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30 (album)

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30
Digital cover[A]
Studio album by
Adele
Released19 November 2021 (2021-11-19)
Recordedc. 2018–2021
Genre
Length58:15
Label
Producer
Adele chronology
25
(2015) 		30
(2021)
Singles from 30
  1. "Easy on Me"
    Released: 15 October 2021
  2. "I Drink Wine"
    Released: TBA[3]

30 is the fourth studio album by English singer-songwriter Adele, released on 19 November 2021 by Melted Stone and Columbia Records. Inspired by her divorce from ex-husband Simon Konecki, Adele tackles the separation on the album, whilst discussing her motherhood and the scrutiny of fame. She wrote the album between 2018 and 2021 with various producers, including Greg Kurstin, Tobias Jesso Jr., Max Martin and Shellback, all of whom she worked with on her previous record, 25 (2015); new collaborators on 30 include Ludwig Göransson, and Inflo of the English band Sault.

The lead single, "Easy on Me", was released on 15 October 2021 to international success. 30 has been advertised using an extensive promotional campaign, which includes a CBS concert special titled Adele One Night Only featuring an interview segment by American talk show host Oprah Winfrey, on 14 November 2021, followed by an ITV concert special titled An Audience with Adele on 21 November 2021, and two British Summer Time Hyde Park concerts scheduled for 1–2 July 2022 as well. 30 received acclaim from music critics, who commended its cinematic instrumentation and strong vocal performances. It was described as a pop, jazz and soul album focusing on romantic but melancholic themes of heartache, acceptance, and hope.

Background

In 2018, mainstream media outlets reported that Adele was working on her fourth studio album.[4] On 5 May 2019, her 31st birthday, Adele posted several black-and-white pictures of herself on her Instagram account celebrating the occasion, along with a message reflecting on the preceding year. The message ended with, "30 will be a drum n bass record to spite you". Media outlets took the post as an indication for the arrival of a new album from Adele.[5][6]

On 15 February 2020, Adele announced at a friend's wedding that her fourth studio album would be out by September 2020.[7] However, she would later confirm that the album's production and release had been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8] In January 2021, Adele divorced Simon Konecki, her then-husband and father to her son.[9] In an interview with Vogue published in October 2021, Adele stated that 30 was inspired by her separation from Konecki, the scrutiny of fame and her motherhood.[10]

Production

30 contains collaborations with American producer and co-writer on 25, Greg Kurstin, Swedish producers and songwriters Max Martin and Shellback, Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson, Canadian singer-songwriter Tobias Jesso Jr., and British producer Inflo (of the music collective Sault).[10][11]

Marketing

Announcement

Starting on 1 October 2021, billboards and light displays carrying the number "30" started appearing around the world, such as at popular spots like Buckingham Palace, the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, the Colosseum and the Louvre, fueling widespread speculation that Adele would be returning with her fourth album, 30.[12] On 4 October 2021, Adele changed all her social media profile images to a navy blue photo and also updated her website to match with a brand new logo.[13] The following day, Adele announced that the lead single, "Easy on Me", would be released on 15 October 2021.[14] The song topped the charts in 23 countries, including the UK Singles and the US Billboard Hot 100 charts.[15][16]

Promotion and release

In October 2021, Adele became the first person to simultaneously appear the same month on covers of American[10] and British[17] editions of Vogue, both of which featured separate photoshoots for the magazines, and interviews on the new album.[18] On 13 October 2021, Adele revealed the album via social media, confirming both the title 30 and the release date of 19 November 2021.[19] The next day, the album was made available for pre-order in CD, digital, LP (two black vinyl discs), and cassette formats on Adele's website.[1] 30 is Adele's first release not under her previous label XL Recordings; instead, it was released by her label Melted Stone, with worldwide distribution on Columbia Records (previously only handling distribution of Adele's catalogue in North America).[20] Vogue's "73 Questions" video interview segment featuring Adele was released online on 21 October 2021.[21] The track-listing of 30 was revealed on 1 November 2021. The Target-exclusive deluxe edition adds two bonus tracks and a duet version of "Easy on Me" with American singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton.[22][23]

On 4 November, two weeks prior to the album release, Consequence reported that "a major delay in vinyl production" was caused due in part to 30. In a 3 November report, Variety had stated that Adele had to turn the album in six months beforehand in order to have its vinyl LPs ready for 19 November, the day it releases. More than half a million vinyl copies of 30 were manufactured in the months leading up to the release day, with Sony Music removing catalog albums from its overseas pressing plants to ensure "there won't be any shortage of Adele LPs going into the holidays", which coupled with the pre-existing delay in production due to the COVID-19 pandemic, became detrimental to albums by other artists. Ed Sheeran stated "there's like three vinyl factories in the world, so you have to do it like really upfront—and Adele had basically booked out all the vinyl factories, so we had to get a slot and get our album in there. It was like me, Coldplay, Adele, Taylor, ABBA, Elton, all of us were trying to get our vinyls printed at the same time."[24][25]

Concerts

As part of the promotion in the US, on 18 October 2021, CBS announced Adele One Night Only, a two-hour concert and television show by Adele, featuring an interview segment with American talk show host Oprah Winfrey; the special was shot at Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, and aired on 14 November 2021.[26] For the UK, another concert special called An Audience with Adele will air on 21 November via the free-to-air channel ITV, and will released to its on-demand platform ITV Hub; the one-off concert was captured at the London Palladium in London, and will an audience consisting of both fans and Adele's "own personal heroes and heroines, fellow musicians, artists, actors, sportsmen, sportswomen and more."[27] Adele is also slated to play two concerts at British Summer Time Hyde Park, London, on 1–2 July 2022. Tickets were made available on 26 October 2021 on Adele's website and via American Express.[28] Its "extortionate" ticket prices was met with criticism from many fans online, with the lowest possible price costing £90 and the highest being £579.95.[29][30]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.6/10[31]
Metacritic89/100[32]
Review scores
SourceRating
Clash8/10[33]
The Daily Telegraph[34]
DIY[35]
Evening Standard[36]
The Guardian[37]
The Independent[38]
The Line of Best Fit8/10[39]
NME[40]
Rolling Stone[41]
The Times[42]

On Metacritic, which assigns a normalised score out of 100 to ratings from publications, the album received a weighted mean score of 89 based on 12 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[32]

Rolling Stone music journalist Rob Sheffield called 30 Adele's "toughest, most powerful album yet" with the best vocal performances of her career, and praised its "deft" production by her collaborators.[41] Neil McCormick, in his review for The Daily Telegraph, hailed 30 as her strongest record yet, containing "powerhouse" songs with "intense" emotions and "bravura" performances.[34] Emma Swann of DIY described the album as "raw and uncompromising", matching cinematic music with lyrics on "the pain, the self-flagellation, the hope, the acceptance."[35]

Evening Standard's David Smyth called 30 "a devastating comeback" filled with both uptempo songs and heavy ballads.[36] Mikael Wood of Los Angeles Times opined the album examines "love's causes and consequences" using Adele's personal experiences, and highlighted her "soaring yet pulpy, gorgeous" vocals.[43] The Independent critic Annabel Nugent found the subject matter candid, unfiltered and "unmediated", as well as containing some optimistic love songs, unlike her previous records whose sad themes "can be wearisome in excess."[38] Kate Solomon, writing for i, stated 30 is a "reverent and messy, polished and painful" album from a "woman in turmoil, from raging wine-fuelled nights to quiet teary moments".[44]

David Cobbald, reviewing for The Line of Best Fit, complimented the theatrical essence of 30 and the use electronic instruments and synthesizers in its production, but dismissed songs such as "Oh My God" and "Can I Get It" as "questionable".[39] Reviews from NME's El Hunt and The Guardian's Alexis Petridis were mixed. Hunt dubbed 30 as Adele's most creative album to-date, but with lyrics still in "safer territory", and appreciated the new sounds Adele attempted on the album, but felt the compositions of tracks "Hold On", "I Drink Wine" and "Can I Get It" are jarring.[40] Petridis said the album is monotonous musically and lyrically to her previous albums, and "given their sales figures, you couldn't blame Adele for declining to even tinker with a formula that clearly ain't broke. But she does, and it makes for 30's highlights."[37]

Commercial performance

On 29 October 2021, three weeks before the release, the album broke the Apple Music record for the most pre-added album ever on the streaming platform, surpassing Billie Eilish's Happier Than Ever (2021); 30 also broke the record for the largest number of pre-adds in a single day, as well as the record for achieving it in the shortest timeframe.[45]

Track listing

Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Strangers by Nature"
 3:02
2."Easy on Me"
Kurstin3:44
3."My Little Love"
  • Adkins
  • Kurstin
 6:29
4."Cry Your Heart Out"
  • Adkins
  • Kurstin
 4:15
5."Oh My God"
  • Adkins
  • Kurstin
 3:45
6."Can I Get It"
 3:30
7."I Drink Wine"
  • Adkins
  • Kurstin
 6:16
8."All Night Parking" (with Erroll Garner)
  • Adkins
  • Erroll Garner
 2:41
9."Woman like Me"
 5:00
10."Hold On"
  • Adkins
  • Inflo
 6:06
11."To Be Loved"
 6:43
12."Love Is a Game"
  • Adkins
  • Inflo
 6:43
Total length:58:15
Target deluxe edition (bonus tracks)
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."Wild Wild West"   
14."Can't Be Together"   
15."Easy on Me" (with Chris Stapleton)
  • Adkins
  • Kurstin
Kurstin 

Release history

Release dates and formats for 30
Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
Various 19 November 2021
Columbia [1]

Notes

  1. ^ The physical cover of the album contains Adele's name and the album title in the top right corner, in white and golden fonts, respectively.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c 30 release formats:
    1. "ADELE 30 CASSETTE". Adele | Official Store. Archived from the original on 14 October 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
    2. "ADELE 30 CD". Adele | Official Store. Archived from the original on 14 October 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
    3. "ADELE 30 DIGITAL DOWNLOAD". Adele | Official Store. Archived from the original on 16 October 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
    4. "ADELE 30 DOUBLE LP". Adele | Official Store. Archived from the original on 14 October 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  2. ^ Brodsky, Rachel (16 November 2021). "Adele '30' Review: A Blood-And-Guts Pop Album About 'Divorce, Baby'". Stereogum. Retrieved 17 November 2021. At its core, 30 is another pop, jazz, and soul record
  3. ^ Griffiths, George (11 November 2021). "Adele confirms new single I Drink Wine". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  4. ^ Braidwood, Ella (25 June 2018). "Everything we know so far about Adele's new album". NME. Archived from the original on 30 November 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  5. ^ Loughrey, Clarisse (6 May 2019). "Adele teases her next album 30". The Independent. Archived from the original on 5 June 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  6. ^ Jones, Damian (6 May 2019). ""'30' will be a drum 'n' bass record to spite you" – Adele teases new album in birthday message". NME. Archived from the original on 6 May 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  7. ^ Neale, Matthew (16 February 2020). "Adele confirms new album set for release in September". NME. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  8. ^ Avila, Pamela (28 June 2020). "Adele's New Album Won't Be Released Anytime Soon Because 'Corona Ain't Over'". E! News. Archived from the original on 28 June 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  9. ^ Farah, Lynn (26 January 2021). "Inside Adele's million-dollar divorce". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 24 October 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ a b c Aguirre, Abby (7 October 2021). "Adele on the Other Side". Vogue. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  11. ^ Krol, Charlotte (8 October 2021). "Adele worked with Max Martin and Little Simz' producer Inflo on new album". NME. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  12. ^ Blistein, Jon (1 October 2021). "Do These Mysterious '30' Billboards Mean Adele Is Back?". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  13. ^ Reed, Anika (5 October 2021). "Adele is 'ready to finally' put her new album out, announces release date for '30'". USA Today. Archived from the original on 13 October 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  14. ^ Nardino, Meredith (5 October 2021). "Adele Announces New Song 'Easy On Me' After 5-Year Hiatus: Hear the First Preview". US Magazine. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  15. ^ Trust, Gary (25 October 2021). "Adele's 'Easy on Me' Blasts to No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  16. ^ Ainsley, Helen (22 October 2021). "Adele makes record-breaking Number 1 debut with Easy On Me". OfficialCharts.com. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  17. ^ Hattersley, Giles (7 October 2021). "Adele, Reborn: The British Icon Gets Candid About Divorce, Body Image, Romance & Her "Self-Redemption" Record". British Vogue. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  18. ^ Snapes, Laura (8 October 2021). "The return of Adele: industry bills new album 30 as 'huge global event'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  19. ^ Paine, Andre (13 October 2021). "Adele says Hello to Columbia Records UK, 30 album confirmed for November 19". Music Week. Archived from the original on 13 October 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  20. ^ 30 by Adele, 19 November 2021, archived from the original on 16 October 2021, retrieved 15 October 2021
  21. ^ Specter, Emma (21 October 2021). "Adele Reinvents 73 Questions With a Special Surprise". Vogue. Retrieved 3 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  22. ^ "Adele - 30 (Target Exclusive, Deluxe CD)". Target. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  23. ^ Earl, William (1 November 2021). "Adele's '30'Tracklist Revealed, Featuring the Amazingly Titled 'I Drink Wine'". Variety. Retrieved 2 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  24. ^ Rowley, Glenn (4 November 2021). "Adele causes global vinyl shortage with new album". Consequence. Retrieved 10 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  25. ^ Willman, Chris (3 November 2021). "Adele's '30' Sends Vinyl Pressing Plants Into Overdrive, While LP Shortages Leave Many Artists Chasing Pavements". Variety. Retrieved 11 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  26. ^ Del Rosario, Alexandra (16 October 2021). "'Adele One Night Only' CBS Special Surpasses 10 Million Viewers In Final Numbers – Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  27. ^ "Adele Sets U.K. TV Concert Special". Billboard. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  28. ^ Sachdeva, Maanya; O'Connor, Roisin (28 October 2020). "Tickets on sale for Adele's Hyde Park concerts". The Independent. Retrieved 29 October 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  29. ^ Waddell, Lily (29 October 2021). "Adele fans complain £90 Hyde Park London tickets are rip off". Evening Standard. Retrieved 29 October 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  30. ^ Gregory, Ruby (27 October 2021). "Adele fans fuming at 'daylight robbery' prices for Hyde Park gigs". MyLondon. Retrieved 29 October 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  31. ^ "30 by Adele reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  32. ^ a b "30 by Adele Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  33. ^ Murray, Robin (17 November 2021). "Adele – 30". Clash. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  34. ^ a b McCormick, Neil (17 November 2021). "Adele, 30, review: fiercely honest and shockingly raw, this is her best album yet". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  35. ^ a b Swann, Emma. "Adele – 30 Album Review". DIY. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  36. ^ a b Smyth, David (17 November 2021). "Adele: 30 album review – a devastating comeback". Evening Standard. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  37. ^ a b Petridis, Alexis (17 November 2021). "Adele: 30 review – the defining voice of heartbreak returns". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  38. ^ a b Nugent, Annabel (17 November 2021). "Adele review, 30: Patron saint of heartbreak licks her wounds in a divorce album that takes risks". The Independent. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  39. ^ a b Cobbald, David (17 November 2021). "Adele's 30 takes a bold leap into the unknown". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  40. ^ a b Hunt, El (17 November 2021). "Adele – '30' album review: dependable pop titan finally mixes things up". NME. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  41. ^ a b Sheffield, Rob; Sheffield, Rob (17 November 2021). "'30' is the Best Adele Album Yet". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  42. ^ Hodgkinson, Will (17 November 2021). "Adele 30 review – an old fashioned sound that recalls the golden age of Hollywood". The Times. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  43. ^ Wood, Mikael (17 November 2021). "Review: There are many heirs to her throne, but Adele is still queen of the ugly-cry ballad". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  44. ^ Solomon, Kate (17 November 2021). "Adele, 30, review: Sheer agony – and her best album yet". i. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  45. ^ Rys, Dan (29 October 2021). "Adele's '30' Breaks Apple Music's Pre-Add Milestone In Record Time". Billboard. Retrieved 29 October 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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