It has been nearly six years (and counting) since Adele dropped the mighty ’25’. The London-based artist’s critically-acclaimed, perfect-to-cry-to third album swept the 2017 Grammy Awards and has gone on to sell over 24 million copies worldwide, but since its release, us devoted listeners have only been fed crumbs of intel about its follow-up. Could this mean that Adele has instead been cooped up in the studio, working up that special kind of soulful magic that only she can conjure? We believe so. Here’s everything we know so far about the new Adele album.
What’s Adele’s new album called?
Adele confirmed that the new album would be called ’30’ in an October interview with British Vogue, following recent projections of ’30’ on various landmarks around the world including the Eiffel Tower and the Colosseum which many fans had suspected was her doing.
This choice of album title reflects a clear change of heart. In an episode of Carpool Karaoke with James Corden, she told the comedian: “This is the last album after my age,” she said. “I believe in trilogies, yeah. The next one is just gonna be ‘Adele.’”
While the singer is now 33 years old, 30 was a pivotal age for her as it was the year that saw her divorce from husband Simon Konecki. “When I was 30, my entire life fell apart and I had no warning of it,” she said to Vogue. “This is my album. I want to share myself with everyone, but I don’t think I’ll ever let this one go.”
Adele’s previous two albums, ’21’ and ’19’, reflected her age at the time of writing, as did ’25’.
Have we heard any songs from ’30’ yet?
Adele’s first single in five years will be entitled ‘Easy On Me’, which Adele teased on October 5 with a 15-second clip. The track, due to be released in full on October 15, is a piano-driven ballad that will no doubt have everyone swaying along with their best friend in a karaoke bar before the year is through.
During her November cover story with Vogue, Adele also revealed a snippet of the chorus’ lyrics: “Go easy on me baby / I was still a child / Didn’t get the chance to / Feel the world around me.”
On an iconic Instagram live that also saw her reject rumours of a collaboration with Peppa Pig and confirm what her new album would be about (“Divorce, babe. Divorce!”), Adele shared another 40-second snippet of ‘Easy On Me’, this time with vocals.
What’s Adele’s new record going to sound like?
Prepare some tissues and a tub of ice cream, as the new Adele album is set to be a right ‘ol tearjerker. In 2019, the singer announced that she had split from her husband, Simon Konecki. The pair dated for five years before marrying in secret in 2016 – and many fans believe that the forthcoming record will centre on this heartbreak.
We also know that Greg Kurstin who produced three songs on ’25’ including super-smash, 1.1 billion streamer, ‘Hello’, is involved again. Adele has also enlisted pop superhero Max Martin, Oscar-winning composer and producer Ludwig Göransson and London producer, Inflo, who is on the rise thanks to his work with Little Simz, Michael Kiwanuka and Sault. The collaborations seem to start and end with the production, however, as no other featured vocal performers are on the record: “It’s not that I don’t want to. It’s just never been right for some reason.”
As for the album’s subject matter, it’s primarily for her young son Angelo. “I wanted to explain to him through this record, when he’s in his twenties or thirties, who I am and why I voluntarily chose to dismantle his entire life in the pursuit of my own happiness,” Adele told Vogue. “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.”
But for those expecting a conventional divorce album, think again. “It was more me divorcing myself. Just being like, ‘Bitch, fuckin’ hot mess, get your fuckin’ shit together!'”
“I feel like this album is self-destruction, then self-reflection and then sort of self-redemption,” she continued. “But I feel ready. I really want people to hear my side of the story this time.”
When is Adele’s new album being released?
Very soon (we hope). While there has been no official release date yet, fan frenzy occurred when the singer updated her social media profiles on October 4, 2021, and more information is bound to arise after the release of her first single.
In October 2020, Adele marked her official TV comeback when she took over hosting duties of Saturday Night Live in the US, for one night only. During her opening monologue, she revealed that her new album wasn’t ready yet, and implied that we would have to wait until 2021 for her fourth record.
She joked: “My album’s not finished. I’d rather put on some wigs… have a glass of wine or six and just see what happens.”
Prior to Adele’s SNL stint, her manager Jonathan Dickins confirmed that complications regarding the ongoing coronavirus pandemic had shunted the release of the vocalist’s new album into the following year. In June 2020, Dickins told Music Week: “It’ll be ready when it’s ready.
“We’re all in the same boat, you’re doing stuff and then all of a sudden, the world stops. It’ll come when it’s ready. I can’t put a date on that yet…We have music, but we’re still working.”
In February last year, Adele fuelled rumours when told guests at her friend’s wedding party – where she was both the officiant and performer – that she intended to release her new album in September 2020. Sadly, this did not materialise.
However, the singer has been teasing new music since May 2019, when she posted an emotional message to Instagram in celebration of her 31st birthday. At the time, she said: “This is 31…thank fucking god – 30 tried me so hard but I’m owning it and trying my hardest to lean into it all.”
She added: “For the first time in a decade I’m ready to feel the world around me and look up for once,” before joking that a new album – ’30’ – could see her take a hard pivot from the yearning pop-soul ballads that she is known for: “’30’ will be a drum n bass record to spite you. Chin up, eh”. Alas, this version of ’30’ never saw the light of day, but we wouldn’t dare say no to a full-blown DNB record from Adele – just imagine the chorus drops.
Bookmark this page for more info on Adele’s new album, as we have it.
