. performed as the musical guest.
“There’s a couple of reasons,” Adele said during her monologue, explaining why she wouldn’t be singing that night. “My album’s not finished and I’m too scared to do both. I’d rather just put on some wigs — and this is all mine, by the way — have a glass of wine, or six, and just see what happens.”
Following her SNL appearance, the Golden Globe winner retreated from public life until April 2021, when she was spotted at an Oscars afterparty for Daniel Kaluuya. Though she looked fabulous in a lime green feathered coat, that outing did not offer any indication that an album was imminent.
Fans can’t even assume that Adele will stick with her usual style of soaring pop ballads. In May 2019, she quipped via Instagram that her followers were a “bunch of f—king savages” for bombarding her with questions about the album. “30 will be a drum n bass record to spite you,” she joked, referring to a subgenre of electronic music.
In December 2020, session musician Matt Chamberlain claimed that the “Chasing Pavements” singer has been writing new songs with producer Rick Nowels, who cowrote the 25 bonus track “Why Do You Love Me.” In addition to working with Madonna, Dua Lipa and Lykke Li, Nowels is known as a longtime collaborator of Lana Del Rey, having worked on all of her albums since 2012.
No matter what it sounds like, though, there’s no question that #Adele4 will be a massive hit. In 2012, Adele became the second artist ever — and first woman — to have won Grammys in each of the awards show’s “Big Four” categories: Best New Artist, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year. Only one other artist, Billie Eilish, has done it since.
Keep scrolling to find out everything there is to know about Adele’s new album:
Shortly after giving all of her social media platforms a makeover in October 2021, the singer shared the first preview of the record's lead single, titled "Easy On Me." Courtesy of Adele/Twitter
The number 30 has been seen in major cities all over the world, with spectators posting photos from London, Dubai, Los Angeles, Paris and more. Australian journalist Gianni Borelli reported the “30” projection in Sydney was ordered by Sony, the parent company of Columbia Records, where Adele is a signed artist.
Adele’s previous albums were titled after the ages she was when she wrote them, 19, 21 and 25. Since she is now 33, an album titled 30 would make sense. She hinted in her 2019 birthday post that she’d continue this trend of titling albums after her age when she jokingly wrote, “30 will be a drum n bass record to spite you.”
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No surprise here, but Adele's friend Alan Carr confirmed that the new music is extremely good. "I've actually heard some tracks on it. Oh my God, it's amazing — so amazing," he said in an interview with Michelle Visage for Grazia U.K. in January 2021. "That voice is like an old friend, because there are some people in the charts who sound a bit like Adele and then when you hear Adele's voice, you go, 'Oh, no, there's only one.'"
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Rumors of a collaboration between the pair have circulated for years, but producer Ryan Tedder refuted the latest round in September 2019 after joking that the two singers would appear with Chris Martin on a OneRepublic track.
The two icons are friendly, though. “I was about to meet Beyoncé and I had a full-blown anxiety attack,” Adele told Rolling Stone in 2011 of their first meeting. “Then she popped in looking gorgeous, and said. ‘You’re amazing! When I listen to you I feel like I’m listening to God.’ Can you believe that?” Six years later, Adele dedicated her album of the year Grammy to Beyoncé, and in August 2020, she praised Black Is King via Instagram. "Thank you Queen for always making us all feel so loved through your art," she wrote at the time.
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Adele's first three albums — 19, 21 and 25 — were all named after the ages she was when she recorded them, but in 2016, she told James Corden that she plans to change up her naming convention for her fourth release. "This is the last album after my age," she said, referring to 25. "I believe in trilogies. The next one will be Adele."
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The "Hello" singer has always kept her personal life very private, but she's also never been afraid to incorporate her pain into her lyrics. This is, after all, the woman responsible for "Someone Like You." Even if she doesn't get specific about her divorce from ex-husband Simon Konecki, it's safe to expect at least a couple of tearjerkers about broken relationships. The former couple, who announced their split in April 2019, welcomed son Angelo in October 2012.
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Chamberlain, ex-drummer for Pearl Jam and a longtime session musician, claimed in December 2020 that he had logged some studio time with Adele. "To hear that voice in my headphones was [giving] me chills," he said during an "Eddie Trunk Podcast" episode. "It was just so powerful and emotive. You know her voice, but to be across the room from somebody doing that, it's just insane. You hear it on the radio and whatever and you go, 'Yeah, it's really good,' but to be in the room with these people and feel that energy, it's just so heavy."
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When a fan asked the Grammy winner when the new album would be released in an August 2020 Instagram comment, Adele replied, "I honestly have no idea." Best to keep the foreseeable future free for tear-soaked listening sessions, then.
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