Adele "21 (Limited Edition)"

21 is the second studio album by 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/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.

Adele began writing 21 in April 2009, when still involved in the relationship that subsequently inspired the record. Looking to deviate from the brooding sound of her first album, she had intended to compose a more upbeat and contemporary follow-up. However, studio sessions ended prematurely due to a lack of inspiration. She resumed production immediately after the breakdown of her relationship, channelling her heartbreak and depression into her songs. Adele collaborated with various songwriters and producers, including Columbia Records co-president at the time Rick Rubin, Paul Epworth, Ryan Tedder, Jim Abbiss, and Dan Wilson.

A sleeper hit, 21 defied the modest commercial expectations of Adele's independent record label XL. It topped record charts in more than 30 countries and became the world's best-selling album of the year for both 2011 and 2012, helping to revitalise the lagging sales of the global music industry. In the United Kingdom, it is the best-selling album of the 21st century, the fourth best-selling album of all time, and the best-selling album by a solo artist of all time, while its 23-week tenure atop the UK Albums Chart is the longest by a female solo artist. In the United States, it is the best performing Billboard 200 album of all time, holding the top position for 24 weeks, longer than any other album since 1985 and the longest by a female solo artist in Billboard 200 history. It was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting sales of over 10 million copies in the US. In addition, three of the five singles released in its promotion – "Rolling in the Deep", "Someone like You" and "Set Fire to the Rain" – became international number-one songs, while "Rumour Has It" charted in the top 20 in countries across Europe and North America. With sales of over 31 million copies worldwide, 21 is the best-selling album of the 21st century, and one of the best-selling albums of all time.

Praised for its understated production, vintage aesthetic, and Adele's vocal performance, 21 was shortlisted for the 2011 Mercury Prize, and won the 2012 Grammy Award for Album of the Year and the Brit Award for British Album of the Year. It has since been ranked amongst the Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

In April 2009, 20-year-old Adele, who had recently embarked on her first serious relationship with a man 10 years her senior, began composing the follow-up to her 2008 debut album 19. In response to the media's typecasting her as an "old soul" due to the vintage production and sentimental nature of her songs, Adele decided on a more upbeat and contemporary second album. However, studio sessions were generally unproductive and, after two weeks, yielded only one song recorded to the singer's satisfaction—the Jim Abbiss-produced "Take It All", a lovelorn piano ballad not unlike the songs on 19. Disillusioned with lack of inspiration and the slow progress of the studio sessions, she cancelled the remaining recording session dates.

Adele had written "Take It All" during a difficult moment in her 18-month relationship, which ended shortly after she first played this song for her boyfriend. Heartbroken but musically stimulated, Adele channeled her rush of emotions into her music, crafting songs that examined her failed relationship from the perspectives of vengeful ex-lover, heartbroken victim, and nostalgic old flame.

Writing for the album began shortly after Adele separated from her lover. Within a day of her break-up, she contacted producer Paul Epworth, intent on capturing her emotion in a song: "We'd had a fuming argument the night before ... I'd been bubbling. Then I went into the studio and screamed." Although she had initially planned on completing a ballad that she had begun writing with Epworth more than a year ago, the producer suggested that she aim for a more aggressive sound. Together, they restructured the song and re-wrote lyrics to reflect Adele's recent experience, deciding on the title "Rolling in the Deep". The instrumentation evolved organically—after trying out various jazz riffs, Adele attempted the first verse a cappella, inspiring Epworth to improvise a melody on his acoustic guitar. A thumping drum beat was set to mimic her racing heartbeat. In two days, a demo was recorded to be produced by Columbia Records co-president Rick Rubin later that year. However, Adele re-approached Epworth months later to complete production of the song.

British producer Fraser T Smith recalled following a similar trajectory when he teamed up with Adele to compose the subsequent third single "Set Fire to the Rain" at his MyAudiotonic Studios in London. After the two had created the demo, Adele revisited her co-writer to record the song with him, instead of the intended producer Rick Rubin. Smith thought Adele's first attempt superior to subsequent takes, and used the demo as the final production of the song, complete with live drum sounds and an elaborate strings section (arranged by British musician Rosie Danvers).

With the demos to two songs recorded, Adele approached American musician and OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder, who was in London at the time for a radio show. Tedder had expressed interest in collaborating with the singer after they met at the 2009 Grammy Awards ceremony in February. He arrived four hours early to their first studio session, buying time to better familiarise himself with some of her previous work. Although unaware of Adele's personal predicament, he composed the opening piano sequence and first few lines to what became the lovelorn ballad "Turning Tables": "Close enough to start a war/All that I have is on the floor." Coincidentally, it perfectly captured the experience of the singer, who arrived at the studio moments after another altercation with her former lover. Angry and unfocused, she denounced her ex-lover's tendency to "turn the tables" on her during their arguments, an expression that Tedder decided to reference in the song's lyrics. Adele recorded the demo with Jim Abbiss the following day.

Adele and Tedder arranged a second meeting and reconvened at Serenity West Studios in Los Angeles weeks later to write and record "Rumour Has It". In an interview, Tedder recalled his astonishment at the singer's musicality and vocal prowess after she completed the main vocals to the song in 10 minutes: "She sang it once top to bottom, pitch perfect, she didn't miss a note. I looked at the engineer then at her and said, 'Adele I don't know what to tell you but I have never had anyone do that in ten years'."

After working with Smith, Tedder, and Epworth, Adele travelled to the United States for the remainder of the album's production. At the suggestion of Columbia Records group president Ashley Newton, she met with songwriter Greg Wells at his studio in Culver City, Los Angeles, where they co-wrote the gospel-tinged ballad "One and Only". The song evolved from a four-chord piano progression in a 6/8-metre, which Wells had conceived before meeting with the singer. The lyrics, aimed at the singer's new love interest, came together quickly and were later completed with Dan Wilson, with whom she also composed "Someone like You". In 2008, Adele's appearance on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live caught the attention of producer Rick Rubin. In the initial stage of the album's production Rubin had signed on as its sole producer, and was scheduled to produce all of its songs. The demos she had recorded with Epworth, Smith, and Tedder (including "Rolling in the Deep" and "Set Fire to the Rain") were subsequently rerecorded by Rubin when she met with him in his Shangri-La Studio in Malibu, California, in April 2010.

Rubin, notorious for his unorthodox production style, pushed the singer beyond her comfort zone, and despite being drawn to his unconventional methods, Adele described working with the producer as daunting. Rubin had attended many of her shows throughout 2008–2009, and after a Hollywood Bowl performance, approached her to compliment her live sound. When they met in Malibu, he attempted to "capture her live show across on [her] record", assembling a team of musicians—including drummer Chris Dave, guitarist Matt Sweeney, James Poyser on piano, and Pino Palladino on bass—to contribute live instrumentation to the recording sessions. He also decided against the use of music samples and electronic instruments. An advocate of a more free-form approach to music-making, Rubin relied on the moods and feelings behind the music itself to guide the instrumental and melodic arrangement of the songs. He isolated the singer in the studio and encouraged her, as well as his team of musicians, to approach the production process with more spontaneity and less restraint. The singer even recalled moving the musicians and production team to tears while recording some of the songs. In an interview, he commented on the nature of the recording sessions:

Her singing was so strong and heartbreaking in the studio, it was clear something very special was happening ... The musicians were inspired as they rarely get to play with the artist present, much less singing ... Today, most things are recorded as overdubs on track. This was truly an interactive moment where none of the musicians knew exactly what they were going to play and all were listening so, so, deeply and completely to figure out where they fitted in ... all of the playing was keying off the emotion on Adele's outrageous vocal performance.

After recording the album with Rubin, Adele was dissatisfied with many of the songs. Ultimately, she decided to scrap most work done in favour of the early takes she did with other producers, including Epworth and Tedder, in order for the music to reflect the raw emotion felt immediately after her break-up. From her collaboration with Rubin, only five songs appeared on the album: "Don't You Remember", "He Won't Go", "I'll Be Waiting", "One and Only", as well as the U.S-only track "I Found a Boy". Weeks after her stint with Rubin, Adele learned of her ex-lover's recent engagement, inspiring the composition of the album's final track "Someone like You". Adele's record label was initially dissatisfied with the song's sparse production, which comprised Adele's voice alongside a sole piano, and requested that it be re-recorded with Rubin's band. However, the singer opted to keep the arrangement, stating that the song was personal to her and that she wrote it to "free herself".

[21]'s different from 19, it's about the same things but in a different light. I deal with things differently now. I'm more patient ... more forgiving and more aware of my own flaws ... Something that comes with age I think. So fittingly this record is called 21 ... Like a photo album you see [my] progression and change ... throughout the years. I tried to think of other album titles but couldn't come up with anything that represented the album properly.

— Adele, on the meaning behind the title.

Adele first intended to title the album Rolling in the Deep, her adaptation of the slang phrase "roll deep", which summarises how she felt about her relationship; in her loose translation, the phrase refers to having someone "that has your back" and always supports you. However, the singer later deemed the title too confusing for some of her audiences. Although she had wanted to avoid the number motif of her debut, Adele considered "21" the most fitting title as it represented her age at the time of the album's composition, serving as an autobiographical period piece, and symbolised the personal maturity and artistic evolution since her debut.

Globally, 21 is the best-selling album of the past decade according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, and topped the charts in more than 30 countries. Sales of 21 helped increase XL Recordings', Adele's record label, bank balance from £3million to £32million in the space of 12 months.

Track listing

Standard edition

1. "Rolling in the Deep" Adele Adkins/Paul Epworth  3:49
2. "Rumour Has It" Adkins/Ryan Tedder   3:43
3. "Turning Tables" Adkins/Tedder     4:10
4. "Don't You Remember" Adkins/Dan Wilson   4:03
5. "Set Fire to the Rain"  Adkins/Fraser T. Smith  4:01
6. "He Won't Go" Adkins/Epworth  4:37
7. "Take It All" Adkins/Francis White    3:48 
8. "I'll Be Waiting"  Adkins/Epworth   4:01
9. "One and Only" Adkins/Wilson/Greg Wells  5:48
10. "Lovesong"  Robert Smith/Laurence Tolhurst/Simon Gallup/Boris Williams/Pearl Thompson/Roger O'Donnell   5:16
11. "Someone like You" Adkins/Wilson  4:47

Total length: 48:01

UK, Taiwan, Poland and Bulgaria limited edition bonus tracks

1. "If It Hadn't Been for Love" Mike Henderson/Chris Stapleton  3:08
2. "Hiding My Heart" Tim Hanseroth   3:28

Total length: 54:39

Adele "19"

19 is the debut studio album by 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, who 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 17 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.

Four singles were released from the album, with "Chasing Pavements" and "Make You Feel My Love" reaching the top ten on the UK Singles Chart, while the former became Adele's first entry on the Billboard Hot 100. The album also contains her first song, "Hometown Glory", written when she was 16, which is based on her home suburb of West Norwood in London.

Named after the age of the singer during its release and production, 19 is a blue-eyed soul album with folk rock, indie pop, and jazz influences and lyrics describing heartbreak, nostalgia and relationships. 19 received positive reviews from music critics, who praised Adele's vocal prowess and songwriting talent at such a young age and noted her as having the "potential to become among the most respected and inspiring international artists of her generation." 19 was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize. At the 51st Annual Grammy Awards, Adele won Best New Artist alongside Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Chasing Pavements".

19 became a global success, reaching number one in the United Kingdom, while also reaching the top 10 in fifteen other countries, including the United States. The album has sold over 8.5 million copies worldwide and has also sold over 2.5 million copies in the UK to become one of the best-selling albums of 21st century and was named in top 20 best-selling debut albums of all time in the UK. In support of 19, Adele embarked on concert tour An Evening with Adele across North America and United Kingdom which received critical acclaim.

Adele graduated from the BRIT School for Performing Arts & Technology in Croydon in April 2006, where she was a classmate of Leona Lewis and Jessie J. Adele credits the school with nurturing her talent even though, at the time, she was more interested in going into A&R and hoped to launch other people's careers. Four months after graduation, she published two songs on the fourth issue of the online arts publication PlatformsMagazine.com. She had recorded a three-song demo for a class project and given it to a friend. The friend posted the demo on Myspace, where it became very successful and led to a phone call from Richard Russell, boss of the music label XL Recordings. She doubted if the offer was real because the only record company she knew was Virgin Records, and she took a friend with her to the meeting.

Nick Huggett, at XL, recommended Adele to manager Jonathan Dickins at September Management, and in June 2006, Dickins became her official representative. September was managing Jamie T at the time and this proved a major draw for Adele, a big fan of the British singer-songwriter. Huggett then signed Adele to XL in September 2006. Adele provided vocals for Jack Peñate's song, "My Yvonne", for his debut album Matinée, and it was during this session she first met producer Jim Abbiss, who would go on to produce both the majority of her debut album, 19, and tracks on 21. Adele recorded a cover of Bob Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love" on the recommendation of her manager Jonathan Dickins, who loved the song.

The first single released from 19 was "Chasing Pavements", which Adele wrote in collaboration with Eg White. "Chasing Pavements" was inspired by an incident Adele had with a former boyfriend of six months. After learning he had cheated on her, she went to the bar he was at and punched him in the face. After being thrown out, Adele walked down the street alone and thought to herself, "What is it you're chasing? You're chasing an empty pavement." She sang and recorded it on her mobile phone and arranged the chords when she got home. Adele and White co-wrote two other songs for the album: "Melt My Heart to Stone" and "Tired". She also collaborated with Sacha Skarbek on the single "Cold Shoulder". However, most of the songs were written solely by Adele, including "Best for Last", "Crazy for You", "First Love", and "My Same", as well as her debut single, "Hometown Glory". That song was written by Adele in 10 minutes after her mother tried to persuade her to leave her home town of West Norwood in London for university.

In July 2008, Adele informed noted UK soul writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning Blues & Soul that the reason for naming her debut album '19' was to reflect her age while she was writing it: "I just kinda remember becoming a bit of a woman during that time. And I think that is definitely documented in the songs." The Taiwanese edition was released on 5 March. As well as the standard track list, the album features three bonus tracks: "That's It I Quit I'm Movin' On" ("Chasing Pavements" B-side), "Now and Then" ("Cold Shoulder" B-side) and "Painting Pictures" ("Make You Feel My Love" B-side). The Indonesian special edition was released on 3 March. As well as the standard track list, the album features a bonus video for "Chasing Pavements".

By 2008, Adele had become the headliner and performed an acoustic set, in which she was supported by Damien Rice. She embarked on a short North American tour in the same month, and 19 was released in the US in June. Billboard magazine stated of it: "Adele truly has potential to become among the most respected and inspiring international artists of her generation." The An Evening with Adele world tour began in May 2008 and ended in June 2009.

She later cancelled the 2008 US tour dates to be with a former boyfriend. She said in Nylon magazine in June 2009, "I'm like, 'I can't believe I did that.' It seems so ungrateful.... I was drinking far too much and that was kind of the basis of my relationship with this boy. I couldn't bear to be without him, so I was like, 'Well, OK, I'll just cancel my stuff then.'" By the middle of October 2008, Adele's attempt to break in America appeared to have failed. But then she was booked as the musical guest on the 18 October 2008 episode of NBC's Saturday Night Live. The episode, which included an expected appearance by then US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, earned the program its best ratings in 14 years with 17 million viewers. Adele performed "Chasing Pavements" and "Cold Shoulder", and the following day, 19 topped the iTunes charts and ranked at number five at Amazon.com while "Chasing Pavements" rose into the top 25. The album reached number 11 on the Billboard 200 as a result, a jump of 35 places over the previous week.

Track listing

19 – Standard edition

1. "Daydreamer" Adele Adkins 3:41
2. "Best for Last" Adkins 4:19
3. "Chasing Pavements" Adkins/Eg White   3:31
4. "Cold Shoulder" Adkins/Sacha Skarbek  3:12
5. "Crazy for You" Adkins 3:28
6. "Melt My Heart to Stone" Adkins/White   3:24
7. "First Love" Adkins 3:10
8. "Right as Rain" Adkins/Leon Michels/Jeff Silverman/Nick Movshon/Clay Holley  3:17
9. "Make You Feel My Love" Bob Dylan 3:32
10. "My Same" Adkins 3:16
11. "Tired" AdkinsWhite   4:19
12. "Hometown Glory" Adkins 4:31

Total length: 43:40