21 (Adele album)
Encyclopedia
21 is the second studio album by English recording artist Adele
. Released on 24 January 2011 in the United Kingdom and most of Europe, and on 22 February 2011 in North America, the album was named after the age of the singer at the time of its production. 21 shares the folk and Motown influences of Adele's debut album 19
, also named after the singer's age, but was further shaped by the American country
and southern blues music she encountered during her 2008–09 North American tour, An Evening with Adele
. Composed in the aftermath of the singer's separation from an unnamed partner, the album typifies the near dormant tradition of the confessional singer-songwriter
, and explores themes of anger, revenge, heartbreak, self-examination, and forgiveness.
After the completion of her first concert tour, Adele began composing material for a second album as early as April 2009, while still involved in the relationship that subsequently inspired the record. Dissatisfied with once again portraying herself as the archetypal soul music tragedian of her debut, the singer had intended to craft a more upbeat and contemporary second album. However, studio sessions ended prematurely due to a lack of inspiration. She resumed production immediately after the breakdown of her relationship, channeling her heartbreak and depression into the composition of her songs. Although early reports suggested that Columbia Records
co-president Rick Rubin
would serve as the album's sole producer, other collaborators such as Paul Epworth
, Ryan Tedder
and Dan Wilson
were later announced. The album was met with general critical acclaim for its vintage authenticity, lyrical depth, as well as Adele's vocal performance, and was commended as an artistic improvement over the singer's debut.
Preceded by lead single "Rolling in the Deep
" 21 debuted at number one in the United Kingdom. A well-received performance of its second single "Someone Like You
" at the 2011 BRIT Awards
contributed to its eighteen-week tenure atop the UK Albums Chart
. The album also debuted at the top of the U.S. Billboard 200
chart, and peaked at number one in a total of nineteen countries. 21 surpassed many domestic and international chart records following its release, and appeared in the 2011 edition of the Guinness World Records
. The album also spent thirteen weeks atop the U.S. Billboard 200, twenty-three weeks atop the Australian ARIA Albums Chart
, and set an all-time record of twenty-six weeks at number one in New Zealand and twenty-nine weeks in Ireland. As of November 2011, worldwide sales for 21 have surpassed 12 million copies. On 30 November 2011, the album garnered six nominations for the 54th Grammy Awards
ceremony to be held in February 2012, including Song
and Record of the Year
for "Rolling in the Deep, and Album of the Year
for 21.
, she was also coming to terms with the conclusion of her first serious relationship, on which the album is based. In the midst of her 2008–2009 U.S. and European promotional tour An Evening with Adele
, the twenty-year-old singer embarked on a new relationship with a man ten years her senior. Months later, she cancelled a number of dates on her tour itinerary in order to "balance [her] career, boyfriend and family." According to the singer, the relationship became the "biggest deal in [her] entire life". Older and more sophisticated than past lovers, her "soul mate" expanded her once limited outlook and changed her as a person. However, less than two years later, the relationship came to an abrupt end, sending the singer spiralling into a state of alcoholism and depression. She composed 21 in the aftermath of the separation, using music as an outlet for her heartbreak and despair. However, she explained that the album is not solely about her anger towards an ex-lover, but that she also tried to be "honest about [her] own flaws."
An avid fan of the Red Hot Chili Peppers
' Californication
(1999), which "defined her youth," Adele had long expressed an interest in working with its producer Rick Rubin
. She first met Rubin in 2008 through her appearance as the musical guest on the American sketch comedy
show Saturday Night Live
, recognizing and signalling to him in the audience during her live performance of her American debut single "Chasing Pavements
". Adele's attendance at the 2009 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, where she won two prizes, became the pivotal point in the album's development: it resulted in a second meeting with Rubin, as well as her introduction to American musician Ryan Tedder
. Additional producers included British musicians Jim Abbiss
and Francis "Eg" White
, two of Adele's prior collaborators, as well as Fraser T. Smith
, Paul Epworth
, and musician and record producer Dan Wilson
.
Adele originally intended to title the album Rolling in the Deep, her adaptation of a slang phrase
"roll deep", which, in her loose translation, means "to ... always have someone that has your back", who will always support you. She stated that that was how she felt about her relationship. She decided against the title because she deemed it too confusing for some of her audiences. While she admitted the apparent simplicity in the title "21", she considered the number significant because it represents her age at the time of the album's composition, serving as a personal period piece
, and also symbolized the personal maturity and artistic evolution from her debut.
during the North American leg of her 2008–2009 tour
provided the conceptual framework for the album's sound. Frequent smoke breaks (she no longer smokes) with her tour bus driver, a Nashville, Tennessee
native, resulted in her exposure to such southern music styles as bluegrass
and rockabilly
, and the music of Garth Brooks
, Wanda Jackson
, Alison Krauss
, Lady Antebellum
, Dolly Parton
and Rascal Flatts
. Adele developed an appreciation for the genre, praising what she described as the immediacy of the themes and the straightforward narrative structure of many of the songs she listened to. Moreover, she expressed enthusiasm at simply learning a new style of music: "I find country music really exciting because I know actually fuck-all about it. So every day I'm hearing something that I love, that I don't know ... It feels like I'm discovering music again for the first time." Adele looked towards many of her favourite contemporary artists in the cultivation of the album's sound, delving into the works of Mary J Blige, Kanye West
, Elbow
, Mos Def
, Alanis Morissette
, Tom Waits
and Sinéad O'Connor
. She further credited Yvonne Fair
, Andrew Bird
, Neko Case
and The Steel Drivers
with its musical direction.
While the album is informed by the country music of the American south, its production remains faithful to the pop-infused Motown soul
of the singer's debut, which, according to Nick Freed of music webzine Consequence of Sound
, recalls the work of 1960s American R&B group The Supremes
. Allison Stewart of The Washington Times
also found the album "slightly angled toward country, [but] even more toward R&B", while possessing a "vague inclination towards rootsiness
". The album incorporated the saxophone, harp
, banjo
and the accordion
in its exploration of americana, southern blues and soul music, jazz and bossa nova
, as well as alternative pop and gospel infused rock music. The singer stated that the album's eclectic musical range is "all tied together by [her] voice", and that her lack of a definitive sound contributed to it having a "mix-tape vibe."
Although branded by the media as a “soul album”, critics have disagreed with this characterisation. Mike Spies of Slate
magazine as well as Sirius XM's Larry Flick noted that the album's traditional, "postmodern" gestures, predicated chiefly on Adele's vocal aesthetics and the intensity of her performances, have resulted in the singer's precipitant designation as a "soul" singer. However, Spies argued that "soul" is inextricably linked to the political, historical, and cultural experience of African Americans, and that Adele and her contemporaries, far removed from this socio-cultural milieu, can offer only a mere duplicate of actual "soul", despite a capacity to convincingly channel the sound. Flick added that the album's adherence to a more traditional production does not denote a "soul" album, but rather a pop album imbued with "soul leanings."
and Rick Rubin
, yielded only one song that was composed to the singer's satisfaction—"Take It All", a slow, sentimental piano ballad not unlike the songs featured on her debut. Disillusioned with her lack of writing inspiration and the slow progress of the studio sessions, she subsequently decided to shelve the remaining recording dates.
After the indefinite postponement of her studio sessions, Adele's relationship hit a roadblock. More adept at communicating her emotions through songs, the singer decided to play "Take It All" for her partner, which she had written as a response to feeling unloved and unappreciated by him. However, the song triggered a series of arguments between the two that subsequently resulted in the termination of the relationship. Overcome by heartache, she sought solace in her music, documenting her emotions into her personal journal; these "drunken ramblings" were later fleshed out into fully fledged musical pieces with the help of her producers.
"Rolling in the Deep
", one of the angrier and more visceral offerings on the album, was the first song to be conceived in the aftermath of the break-up; it was written merely hours after the altercation that ended the relationship. On the morning after this argument, Adele contacted Epworth, with whom she had previously cancelled her sessions, 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 originally set out to write a ballad, Epworth told her to "be a bitch about it", encouraging her to instead write an angrier, more aggressive song. During the song's composition, the singer asked Epworth to feel her "racing heartbeat", which inspired the song's own martial backbeat. She then proceeded to sing the first verse a capella, as Epworth improvised a melody on his guitar. The pair completed recording the song in two days. The track went through numerous vocal iterations; however, the demo was used as the final version, as subsequent takes failed to re-capture its raw emotion.
Like "Rolling in the Deep", the album's third track "Turning Tables
" also stemmed from another encounter with Adele's former partner. Moments after a dispute, the singer arrived at the studio to meet Ryan Tedder
, with whom she had scheduled recording sessions prior to her break-up. However, agitated, and unable to concentrate in the studio, she yelled her frustration at her ex-lover's tendency to "turn the tables" on her during their arguments, an expression that Tedder decided to reference within the song's lyrics. "Rumour Has It" was composed soon after, when the singer directed her anger towards her own friends for participating in hurtful rumours about her relationship.
In anticipation of potential criticisms of a lack of musical growth, Adele sought additional collaborators who could lend a fresh perspective to the album's composition. Although she normally assumes creative control of her music, she conceded to composing only about "55–65%" of the songs on 21. However, she accredited her collaborators with encouraging her to tackle her emotions head-on, and to write with more brevity and incisiveness. In a move to polish her songwriting, the singer underwent three weeks of self-enforced isolation in her home, listening to hip-hop, country, pop, and R&B, and tried to understand "what it is about a song that moves me; where it peaks [and] why". The rest of the album was written over a three-month period between November 2009 and January 2010. The singer maintained the anonymity of her ex-lover.
Production of the album was generally split between Paul Epworth in London and Rick Rubin in Malibu, California. Sessions with Rubin in his Shangri-La Studio commenced in April 2010 and lasted for five weeks. During her stay in Malibu, Adele grew homesick
, and also suffered sunburn
, and food poisoning. However, she described the experience of working with Rubin as "amazing"; she especially praised his free-form approach, which included isolating her in the studio and encouraging her to approach the production process with more spontaneity and unrestraint.
The instrumental and melodic arrangement of songs produced with Rubin were often the result of improvisational jam sessions
. The team took a more organic route in the studio, and decided against the use of music samples and electronic instruments. Rubin stated that Adele possessed a better "live" sound, and aimed to "capture her live show across on [her] record". To achieve this end, the recording sessions were completed with a live band that Rubin assembled, which included drummer Chris Dave, guitarist Matt Sweeney
, James Poyser
on piano, and Pino Palladino
on bass. Sessions with Rubin and his team yielded the songs "Don't You Remember", "He Won't Go", "One and Only", and the U.S. bonus track "I Found a Boy". Adele also covered INXS
's "Never Tear Us Apart
" and had planned to include it on the album; however after listening to the recording, she was unsatisfied with her perceived lack of believability in the song. By coincidence, she came upon an unused demo of The Cure
's "Lovesong", which Rubin had originally arranged for Barbra Streisand
. The song was the last to be produced during her stay in Malibu. By this time, the singer's voice had grown fatigued, and she recorded the song in one take
. She later commented that her vocal imperfections suited the song, and that during its recording, the production team was moved to tears.
In May 2010, Adele completed her stint with Rubin. However, an illness prevented further production on the album. Late one night, she received news about her ex-lover from a mutual friend, which inspired the composition of the album's final song, "Someone Like You
". Reaching for her acoustic guitar, the singer composed most of the lyrics to the song within minutes: "I wrote that song on the end of my bed. I had a cold. I was waiting for my bath to run. I'd found out that he'd got engaged to someone else." Days later, she approached American musician Dan Wilson for the song's finishing touches. During their day-long session, the duo sat around the piano brainstorming various melodies and lyrics, and ultimately decided to keep the musical production to a minimum. The song's composition was cathartic to the singer, who said she wrote it so she could "free herself."
, disco
tune", is Adele's response to an argument she had with her ex-lover, in which he told her that her life without him would be "boring and lonely and rubbish"; she wrote the song as "a sort of 'fuck you'." The song opens with a steady, understated guitar strum, which is later accompanied by a thumping martial backbeat. At the pre-chorus, the instrumentation is amplified by "shuffling percussion", tambourine
and piano, building to a dramatic, multilayered chorus where "Adele's voice ranges, dramatizing her search for just the right tone and words to express her dismay that a man would dare break her heart." The song transitions to a broken down, hand-clapping bridge, reminiscent of soul music of the deep south
, and features background vocals by Epworth on its final chorus.
In "Rumour Has It
" Adele addresses the sea of rumours that defined the circumstances of her break-up, many of which were started by the singer's own friends. Built on a piano melody, pounding kick drum, finger-snaps and handclaps, the jazzy, percussion-driven song finds the singer "channeling a ’40s, piano-vixen lounge singer." Cole of Slant Magazine commended the song's fusion of doo-wop and Tin Pan Alley
blues, while Jon Caramanica of The New York Times
noted its "hollow counterpoint vocals" as well as its slow and "daringly morbid" bridge, which jerks away from the song’s pounding rhythm, before once again acceding to it. "Turning Tables", a song of domestic dispute, chronicles the singer's justification and reconcilement with the termination of a contentious relationship. According to Bryan Boyd of The Irish Times
, Adele "channels the spirit of Bonnie Tyler
" on the understated piano ballad. Set to a slow tempo, the song is void of percussion. Towards each pre-chorus, as well as the climax, the instrumentation is augmented by cinematic strings that "serves as fitting counterpoint to its heartbroken, hollowed-out lyrics."
The album's theme shifts from anger and defensiveness to reflection and heartbreak on the Rick Rubin-produced "Don’t You Remember", co-written by Adele and Dan Wilson. A down-tempo country music styled ballad, the song was added late to the production of the album after the singer grew ashamed of portraying her ex-lover as a "complete twat". The song casts the singer in a more pensive state as she concedes her "fickle heart" and her "bitterness", and finds solace in their initial love. In "Set Fire to the Rain
", written with producer Fraser T. Smith, the singer ruminates on the contradictory elements of her past relationship. One of the more pop-influenced songs on 21, the "power ballad" contrasts with the otherwise understated production of the album, replete with lush instrumentation and an orchestral string arrangement alongside a thumping mid-tempo rhythm. Gary McGinley of No Ripcord
observed that the song's dense production, accentuated by crescendo
s and dramatic vocal effects towards its climax, utilized the wall of sound
technique, reminiscent of the works of American producer Phil Spector
.
The sixth track, the Rick Rubin-produced "He Won’t Go" explores hip hop and contemporary R&B. Distinguished by a prominent bass and harp sound, the song prompted comparisons to the 1990s works of Mary J. Blige
and Lauryn Hill
. "Take It All", another piano ballad written with Francis "Eg" White incorporates a more soulful sound, and is accompanied by a gospel choir. The upbeat "I’ll Be Waiting", the eight track, discusses the singer's resilience and the rekindling of a lost love. Aamir Yaqub of Soul Culture magazine compared the song to the work of Aretha Franklin
for its "huge vocal sound on the chorus, rolling piano and boxy snare
", while Tom Townshend of MSN Music
described the song's brass section as a "Rolling Stones-esque barroom gospel". The ballad "One and Only", which explores the subject of unrequited love, is not about Adele's previous partner, but is meant for a close friend whom she had always loved. The piano-ballad was described as having a "raw and dry vocal sound, organ and gospel choir". "Lovesong", a bossa-nova style remake of the song by The Cure, received generally positive critical reception. A homesick Adele dedicated the song to her mother and friends, in whom she found solace whenever she was lonely.
The album closes with "Someone Like You", which Adele described as the summation of her present attitude towards the relationship. A slow, plaintive ballad that pairs Adele's voice with a looping piano melody, "Someone Like You" is the lyrical opposite of "Rolling in the Deep" in which the singer mentally addresses her former partner after he has found happiness in a new relationship: "Nevermind, I'll find someone like you/I wish nothing but the best for you, too/Don't forget me, I beg/I'll remember you said/Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead." Sean Fennessey of The Village Voice
commented that the singer's "nuanced" voice ascends "into a near-shrieked whisper" as she sings parts of the chorus. However, she "rebounds and gathers herself", and her voice descends into its fuller and more melancholy state. One of the more acclaimed songs on the album, critics praised its introspective lyrics and maturity.
on 9 December 2010, BBC Radio 1
's Live Lounge
on 27 January, and the finale of The Voice of Holland
, a reality singing competition in The Netherlands, on 21 January 2011. On 24 January 2011, during the week of the album's UK release, she performed an acoustic set of selected songs from 21 at London's Tabernacle
music hall, which was screened live on her personal website. The album became her second number-one debut on the UK albums chart, a position it maintained for eighteen non-consecutive weeks, due in part to the singer's emotional performance of the album's second single "Someone Like You" at the 2011 BRIT Awards.
Adele's 2008 Saturday Night Live
appearance, which coincided with the guest appearance of Alaskan governor Sarah Palin
, and her 2009 Grammy Awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (for "Chasing Pavements"), resulted in a sales boost of her debut album that culminated in a platinum RIAA certification eighteen months later, by the time 21 was released in the U.S. For its February 22 North American release, Columbia Records executives decided to use the "'long tail' sales theory" as a means of shaping 21s marketing campaign, which, according to Columbia senior VP of marketing Scott Greer, entailed "building a critical mass throughout February in order to reach all those people who bought 19 over a span of 18 months." Key to this was the record company approaching internet and media partners Vevo
, AOL
and VH1
to begin promoting Adele's old and new songs.
In September to October 2010, Adel embarked on a mini-promotional tour of the U.S., which included stops in New York, Minneapolis, as well as an exclusive appearance at the famous Club Largo in Los Angeles
. Celebrity bloggers, such as Perez Hilton
, contributed to Adele's promotion on the blogosphere. Adele stated that she does not use twitter
, although the record company opened an account in order to push followers to the singer's personal blog. Throughout February Adele's personal site hosted a "21 Days of Adele" promotion, which featured exclusive daily content, including a live chat and a video of the singer explaining the inspiration for each album track.
The week of release was also accompanied by a spate of television appearances on many American daytime and late-night talk shows, such as the Today Show on 18 February, Late Show With David Letterman
on 21 February, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show
and Jimmy Kimmel Live! on 24 February. "Rolling in the Deep", the album's first single, received heavy rotation on the Triple A
radio format, and was featured in the trailer for the 2011 science fiction film I Am Number Four.
" was released on 29 November 2010 in the Netherlands, where it peaked at number one for seven non-consecutive weeks. It also led the singles charts in Germany, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, and became a top-ten hit in Austria, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, and Norway. The song was released in the UK on 16 January 2011, where it peaked at number two. In the U.S., the song became "the most widely crossed over song of the past twenty-five years", appearing on a record twelve radio-based chart surveys, including the Triple A (on which it peaked at number one for fourteen weeks), the Adult Top 40 (number one for eleven weeks), the Hot 100 Airplay
(number one, six weeks), Mainstream Top 40 (number one, five weeks), and the Latin Pop Airplay
and Hot Latin Songs
(at number seventeen and forty-three respectively). The song ascended to number one on Billboards Hot 100 on 14 May 2011, and commanded the number-one position for seven non-consecutive weeks. Adele's first chart-topper in the U.S., the song sold over five million digital copies in the U.S., and as of October 2011, ranked as the year's best-selling single.
"Someone Like You
" debuted at number thirty-six on the UK Singles Chart
due to strong digital sales. Following a live performance of the song at the 2011 BRIT Awards, the song leaped from its position of forty-seven to the top of the chart, and maintained the position for a total of five weeks. It was certified Platinum by the BPI
on 1 April 2011, denoting shipments of 600,000 copies. As of October 2011, "Someone Like You" is the biggest selling single of 2011 in the UK, having sold 1 million copies as of July 2011. The song also peaked at number one for seven consecutive weeks in Australia. In the United States, the song ascended to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart in the week ending 17 September 2011, following a critically acclaimed performance on the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards
. The song spent five non-consecutive weeks at number one in the US.
"Set Fire to the Rain
" was released as the third single across Europe. It topped the chart in the Netherlands for one week. It has also peaked at number one in Belgium (Flanders), at number three in Italy and in the top ten in Ireland, and the top twenty in several other countries. "Set Fire to the Rain" was released on November 21, 2011 as 21's third official single in the United States.
"Rumour Has It
" will be released as the fourth single in the UK, having been added to Radio 1
's A-List Playlist.
in support of 21, scheduling over sixty shows across Europe and North America. The setlist comprised all songs from 21, as well as a number of songs from 19. The shows garnered positive critical reviews, most of which emphasised the show's understated nature, as well as the singer's vocal performance and on-stage charisma.
Recurring health and vocal problems led to numerous alterations to the tour itinerary. The European Leg of the tour began on 21 March 2011 in Oslo, Norway and ended in London, England on 21 April 2011, while the North American leg was initially scheduled from 12 May 2011 in Washington D.C. to 22 June in Minneapolis. However, Adele cancelled her appearance at Minneapolis's First Avenue due to problems with her voice, and after consulting with an Otolaryngology
specialist, she was diagnosed with acute laryngitis
, and was forced to cancel the remaining dates on the North American leg of her tour. Following her month-long hiatus, Adele resumed the tour with a newly revised schedule; some concerts were moved to venues with increased capacity to support the inflated demand of the show, and additional dates were scheduled.
In September 2011, "continuing problems with a serious cold and chest infection" prompted the postponement of seven additional dates on the second leg of the European stop, including shows scheduled for Wolverhampton
, Blackpool
and Plymouth
. However, the tour was resumed on 13 September, and new dates for the missed shows were rescheduled. In October 2011, the singer again cancelled the remaining dates of the second leg of her North American tour due to a vocal hemorrhage that caused "internal bleeding near her vocal chords". In a statement on her website, the singer stated, "I have absolutely no choice but to recuperate properly and fully, or I risk damaging my voice forever...I have great confidence in believing you know how much this upsets me, how seriously I take it and how truly devastated and annoyed I am by this... please have faith in me that this is the only thing I can do to make sure I can always sing and always make music for you."
, which assigns a normalised
rating out of 100 to reviews from selected mainstream critics, the album received a score of 76 based on 34 reviews, which indicates "generally positive reviews". Many reviews celebrate 21 as an artistic leap from her debut in both its production and songwriting. Although her releases explored similar themes, critics had generally considered 19 vocally and lyrically subdued. However, Barry Walters of Spin
found that "[On 21], she wails harder and writes bolder, piling on the dramatic production flourishes to suggest a lover's apocalypse." Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune
also commented, "In contrast to the folk-based songs of the first album, 21 beefs up the rhythmic drive and the drama of the arrangements."
In addition to the dramatic production, reviews emphasised the added depth and maturity of the album's songs. Gary McGinley of the music webzine No Ripcord
called the album a "coming-of-age record", while Will Dean of The Guardian
summarised it as "a progressive, grown-up second collection". Simon Harper of Clash
wrote, "[In] two years ... she’s clearly seen the world. Where 19 marked the turbulent swan song to a teenage life, 21 introduces the realities of adult life, where grown-up responsibilities collide with heartache and emotional scars run deep." In a positive review of the album, John Murphy of MusicOMH
noted its thematic similarities with Amy Winehouse
's Back to Black
, writing: "Almost every song oozes pain, sadness and anger". Murphy concluded his review by proclaiming 21 "one of the great 'break-up' albums, and the first truly impressive record of 2011." Similarly, Sputnikmusic
's Joseph Viney noted that 21 exhibited influences from many great female artists, and that it combined the "best bits of Aretha Franklin
’s old-school soul with Lauryn Hill
’s sass and sense of cynical modern femininity
." Ian Walker of AbsolutePunk called the album a "pop masterpiece", although he criticised its uneven feel, and Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly
wrote, "21 is that rarest pop commodity: timeless."
Adele received near unanimous praise for her vocal range, power and versatility. Ryan Reed of Paste
characterised her voice as "a raspy, aged-beyond-its-years thing of full-blooded beauty", while Bernadette McNulty of The Daily Telegraph
opined, "hers is a voice that seems to go right to your heart". Allmusic's Matt Collar found her voice "spine-tingling", and Tom Townshend of MSN Music
bestowed high praise on the singer, declaring her "the finest singer of [our] generation." However, reviewers also conceded that Adele's vocal prowess was also a liability to the production. Slant Magazine's Matthew Cole suggested that the compelling nature of Adele's vocals sometimes masked the "blandness", of some of the songs, while Allison Stewart of The Washington Post
wrote, "after a strong start, the disc yields to a forgettable midsection of mostly mid-tempo tracks that are remarkable only because Adele is singing them".
including Favorite Pop/Rock Album for 21. On 30 November the album was nominated for two Grammy Awards including Album of the Year
and Best Pop Vocal Album
while the singer received a total of six nominations overall including Record of the Year
and Song of the Year
for "Rolling in the Deep" while also receiving Best Pop Solo Performance
for "Someone Like You
".
with first-week sales of 208,000 copies, the biggest-selling January release in five years, since the Arctic Monkeys
' Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
sold 363,000 copies in January 2006. In the album's fourth week at number one, 21 and its singles, as well as her debut album 19, experienced a sales surge of 890 percent on Amazon.co.uk within an hour Adele's performance at the 2011 BRIT Awards. While 21 extend its reign at the top, 19 surged to number four on the UK Albums Chart; in that same week, "Someone Like You" also leaped from number forty-seven to number-one, and "Rolling in the Deep" climbed five-to-four on the UK Singles Chart. Adele became the first living act since The Beatles in 1964 to have two UK top five albums and singles simultaneously. In the album's fifth consecutive week at the top, 19 rose to number-two in its 102nd week of release, which gave the singer the distinction of being the first act to occupy the chart's top two positions, since The Corrs
' Talk On Corners
and Forgiven, Not Forgotten
landed at number one and two in 1999. Adele occupied the top two positions for five non-consecutive weeks between February and May 2011.
Weekly sales for 21 exceeded 100,000 copies until its twelfth week on the UK Albums Chart. It experienced its strongest sales in its tenth week at the top, in the week ending 3 April 2011, when a Mother's Day
sales boost pushed the album to a peak of 258,000 copies sold. In its eleventh week, the album became the longest-running consecutive number-one album since Bob Marley and The Wailers' Legend in 1984, which spent twelve consecutive weeks at number one. On 17 July, after its previous eleven-week stint at number-one between February and April 2011, followed by another five-week number-one spell between April and June, 21 returned to the summit for a another two-week run, totalling eighteenth non-consecutive week at the top, as of 24 July. This is the longest run at number one in the UK since The Bee Gees' Saturday Night Fever soundtrack spent as many weeks on top in 1978. As of 19 November 2011, 21 has been certified twelve-times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry
(BPI) for shipments of 3,600,000 units. It also became the most downloaded album in UK history. As of November 2011, 21 has sold over 3.3 million copies in the UK, and became the second biggest-selling album of the 21st century behind Amy Winehouse
's Back to Black
(2006). In September 2011, Adele was recognized by the Guinness World Records
for becoming the first female artist to have two singles and two albums in UK top five 5 simultaneously. 21 also became the first album in UK chart history to reach sales of three million in a calendar year, and set records for the most consecutive weeks with a UK number-one album (solo female) with eleven weeks (overtaking Madonna's 1990 compilation The Immaculate Collection
), and the most cumulative weeks at number one (solo female) in the UK with eighteen weeks at the top.
(Flanders), the Danish Albums Chart, the Dutch Albums Chart
and the New Zealand Albums Chart
. In the Netherlands, the album debuted at number one, and topped the Dutch album chart for thirty weeks, the co-longest number-one of all time. In Germany, it led the chart for four weeks. The album spent a total of twenty-nine weeks at the top of the Irish Albums Chart
. In Australia, 21 spent twenty-three weeks at number-one on the ARIA
Top 50 Albums Chart, ten of which were consecutive, while "Someone Like You" dominated the corresponding singles chart for seven consecutive weeks. Both titles also led the album and singles charts simultaneously for seven consecutive weeks. On 18 April, while "Someone Like You" and 21 reign at the top, both "Rolling in the Deep" and 19 ascended to number-three on their respective charts, giving Adele two entries in the top-five of both the album and singles charts concurrently. On the New Zealand RIANZ Albums Chart, 21 debuted at number-one in January, and spent twenty-six weeks at the top, the longest running number-one of all time on that chart. The album also spent ten non-consecutive weeks at number two, and achieved thirty-five weeks in the top three.
21 debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200
and in Canada, selling 352,000 copies in its first week in the U.S. Since its entry on the Billboard 200 in February 2011, it has not charted lower than number five, and remained in the top three for twenty three weeks, and the top five for thirty nine weeks, outlasting all albums released in the U.S. in 2011. 21 is the first album to spend as many weeks in the top five since Whitney Houston
's The Bodyguard soundtrack spent thirty weeks in the top five between 1991 and 1992. Billboard reported that 21 is the sixteenth album by a female artist to spend at least nine weeks on top of the Billboard 200, and the first by a British act since George Michael
's Faith
, which led the charts for a total of twelve weeks in 1988. As of September 2011, 21 has become the best-selling album of the year and the only 2011 release to sell over 2 million copies. It is also the best-selling digital album of all time in the U.S., selling 1.02 million copies. As of November 2011, 21 has sold over 4.75 million copies in the United States, and has spent thirteen weeks at the top of the Billboard 200. In Canada, 21 has been certified five-times platinum, and sold 650,000 copies as of 20 October 2011.
of The New Yorker
, who listed Adele among the three most dominant female artists in popular music (alongside Beyoncé Knowles
and Lady Gaga
), also ascribed the album's success in the U.S. to its target audience: "21 ... is selling to the demographic that decides American elections: middle-aged moms who don’t know how to pirate music and will drive to Starbucks
when they need to buy it." Critics have praised the album's back-to-basics approach, its vintage authenticity, and the relative lack of artifice in the singer's music, qualities that stand out against the "bombastic theatrics" of the mainstream music industry. Ethan Smith of The Wall Street Journal
noted that Adele's "deliberately unflashy" nature, full figure, and "everywoman" appeal gave her a lucrative niche in the market, while her tendency to emphasise "substance over style" made her the "Anti-Lady Gaga". Guy Adams of The Independent
argued that 21s success also signals the reemergence of the more traditional approach to commercial success:
Richard Russell, founder of Adele's record label XL Recordings
, spoke out on what he believed to be the quasi-subversive nature of the album's chart dominance. Russell viewed the success of 21 as "almost political and sort of radical", and stated that the lack of gimmicks in Adele's music undermined the widespread perception that female performers have to conform to specific body-types, or imbue their music with gratuitous sexual imagery, in order attain success. In an interview, Adele addressed the lack of sexualisation of her music, stating, "If you've got it, flaunt it, if it works with your music ... But I can't imagine having guns and whipped cream coming out of my tits." She added, "I don't make music for eyes. I make music for ears."
The success of the album led many music critics to tout Adele as the torchbearer for the British brand of soul music that ascended to prominence in the U.S., with the mainstream success of Joss Stone
, Amy Winehouse
and Lily Allen
. While their initial popularity at the beginning of the 2000s decade incited the media to declare a "new wave of British invasion
", Joseph Viney of Sputnikmusic stated that the subsequent commercial decline of many of these artists created a void within the music industry, which gave Adele "the chance to stake her claim as the UK’s leading solo female artist." John Murphy of MusicOMH described Adele as "manna from heaven from those looking (musically at least) for 'the new Amy Winehouse back in 2008", and concluded that "[21] is a timely reminder that British soul hasn't lost its mojo."
American R&B artist Beyoncé Knowles cited Adele among the influences for her latest album 4
. In addition to the numerical titular reference, Knowles' album also showcased an understated and more soulful side that contrasted with her more up-tempo, aggressive side.
.)
Production credits
Music credits
Adele (singer)
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins , known professionally as Adele, is an English singer-songwriter. She was the first recipient of the Brit Awards Critics' Choice and was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2008 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2008...
. Released on 24 January 2011 in the United Kingdom and most of Europe, and on 22 February 2011 in North America, the album was named after the age of the singer at the time of its production. 21 shares the folk and Motown influences of Adele's debut album 19
19 (Adele album)
19 received generally positive reviews from critics. The album holds a 68 out of 100 rating based on 19 critical reviews indicating "generally favourable reviews" from metacritic. The album was nominated for the 2008 Mercury Prize in the category of Best Album...
, also named after the singer's age, but was further shaped by the American country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and southern blues music she encountered during her 2008–09 North American tour, An Evening with Adele
An Evening with Adele
An Evening with Adele is the first concert tour by the British singer-songwriter Adele, in support of her debut album, 19. The tour was unusual in that it included very few dates in the United Kingdom, Adele's home and the territory where 19 was most successful...
. Composed in the aftermath of the singer's separation from an unnamed partner, the album typifies the near dormant tradition of the confessional singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, and explores themes of anger, revenge, heartbreak, self-examination, and forgiveness.
After the completion of her first concert tour, Adele began composing material for a second album as early as April 2009, while still involved in the relationship that subsequently inspired the record. Dissatisfied with once again portraying herself as the archetypal soul music tragedian of her debut, the singer had intended to craft a more upbeat and contemporary second album. However, studio sessions ended prematurely due to a lack of inspiration. She resumed production immediately after the breakdown of her relationship, channeling her heartbreak and depression into the composition of her songs. Although early reports suggested that Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
co-president Rick Rubin
Rick Rubin
Frederick Jay "Rick" Rubin is an American record producer and the co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, Rubin was the co-founder of Def Jam Records and also established American Recordings...
would serve as the album's sole producer, other collaborators such as Paul Epworth
Paul Epworth
Paul Epworth is an award-winning British music producer, musician, and songwriter. His production credits include Adele, Cee Lo Green, Florence and the Machine, Plan B, Friendly Fires, Bloc Party, Primal Scream, The Rapture, Jack Peñate, Kate Nash and Maxïmo Park.-Lomax:From 2002-2004 Paul provided...
, Ryan Tedder
Ryan Tedder
Ryan Benjamin Tedder is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the frontman of the pop rock band, OneRepublic, though he has an independent career as songwriter and producer for various artists such as Beyoncé, Kelly Clarkson, Far East Movement, Jordin Sparks, Leona...
and Dan Wilson
Dan Wilson (musician)
Daniel Dodd "Dan" Wilson is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, Grammy-winning songwriter and producer...
were later announced. The album was met with general critical acclaim for its vintage authenticity, lyrical depth, as well as Adele's vocal performance, and was commended as an artistic improvement over the singer's debut.
Preceded by lead single "Rolling in the Deep
Rolling in the Deep
"Rolling in the Deep" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Adele for her second studio album, 21. The song was written by Paul Epworth and Adele, who described it as a "dark blues-y gospel disco tune". It was first released on 29 November 2010 as the lead single of the album.The song has...
" 21 debuted at number one in the United Kingdom. A well-received performance of its second single "Someone Like You
Someone Like You (Adele song)
"Someone Like You" is a song by English singer-songwriter Adele. Written by Adele and Dan Wilson for her second studio album 21, the song was inspired by a broken relationship of hers, and lyrically it speaks of Adele coming to terms with it...
" at the 2011 BRIT Awards
2011 BRIT Awards
The 2011 BRIT Awards was held on Tuesday 15 February 2011.It was the 31st edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The award ceremony was held at The O2 Arena...
contributed to its eighteen-week tenure atop the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
. The album also debuted at the top of the U.S. Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart, and peaked at number one in a total of nineteen countries. 21 surpassed many domestic and international chart records following its release, and appeared in the 2011 edition of the Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
. The album also spent thirteen weeks atop the U.S. Billboard 200, twenty-three weeks atop the Australian ARIA Albums Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
, and set an all-time record of twenty-six weeks at number one in New Zealand and twenty-nine weeks in Ireland. As of November 2011, worldwide sales for 21 have surpassed 12 million copies. On 30 November 2011, the album garnered six nominations for the 54th Grammy Awards
54th Grammy Awards
The 54th Annual Grammy Awards will be held on February 12, 2012, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It will be broadcasted on CBS. Nominations were announced on November 30, 2011 on prime-time television as part of "The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live! – Countdown to Music's Biggest Night", a...
ceremony to be held in February 2012, including Song
Grammy Award for Song of the Year
The Song of the Year is one of the four most prestigious awards in the Grammy Awards ceremony, if not in all of the American music industry. It has been awarded since 1959 and unlike the Record of the Year award, which goes to the performer and production team of a single song, Song of the Year...
and Record of the Year
Grammy Award for Record of the Year
The Record of the Year is one of the four most prestigious Grammy Awards presented annually. It has been awarded since 1959.-History:The honorees through its history have been:*1959-1965: Artist only.*1966-1998: Artist and producer....
for "Rolling in the Deep, and Album of the Year
Grammy Award for Album of the Year
The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is the most prestigious award category at the Grammys. It has been awarded since 1959 and though it was originally presented to the artist alone, the award is now presented to the artist, the producer, the engineer and/or mixer and the mastering engineer...
for 21.
Background and title
In 2008, while Adele was celebrating the success of her debut album 1919 (Adele album)
19 received generally positive reviews from critics. The album holds a 68 out of 100 rating based on 19 critical reviews indicating "generally favourable reviews" from metacritic. The album was nominated for the 2008 Mercury Prize in the category of Best Album...
, she was also coming to terms with the conclusion of her first serious relationship, on which the album is based. In the midst of her 2008–2009 U.S. and European promotional tour An Evening with Adele
An Evening with Adele
An Evening with Adele is the first concert tour by the British singer-songwriter Adele, in support of her debut album, 19. The tour was unusual in that it included very few dates in the United Kingdom, Adele's home and the territory where 19 was most successful...
, the twenty-year-old singer embarked on a new relationship with a man ten years her senior. Months later, she cancelled a number of dates on her tour itinerary in order to "balance [her] career, boyfriend and family." According to the singer, the relationship became the "biggest deal in [her] entire life". Older and more sophisticated than past lovers, her "soul mate" expanded her once limited outlook and changed her as a person. However, less than two years later, the relationship came to an abrupt end, sending the singer spiralling into a state of alcoholism and depression. She composed 21 in the aftermath of the separation, using music as an outlet for her heartbreak and despair. However, she explained that the album is not solely about her anger towards an ex-lover, but that she also tried to be "honest about [her] own flaws."
An avid fan of the Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
' Californication
Californication (album)
Californication is the seventh studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on June 8, 1999 on Warner Bros. Records. Produced by Rick Rubin, Californication marked the return of John Frusciante, who had previously appeared on Mother's Milk and Blood Sugar Sex Magik, to replace...
(1999), which "defined her youth," Adele had long expressed an interest in working with its producer Rick Rubin
Rick Rubin
Frederick Jay "Rick" Rubin is an American record producer and the co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, Rubin was the co-founder of Def Jam Records and also established American Recordings...
. She first met Rubin in 2008 through her appearance as the musical guest on the American sketch comedy
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
show Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, recognizing and signalling to him in the audience during her live performance of her American debut single "Chasing Pavements
Chasing Pavements
"Chasing Pavements" is the second single from soul singer Adele. Adele performed the song on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross on 7 December 2007....
". Adele's attendance at the 2009 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, where she won two prizes, became the pivotal point in the album's development: it resulted in a second meeting with Rubin, as well as her introduction to American musician Ryan Tedder
Ryan Tedder
Ryan Benjamin Tedder is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the frontman of the pop rock band, OneRepublic, though he has an independent career as songwriter and producer for various artists such as Beyoncé, Kelly Clarkson, Far East Movement, Jordin Sparks, Leona...
. Additional producers included British musicians Jim Abbiss
Jim Abbiss
Jim Abbiss is a British music producer, best known for his work on records including Arctic Monkeys' Mercury Music Prize winning debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, Ladytron's Witching Hour, Sneaker Pimps' debut Becoming X, Editors' debut The Back Room, Kasabian's...
and Francis "Eg" White
Eg White
Francis Anthony "Eg" White is a British musician, songwriter and producer. White is primarily known for his work with successful commercial pop acts such as Adele, Duffy, Will Young and James Morrison...
, two of Adele's prior collaborators, as well as Fraser T. Smith
Fraser T. Smith
Fraser T. Smith is an English record producer, songwriter, mix engineer and guitarist....
, Paul Epworth
Paul Epworth
Paul Epworth is an award-winning British music producer, musician, and songwriter. His production credits include Adele, Cee Lo Green, Florence and the Machine, Plan B, Friendly Fires, Bloc Party, Primal Scream, The Rapture, Jack Peñate, Kate Nash and Maxïmo Park.-Lomax:From 2002-2004 Paul provided...
, and musician and record producer Dan Wilson
Dan Wilson (musician)
Daniel Dodd "Dan" Wilson is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, Grammy-winning songwriter and producer...
.
Adele originally intended to title the album Rolling in the Deep, her adaptation of a slang phrase
Slang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
"roll deep", which, in her loose translation, means "to ... always have someone that has your back", who will always support you. She stated that that was how she felt about her relationship. She decided against the title because she deemed it too confusing for some of her audiences. While she admitted the apparent simplicity in the title "21", she considered the number significant because it represents her age at the time of the album's composition, serving as a personal period piece
Period piece
-Setting:In the performing arts, a period piece is a work set in a particular era. This informal term covers all countries, all periods and all genres...
, and also symbolized the personal maturity and artistic evolution from her debut.
Influence and sound
21 bears the marks of Adele's extended stay in the U.S., where her introduction to American country musicCountry music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
during the North American leg of her 2008–2009 tour
An Evening with Adele
An Evening with Adele is the first concert tour by the British singer-songwriter Adele, in support of her debut album, 19. The tour was unusual in that it included very few dates in the United Kingdom, Adele's home and the territory where 19 was most successful...
provided the conceptual framework for the album's sound. Frequent smoke breaks (she no longer smokes) with her tour bus driver, a Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
native, resulted in her exposure to such southern music styles as bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
and rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
, and the music of Garth Brooks
Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks , best known as Garth Brooks, is an American country music artist who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at number 2 in the US country album chart while climbing to number 13 on the Billboard 200 album chart...
, Wanda Jackson
Wanda Jackson
Wanda Lavonne Jackson is an American singer, songwriter, pianist and guitarist who had success in the mid-1950s and 60s as one of the first popular female rockabilly singers and a pioneering rock and roll artist...
, Alison Krauss
Alison Krauss
Alison Maria Krauss is an American bluegrass-country singer, songwriter and fiddler. She entered the music industry at an early age, winning local contests by the age of ten and recording for the first time at fourteen. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in...
, Lady Antebellum
Lady Antebellum
Lady Antebellum is an American country pop music group formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2006. The trio is composed of Charles Kelley , Dave Haywood and Hillary Scott .The group made its debut in 2007 as guest vocalists on Jim Brickman's single "Never Alone", before signing to Capitol...
, Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
and Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts is an American country music band that originated in Columbus, Ohio, United States of America. Since its inception, Rascal Flatts has been composed of three members: Gary LeVox , Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney...
. Adele developed an appreciation for the genre, praising what she described as the immediacy of the themes and the straightforward narrative structure of many of the songs she listened to. Moreover, she expressed enthusiasm at simply learning a new style of music: "I find country music really exciting because I know actually fuck-all about it. So every day I'm hearing something that I love, that I don't know ... It feels like I'm discovering music again for the first time." Adele looked towards many of her favourite contemporary artists in the cultivation of the album's sound, delving into the works of Mary J Blige, Kanye West
Kanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
, Elbow
Elbow (band)
Elbow are an English rock band. They have played together since 1990 and recorded five studio albums, the most recent of which is Build a Rocket Boys!, released in March 2011...
, Mos Def
Mos Def
Dante Terrell Smith is an American actor and Emcee known by the stage names Mos Def and Yasiin Bey. He started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, which...
, Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actress. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards, was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and also shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination...
, Tom Waits
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
and Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor is an Irish singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album The Lion and the Cobra and achieved worldwide success in 1990 with a cover of the song "Nothing Compares 2 U"....
. She further credited Yvonne Fair
Yvonne Fair
Yvonne Fair was an African American singer, best known for her 1976 recording of "It Should Have Been Me".-Biography:...
, Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird is an American musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.- Early life and the Bowl of Fire :...
, Neko Case
Neko Case
Neko Case is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her solo career and her contributions as a member of the Canadian indie rock group The New Pornographers....
and The Steel Drivers
The SteelDrivers
The SteelDrivers is a bluegrass band from Nashville, Tennessee. Members include founder/mandolinist Mike Henderson, fiddler Tammy Rogers, bassist Mike Fleming, guitarist Chris Stapleton and banjoist Richard Bailey...
with its musical direction.
While the album is informed by the country music of the American south, its production remains faithful to the pop-infused Motown soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
of the singer's debut, which, according to Nick Freed of music webzine Consequence of Sound
Consequence of Sound
Consequence of Sound, also known often as CoS, is a Chicago-based music website featuring news, album and concert reviews, and editorials. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook micro-site, which serves as an on-line database for music festival news and rumors...
, recalls the work of 1960s American R&B group The Supremes
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
. Allison Stewart of The Washington Times
The Washington Times
The Washington Times is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It was founded in 1982 by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon, and until 2010 was owned by News World Communications, an international media conglomerate associated with the...
also found the album "slightly angled toward country, [but] even more toward R&B", while possessing a "vague inclination towards rootsiness
Americana (music)
Americana is an amalgam of roots musics formed by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the American musical ethos; specifically those sounds that are merged from folk, country, blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll and other external influential styles...
". The album incorporated the saxophone, harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
, banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
and the accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
in its exploration of americana, southern blues and soul music, jazz and bossa nova
Bossa nova
Bossa nova is a style of Brazilian music. Bossa nova acquired a large following in the 1960s, initially consisting of young musicians and college students...
, as well as alternative pop and gospel infused rock music. The singer stated that the album's eclectic musical range is "all tied together by [her] voice", and that her lack of a definitive sound contributed to it having a "mix-tape vibe."
Although branded by the media as a “soul album”, critics have disagreed with this characterisation. Mike Spies of Slate
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
magazine as well as Sirius XM's Larry Flick noted that the album's traditional, "postmodern" gestures, predicated chiefly on Adele's vocal aesthetics and the intensity of her performances, have resulted in the singer's precipitant designation as a "soul" singer. However, Spies argued that "soul" is inextricably linked to the political, historical, and cultural experience of African Americans, and that Adele and her contemporaries, far removed from this socio-cultural milieu, can offer only a mere duplicate of actual "soul", despite a capacity to convincingly channel the sound. Flick added that the album's adherence to a more traditional production does not denote a "soul" album, but rather a pop album imbued with "soul leanings."
Writing and recording
In April 2009, while still involved in the relationship that would inspire 21, Adele was faced with the composition of a follow-up album to her debut hit 19. The traditional production of that album had prompted the media to typecast the singer as an "old soul", a label she would attempt to circumvent with the composition of a more upbeat and contemporary second album. However, months of studio sessions with various producers, among them Francis "Eg" White, Paul EpworthPaul Epworth
Paul Epworth is an award-winning British music producer, musician, and songwriter. His production credits include Adele, Cee Lo Green, Florence and the Machine, Plan B, Friendly Fires, Bloc Party, Primal Scream, The Rapture, Jack Peñate, Kate Nash and Maxïmo Park.-Lomax:From 2002-2004 Paul provided...
and Rick Rubin
Rick Rubin
Frederick Jay "Rick" Rubin is an American record producer and the co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, Rubin was the co-founder of Def Jam Records and also established American Recordings...
, yielded only one song that was composed to the singer's satisfaction—"Take It All", a slow, sentimental piano ballad not unlike the songs featured on her debut. Disillusioned with her lack of writing inspiration and the slow progress of the studio sessions, she subsequently decided to shelve the remaining recording dates.
After the indefinite postponement of her studio sessions, Adele's relationship hit a roadblock. More adept at communicating her emotions through songs, the singer decided to play "Take It All" for her partner, which she had written as a response to feeling unloved and unappreciated by him. However, the song triggered a series of arguments between the two that subsequently resulted in the termination of the relationship. Overcome by heartache, she sought solace in her music, documenting her emotions into her personal journal; these "drunken ramblings" were later fleshed out into fully fledged musical pieces with the help of her producers.
"Rolling in the Deep
Rolling in the Deep
"Rolling in the Deep" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Adele for her second studio album, 21. The song was written by Paul Epworth and Adele, who described it as a "dark blues-y gospel disco tune". It was first released on 29 November 2010 as the lead single of the album.The song has...
", one of the angrier and more visceral offerings on the album, was the first song to be conceived in the aftermath of the break-up; it was written merely hours after the altercation that ended the relationship. On the morning after this argument, Adele contacted Epworth, with whom she had previously cancelled her sessions, 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 originally set out to write a ballad, Epworth told her to "be a bitch about it", encouraging her to instead write an angrier, more aggressive song. During the song's composition, the singer asked Epworth to feel her "racing heartbeat", which inspired the song's own martial backbeat. She then proceeded to sing the first verse a capella, as Epworth improvised a melody on his guitar. The pair completed recording the song in two days. The track went through numerous vocal iterations; however, the demo was used as the final version, as subsequent takes failed to re-capture its raw emotion.
Like "Rolling in the Deep", the album's third track "Turning Tables
Turning Tables
"Turning Tables" is a song by the English singer-songwriter Adele from her second studio album, 21 . The song was written by Adele and Ryan Tedder and it was produced by Jim Abbiss. The pop song was written in the key of C Minor...
" also stemmed from another encounter with Adele's former partner. Moments after a dispute, the singer arrived at the studio to meet Ryan Tedder
Ryan Tedder
Ryan Benjamin Tedder is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the frontman of the pop rock band, OneRepublic, though he has an independent career as songwriter and producer for various artists such as Beyoncé, Kelly Clarkson, Far East Movement, Jordin Sparks, Leona...
, with whom she had scheduled recording sessions prior to her break-up. However, agitated, and unable to concentrate in the studio, she yelled her frustration at her ex-lover's tendency to "turn the tables" on her during their arguments, an expression that Tedder decided to reference within the song's lyrics. "Rumour Has It" was composed soon after, when the singer directed her anger towards her own friends for participating in hurtful rumours about her relationship.
In anticipation of potential criticisms of a lack of musical growth, Adele sought additional collaborators who could lend a fresh perspective to the album's composition. Although she normally assumes creative control of her music, she conceded to composing only about "55–65%" of the songs on 21. However, she accredited her collaborators with encouraging her to tackle her emotions head-on, and to write with more brevity and incisiveness. In a move to polish her songwriting, the singer underwent three weeks of self-enforced isolation in her home, listening to hip-hop, country, pop, and R&B, and tried to understand "what it is about a song that moves me; where it peaks [and] why". The rest of the album was written over a three-month period between November 2009 and January 2010. The singer maintained the anonymity of her ex-lover.
Production of the album was generally split between Paul Epworth in London and Rick Rubin in Malibu, California. Sessions with Rubin in his Shangri-La Studio commenced in April 2010 and lasted for five weeks. During her stay in Malibu, Adele grew homesick
Homesick
"Homesick" is an episode of the BBC sit-com, Only Fools and Horses. It was the first episode of series 3, and was first screened on 10 November, 1983.-Synopsis:...
, and also suffered sunburn
Sunburn
A sunburn is a burn to living tissue, such as skin, which is produced by overexposure to ultraviolet radiation, commonly from the sun's rays. Usual mild symptoms in humans and other animals include red or reddish skin that is hot to the touch, general fatigue, and mild dizziness. An excess of UV...
, and food poisoning. However, she described the experience of working with Rubin as "amazing"; she especially praised his free-form approach, which included isolating her in the studio and encouraging her to approach the production process with more spontaneity and unrestraint.
The instrumental and melodic arrangement of songs produced with Rubin were often the result of improvisational jam sessions
Jam Sessions
Jam Sessions is a guitar simulation software title and music game for the Nintendo DS based on the Japan-only title Sing & Play DS Guitar M-06 originally developed by Plato. It was brought to North America and Europe, courtesy of Ubisoft...
. The team took a more organic route in the studio, and decided against the use of music samples and electronic instruments. Rubin stated that Adele possessed a better "live" sound, and aimed to "capture her live show across on [her] record". To achieve this end, the recording sessions were completed with a live band that Rubin assembled, which included drummer Chris Dave, guitarist Matt Sweeney
Matt Sweeney
Matt Sweeney is a guitarist, vocalist, and producer who has worked with various musicians and groups.-Biography:Sweeney's high school band Skunk released two albums on Twin/Tone records...
, James Poyser
James Poyser
James Poyser in Sheffield, England is a multi-Grammy winning songwriter, musician and multi-platinum producer.Poyser has written and produced songs for various legendary and award-winning artists including Erykah Badu, Mariah Carey, John Legend, Lauryn Hill, Common, Anthony Hamilton, D'Angelo,...
on piano, and Pino Palladino
Pino Palladino
Pino Palladino is a Welsh bass guitarist who gained fame playing primarily rock and roll, blues rock, and rhythm and blues music, although he has been lauded for his ability to play most genres of popular music, including jazz, neo soul, and funk...
on bass. Sessions with Rubin and his team yielded the songs "Don't You Remember", "He Won't Go", "One and Only", and the U.S. bonus track "I Found a Boy". Adele also covered INXS
INXS
INXS are an Australian rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. Mainstays are Garry Gary Beers on bass guitar, Andrew Farriss on guitar/keyboards, Jon Farriss on drums, Tim Farriss on lead guitar and Kirk Pengilly on guitar/sax...
's "Never Tear Us Apart
Never Tear Us Apart
"Never Tear Us Apart" is a single released by Australian rock group INXS in August 1988. It was also included on the band's sixth studio album, Kick. The music was written by Andrew Farriss, who recorded a blues-style demo and gave it to Michael Hutchence...
" and had planned to include it on the album; however after listening to the recording, she was unsatisfied with her perceived lack of believability in the song. By coincidence, she came upon an unused demo of The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
's "Lovesong", which Rubin had originally arranged for Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
. The song was the last to be produced during her stay in Malibu. By this time, the singer's voice had grown fatigued, and she recorded the song in one take
Take
A take is a single continuous recorded performance. The term is used in film and music to denote and track the stages of production.-Film:In cinematography, a take refers to each filmed "version" of a particular shot or "setup"...
. She later commented that her vocal imperfections suited the song, and that during its recording, the production team was moved to tears.
In May 2010, Adele completed her stint with Rubin. However, an illness prevented further production on the album. Late one night, she received news about her ex-lover from a mutual friend, which inspired the composition of the album's final song, "Someone Like You
Someone Like You (Adele song)
"Someone Like You" is a song by English singer-songwriter Adele. Written by Adele and Dan Wilson for her second studio album 21, the song was inspired by a broken relationship of hers, and lyrically it speaks of Adele coming to terms with it...
". Reaching for her acoustic guitar, the singer composed most of the lyrics to the song within minutes: "I wrote that song on the end of my bed. I had a cold. I was waiting for my bath to run. I'd found out that he'd got engaged to someone else." Days later, she approached American musician Dan Wilson for the song's finishing touches. During their day-long session, the duo sat around the piano brainstorming various melodies and lyrics, and ultimately decided to keep the musical production to a minimum. The song's composition was cathartic to the singer, who said she wrote it so she could "free herself."
Song structure and lyrical themes
The sequence of the album's songs mirror the range of emotions Adele experienced after the break-up, progressing from themes of anger and bitterness, to feelings of loneliness, "heartbreak and regret", and finally, acceptance. "Rolling in the Deep", which the singer described as a "dark, bluesy, gospelGospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
, disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
tune", is Adele's response to an argument she had with her ex-lover, in which he told her that her life without him would be "boring and lonely and rubbish"; she wrote the song as "a sort of 'fuck you'." The song opens with a steady, understated guitar strum, which is later accompanied by a thumping martial backbeat. At the pre-chorus, the instrumentation is amplified by "shuffling percussion", tambourine
Tambourine
The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
and piano, building to a dramatic, multilayered chorus where "Adele's voice ranges, dramatizing her search for just the right tone and words to express her dismay that a man would dare break her heart." The song transitions to a broken down, hand-clapping bridge, reminiscent of soul music of the deep south
Deep South
The Deep South is a descriptive category of the cultural and geographic subregions in the American South. Historically, it is differentiated from the "Upper South" as being the states which were most dependent on plantation type agriculture during the pre-Civil War period...
, and features background vocals by Epworth on its final chorus.
In "Rumour Has It
Rumour Has It (Adele song)
"Rumour Has It" is a song by the English singer-songwriter Adele from her second studio album, 21. The song was written by Adele and Ryan Tedder while the production was handled by Tedder. Adele revealed that the song wasn't inspired by the media but it was aimed at her friends who believed things...
" Adele addresses the sea of rumours that defined the circumstances of her break-up, many of which were started by the singer's own friends. Built on a piano melody, pounding kick drum, finger-snaps and handclaps, the jazzy, percussion-driven song finds the singer "channeling a ’40s, piano-vixen lounge singer." Cole of Slant Magazine commended the song's fusion of doo-wop and Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley is the name given to the collection of New York City music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century...
blues, while Jon Caramanica of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
noted its "hollow counterpoint vocals" as well as its slow and "daringly morbid" bridge, which jerks away from the song’s pounding rhythm, before once again acceding to it. "Turning Tables", a song of domestic dispute, chronicles the singer's justification and reconcilement with the termination of a contentious relationship. According to Bryan Boyd of The Irish Times
The Irish Times
The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...
, Adele "channels the spirit of Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler is a Welsh singer, most notable for her hits in the 1970s and 1980s including "It's a Heartache", "Holding Out for a Hero" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart".-Early life:...
" on the understated piano ballad. Set to a slow tempo, the song is void of percussion. Towards each pre-chorus, as well as the climax, the instrumentation is augmented by cinematic strings that "serves as fitting counterpoint to its heartbroken, hollowed-out lyrics."
The album's theme shifts from anger and defensiveness to reflection and heartbreak on the Rick Rubin-produced "Don’t You Remember", co-written by Adele and Dan Wilson. A down-tempo country music styled ballad, the song was added late to the production of the album after the singer grew ashamed of portraying her ex-lover as a "complete twat". The song casts the singer in a more pensive state as she concedes her "fickle heart" and her "bitterness", and finds solace in their initial love. In "Set Fire to the Rain
Set Fire to the Rain
"Set Fire to the Rain" is a song by English singer-songwriter Adele from her second studio album 21. Written by Adele and Fraser T. Smith and produced by Smith, the power ballad was released as the second single from the album in Europe. It was released as the third single in the United Kingdom on...
", written with producer Fraser T. Smith, the singer ruminates on the contradictory elements of her past relationship. One of the more pop-influenced songs on 21, the "power ballad" contrasts with the otherwise understated production of the album, replete with lush instrumentation and an orchestral string arrangement alongside a thumping mid-tempo rhythm. Gary McGinley of No Ripcord
No Ripcord
No Ripcord is an online music and film magazine based in Sheffield, England.-History:The website was originally created in April 1999 by editor-in-chief David Coleman and A.M. Booth...
observed that the song's dense production, accentuated by crescendo
Crescendo
-In music:*Crescendo, a passage of music during which the volume gradually increases, see Dynamics * Crescendo , a Liverpool-based electronic pop band* "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue", one of Duke Ellington's longer-form compositions...
s and dramatic vocal effects towards its climax, utilized the wall of sound
Wall of Sound
The Wall of Sound is a music production technique for pop and rock music recordings developed by record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles, California, during the early 1960s...
technique, reminiscent of the works of American producer Phil Spector
Phil Spector
Phillip Harvey "Phil" Spector is an American record producer and songwriter, later known for his conviction in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson....
.
The sixth track, the Rick Rubin-produced "He Won’t Go" explores hip hop and contemporary R&B. Distinguished by a prominent bass and harp sound, the song prompted comparisons to the 1990s works of Mary J. Blige
Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...
and Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Noelle Hill is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress.Early in her career, she established her reputation as a member of the Fugees. In 1998, she launched her solo career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album, The Miseducation of...
. "Take It All", another piano ballad written with Francis "Eg" White incorporates a more soulful sound, and is accompanied by a gospel choir. The upbeat "I’ll Be Waiting", the eight track, discusses the singer's resilience and the rekindling of a lost love. Aamir Yaqub of Soul Culture magazine compared the song to the work of Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
for its "huge vocal sound on the chorus, rolling piano and boxy snare
Snare drum
The snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...
", while Tom Townshend of MSN Music
MSN Music
MSN Music was a part of the MSN web services. It delivered music news, music videos, spotlights on new music, artist information, and live performances of artists. In 2004, Microsoft created an MSN Music download store to compete with Apple's iTunes Music Store, though its sales in comparison were...
described the song's brass section as a "Rolling Stones-esque barroom gospel". The ballad "One and Only", which explores the subject of unrequited love, is not about Adele's previous partner, but is meant for a close friend whom she had always loved. The piano-ballad was described as having a "raw and dry vocal sound, organ and gospel choir". "Lovesong", a bossa-nova style remake of the song by The Cure, received generally positive critical reception. A homesick Adele dedicated the song to her mother and friends, in whom she found solace whenever she was lonely.
The album closes with "Someone Like You", which Adele described as the summation of her present attitude towards the relationship. A slow, plaintive ballad that pairs Adele's voice with a looping piano melody, "Someone Like You" is the lyrical opposite of "Rolling in the Deep" in which the singer mentally addresses her former partner after he has found happiness in a new relationship: "Nevermind, I'll find someone like you/I wish nothing but the best for you, too/Don't forget me, I beg/I'll remember you said/Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead." Sean Fennessey of The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
commented that the singer's "nuanced" voice ascends "into a near-shrieked whisper" as she sings parts of the chorus. However, she "rebounds and gathers herself", and her voice descends into its fuller and more melancholy state. One of the more acclaimed songs on the album, critics praised its introspective lyrics and maturity.
Marketing and promotion
In the months leading up to the European release of 21, Adele embarked on a promotional tour across Europe, performing on Britain's Royal Variety PerformanceRoyal Variety Performance
The Royal Variety Performance is a gala evening held annually in the United Kingdom, which is attended by senior members of the British Royal Family, usually the reigning monarch. In more recent years Queen Elizabeth II and The Prince of Wales have alternately attended the performance...
on 9 December 2010, BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
's Live Lounge
Live Lounge
The Live Lounge is a segment on the British radio station BBC Radio 1. Originally hosted by Jo Whiley on her mid-morning radio show and now hosted by Fearne Cotton, it exhibits well-known artists usually performing one song of their own and one by another artist, in an acoustic format...
on 27 January, and the finale of The Voice of Holland
The Voice of Holland
The Voice of Holland is a Dutch reality singing competition, created by media tycoon John de Mol, and currently airing on RTL4 in the Netherlands. Hosted by Martijn Krabbé and Wendy van Dijk it is currently the number 1 show in the Netherlands, with increasing ratings from 1.6 to 3.0 million viewers...
, a reality singing competition in The Netherlands, on 21 January 2011. On 24 January 2011, during the week of the album's UK release, she performed an acoustic set of selected songs from 21 at London's Tabernacle
Tabernacle, Notting Hill
The Tabernacle is a Grade II*-listed building in Powis Square, Notting Hill, west London, England, built in 1887. The building boasts a Curved Romanesque facade of red brick and terracotta, and towers with broach spires on either side...
music hall, which was screened live on her personal website. The album became her second number-one debut on the UK albums chart, a position it maintained for eighteen non-consecutive weeks, due in part to the singer's emotional performance of the album's second single "Someone Like You" at the 2011 BRIT Awards.
Adele's 2008 Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
appearance, which coincided with the guest appearance of Alaskan governor Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
, and her 2009 Grammy Awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (for "Chasing Pavements"), resulted in a sales boost of her debut album that culminated in a platinum RIAA certification eighteen months later, by the time 21 was released in the U.S. For its February 22 North American release, Columbia Records executives decided to use the "'long tail' sales theory" as a means of shaping 21s marketing campaign, which, according to Columbia senior VP of marketing Scott Greer, entailed "building a critical mass throughout February in order to reach all those people who bought 19 over a span of 18 months." Key to this was the record company approaching internet and media partners Vevo
Vevo
Vevo is a music video website. It is a joint venture among Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Abu Dhabi Media with EMI licensing its content to the group without taking an ownership stake. The service was launched officially on December 8, 2009...
, AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
and VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
to begin promoting Adele's old and new songs.
In September to October 2010, Adel embarked on a mini-promotional tour of the U.S., which included stops in New York, Minneapolis, as well as an exclusive appearance at the famous Club Largo in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Celebrity bloggers, such as Perez Hilton
Perez Hilton
Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr. , better known as Perez Hilton , is an American blogger and television personality. His blog, Perezhilton.com , is known for posts covering gossip items about celebrities...
, contributed to Adele's promotion on the blogosphere. Adele stated that she does not use twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, although the record company opened an account in order to push followers to the singer's personal blog. Throughout February Adele's personal site hosted a "21 Days of Adele" promotion, which featured exclusive daily content, including a live chat and a video of the singer explaining the inspiration for each album track.
The week of release was also accompanied by a spate of television appearances on many American daytime and late-night talk shows, such as the Today Show on 18 February, Late Show With David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
on 21 February, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...
and Jimmy Kimmel Live! on 24 February. "Rolling in the Deep", the album's first single, received heavy rotation on the Triple A
Adult album alternative
Adult album alternative is a radio format. A spinoff from the album-oriented rock format, its roots trace to the 1960s and 1970s from the earlier freeform and progressive formats....
radio format, and was featured in the trailer for the 2011 science fiction film I Am Number Four.
Singles
21 has yielded three singles. The lead single "Rolling in the DeepRolling in the Deep
"Rolling in the Deep" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Adele for her second studio album, 21. The song was written by Paul Epworth and Adele, who described it as a "dark blues-y gospel disco tune". It was first released on 29 November 2010 as the lead single of the album.The song has...
" was released on 29 November 2010 in the Netherlands, where it peaked at number one for seven non-consecutive weeks. It also led the singles charts in Germany, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, and became a top-ten hit in Austria, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, and Norway. The song was released in the UK on 16 January 2011, where it peaked at number two. In the U.S., the song became "the most widely crossed over song of the past twenty-five years", appearing on a record twelve radio-based chart surveys, including the Triple A (on which it peaked at number one for fourteen weeks), the Adult Top 40 (number one for eleven weeks), the Hot 100 Airplay
Hot 100 Airplay
The Hot 100 Airplay chart is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It measures radio airplay, and is one of the three component charts, along with the Hot Singles Sales and the Hot Digital Songs charts, that determine the chart positions of singles on the Billboard...
(number one, six weeks), Mainstream Top 40 (number one, five weeks), and the Latin Pop Airplay
Latin Pop Airplay
Latin Pop Airplay is a record chart published on Billboard magazine. It features Latin music information from pop music usually in Spanish. It was established by the magazine on October 8, 1994 with Mañana by Cristian Castro being the first song to reach number-one...
and Hot Latin Songs
Hot Latin Songs
Hot Latin Songs is a record chart published by Billboard magazine. It is often recognized as the most important music chart for Spanish language Latin music in the American music market. It was established by the magazine on September 6, 1986 with La Guirnalda by Rocío Dúrcal being the first song...
(at number seventeen and forty-three respectively). The song ascended to number one on Billboards Hot 100 on 14 May 2011, and commanded the number-one position for seven non-consecutive weeks. Adele's first chart-topper in the U.S., the song sold over five million digital copies in the U.S., and as of October 2011, ranked as the year's best-selling single.
"Someone Like You
Someone Like You (Adele song)
"Someone Like You" is a song by English singer-songwriter Adele. Written by Adele and Dan Wilson for her second studio album 21, the song was inspired by a broken relationship of hers, and lyrically it speaks of Adele coming to terms with it...
" debuted at number thirty-six on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
due to strong digital sales. Following a live performance of the song at the 2011 BRIT Awards, the song leaped from its position of forty-seven to the top of the chart, and maintained the position for a total of five weeks. It was certified Platinum by the BPI
British Phonographic Industry
The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...
on 1 April 2011, denoting shipments of 600,000 copies. As of October 2011, "Someone Like You" is the biggest selling single of 2011 in the UK, having sold 1 million copies as of July 2011. The song also peaked at number one for seven consecutive weeks in Australia. In the United States, the song ascended to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart in the week ending 17 September 2011, following a critically acclaimed performance on the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards
2011 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2011 MTV Video Music Awards took place on August 28, at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. On July 20, the nominees were announced...
. The song spent five non-consecutive weeks at number one in the US.
"Set Fire to the Rain
Set Fire to the Rain
"Set Fire to the Rain" is a song by English singer-songwriter Adele from her second studio album 21. Written by Adele and Fraser T. Smith and produced by Smith, the power ballad was released as the second single from the album in Europe. It was released as the third single in the United Kingdom on...
" was released as the third single across Europe. It topped the chart in the Netherlands for one week. It has also peaked at number one in Belgium (Flanders), at number three in Italy and in the top ten in Ireland, and the top twenty in several other countries. "Set Fire to the Rain" was released on November 21, 2011 as 21's third official single in the United States.
"Rumour Has It
Rumour Has It (Adele song)
"Rumour Has It" is a song by the English singer-songwriter Adele from her second studio album, 21. The song was written by Adele and Ryan Tedder while the production was handled by Tedder. Adele revealed that the song wasn't inspired by the media but it was aimed at her friends who believed things...
" will be released as the fourth single in the UK, having been added to Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
's A-List Playlist.
Adele: Live
Adele embarked on her second concert tour Adele: LiveAdele Live
Adele Live is the second concert tour by English recording artist Adele. Visiting Europe and North America, the tour supports her second studio album, 21. Adele is backed by a five-piece band and backing singers, whilst for some songs she is accompanied by piano only. The stage design features...
in support of 21, scheduling over sixty shows across Europe and North America. The setlist comprised all songs from 21, as well as a number of songs from 19. The shows garnered positive critical reviews, most of which emphasised the show's understated nature, as well as the singer's vocal performance and on-stage charisma.
Recurring health and vocal problems led to numerous alterations to the tour itinerary. The European Leg of the tour began on 21 March 2011 in Oslo, Norway and ended in London, England on 21 April 2011, while the North American leg was initially scheduled from 12 May 2011 in Washington D.C. to 22 June in Minneapolis. However, Adele cancelled her appearance at Minneapolis's First Avenue due to problems with her voice, and after consulting with an Otolaryngology
Otolaryngology
Otolaryngology or ENT is the branch of medicine and surgery that specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of ear, nose, throat, and head and neck disorders....
specialist, she was diagnosed with acute laryngitis
Laryngitis
Laryngitis is an inflammation of the larynx. It causes hoarse voice or the complete loss of the voice because of irritation to the vocal folds . Dysphonia is the medical term for a vocal disorder, of which laryngitis is one cause....
, and was forced to cancel the remaining dates on the North American leg of her tour. Following her month-long hiatus, Adele resumed the tour with a newly revised schedule; some concerts were moved to venues with increased capacity to support the inflated demand of the show, and additional dates were scheduled.
In September 2011, "continuing problems with a serious cold and chest infection" prompted the postponement of seven additional dates on the second leg of the European stop, including shows scheduled for Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
, Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
and Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
. However, the tour was resumed on 13 September, and new dates for the missed shows were rescheduled. In October 2011, the singer again cancelled the remaining dates of the second leg of her North American tour due to a vocal hemorrhage that caused "internal bleeding near her vocal chords". In a statement on her website, the singer stated, "I have absolutely no choice but to recuperate properly and fully, or I risk damaging my voice forever...I have great confidence in believing you know how much this upsets me, how seriously I take it and how truly devastated and annoyed I am by this... please have faith in me that this is the only thing I can do to make sure I can always sing and always make music for you."
Critical reception
After its release, 21 garnered general acclaim from music critics; at MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalised
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating out of 100 to reviews from selected mainstream critics, the album received a score of 76 based on 34 reviews, which indicates "generally positive reviews". Many reviews celebrate 21 as an artistic leap from her debut in both its production and songwriting. Although her releases explored similar themes, critics had generally considered 19 vocally and lyrically subdued. However, Barry Walters of Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
found that "[On 21], she wails harder and writes bolder, piling on the dramatic production flourishes to suggest a lover's apocalypse." Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
also commented, "In contrast to the folk-based songs of the first album, 21 beefs up the rhythmic drive and the drama of the arrangements."
In addition to the dramatic production, reviews emphasised the added depth and maturity of the album's songs. Gary McGinley of the music webzine No Ripcord
No Ripcord
No Ripcord is an online music and film magazine based in Sheffield, England.-History:The website was originally created in April 1999 by editor-in-chief David Coleman and A.M. Booth...
called the album a "coming-of-age record", while Will Dean of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
summarised it as "a progressive, grown-up second collection". Simon Harper of Clash
Clash (magazine)
Clash is a popular music and fashion magazine based in the United Kingdom. Its magazine title is published 12 times a year. It has a circulation of around 40,000....
wrote, "[In] two years ... she’s clearly seen the world. Where 19 marked the turbulent swan song to a teenage life, 21 introduces the realities of adult life, where grown-up responsibilities collide with heartache and emotional scars run deep." In a positive review of the album, John Murphy of MusicOMH
MusicOMH
musicOMH is a United Kingdom-based website which publishes independent reviews, featues and interviews from across all musical genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.-History:...
noted its thematic similarities with Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize...
's Back to Black
Back to Black
Back to Black is the second studio album by English recording artist Amy Winehouse, released on 27 October 2006 by Island Records. It is the last album released in her lifetime. The album incorporates 1960s soul music styles and modern R&B production, with subjective lyrics that concern...
, writing: "Almost every song oozes pain, sadness and anger". Murphy concluded his review by proclaiming 21 "one of the great 'break-up' albums, and the first truly impressive record of 2011." Similarly, Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic, or simply Sputnik, is a music website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites...
's Joseph Viney noted that 21 exhibited influences from many great female artists, and that it combined the "best bits of Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
’s old-school soul with Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Noelle Hill is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress.Early in her career, she established her reputation as a member of the Fugees. In 1998, she launched her solo career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album, The Miseducation of...
’s sass and sense of cynical modern femininity
Femininity
Femininity is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with girls and women. Though socially constructed, femininity is made up of both socially defined and biologically created factors...
." Ian Walker of AbsolutePunk called the album a "pop masterpiece", although he criticised its uneven feel, and Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
wrote, "21 is that rarest pop commodity: timeless."
Adele received near unanimous praise for her vocal range, power and versatility. Ryan Reed of Paste
Paste (magazine)
Paste is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine published in the United States by Wolfgang's Vault. Its tagline is "Signs of Life in Music, Film and Culture."-History:...
characterised her voice as "a raspy, aged-beyond-its-years thing of full-blooded beauty", while Bernadette McNulty of The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
opined, "hers is a voice that seems to go right to your heart". Allmusic's Matt Collar found her voice "spine-tingling", and Tom Townshend of MSN Music
MSN Music
MSN Music was a part of the MSN web services. It delivered music news, music videos, spotlights on new music, artist information, and live performances of artists. In 2004, Microsoft created an MSN Music download store to compete with Apple's iTunes Music Store, though its sales in comparison were...
bestowed high praise on the singer, declaring her "the finest singer of [our] generation." However, reviewers also conceded that Adele's vocal prowess was also a liability to the production. Slant Magazine's Matthew Cole suggested that the compelling nature of Adele's vocals sometimes masked the "blandness", of some of the songs, while Allison Stewart of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
wrote, "after a strong start, the disc yields to a forgettable midsection of mostly mid-tempo tracks that are remarkable only because Adele is singing them".
Awards and accolades
In its mid-year countdown of the best albums of 2011 so far, James Montgomery of MTV placed 21 at number two, calling the album "a roiling collection of break-up ballads and revenge fantasies". He also stated, "this time out, she's grown, and become a singer capable of both tremendous power (like on the smash "Rolling in the Deep") and terrifying tenderness too (like on the smashing "Someone Like You")... It's nice when the year's best-selling album also ends up being one of the flat-out best." "Rolling in the Deep" was also hailed as the number-one single of 2011 so far, with Montgomery commenting, "Unquestionably the song of 2011, a crackling, breathy thing that roils along on a stubby guitar line and some primal pounding, then positively roars to life the second the chorus hits." The album was nominated for the 2011 Barclaycard Mercury Prize. In November 2011, Adele won three American Music AwardsAmerican Music Awards
-Conception:The AMAs were created by Dick Clark in 1973 to compete with the Grammys after the move of that year's show to Nashville, Tennessee led to CBS picking up the Grammy telecasts after its first two in 1971 and 1972 were broadcast on ABC...
including Favorite Pop/Rock Album for 21. On 30 November the album was nominated for two Grammy Awards including Album of the Year
Grammy Award for Album of the Year
The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is the most prestigious award category at the Grammys. It has been awarded since 1959 and though it was originally presented to the artist alone, the award is now presented to the artist, the producer, the engineer and/or mixer and the mastering engineer...
and Best Pop Vocal Album
Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album
The Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality pop music albums...
while the singer received a total of six nominations overall including Record of the Year
Grammy Award for Record of the Year
The Record of the Year is one of the four most prestigious Grammy Awards presented annually. It has been awarded since 1959.-History:The honorees through its history have been:*1959-1965: Artist only.*1966-1998: Artist and producer....
and Song of the Year
Grammy Award for Song of the Year
The Song of the Year is one of the four most prestigious awards in the Grammy Awards ceremony, if not in all of the American music industry. It has been awarded since 1959 and unlike the Record of the Year award, which goes to the performer and production team of a single song, Song of the Year...
for "Rolling in the Deep" while also receiving Best Pop Solo Performance
Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance is a new category in the annual Grammy Awards ceremony from 2012.It combines the previous categories for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and Best Pop Instrumental Performance....
for "Someone Like You
Someone Like You (Adele song)
"Someone Like You" is a song by English singer-songwriter Adele. Written by Adele and Dan Wilson for her second studio album 21, the song was inspired by a broken relationship of hers, and lyrically it speaks of Adele coming to terms with it...
".
United Kingdom
On 30 January 2011, 21 debuted at number one on the UK Albums ChartUK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
with first-week sales of 208,000 copies, the biggest-selling January release in five years, since the Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English indie rock band. Formed in 2002 in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield, the band currently consists of Alex Turner , Jamie Cook , Nick O'Malley and Matt Helders...
' Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not is the debut album by English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys, released on 23 January 2006. The album became the UK's fastest selling debut album, shifting over 360,000 copies in its first week, and remains the fastest selling debut album by a band. It...
sold 363,000 copies in January 2006. In the album's fourth week at number one, 21 and its singles, as well as her debut album 19, experienced a sales surge of 890 percent on Amazon.co.uk within an hour Adele's performance at the 2011 BRIT Awards. While 21 extend its reign at the top, 19 surged to number four on the UK Albums Chart; in that same week, "Someone Like You" also leaped from number forty-seven to number-one, and "Rolling in the Deep" climbed five-to-four on the UK Singles Chart. Adele became the first living act since The Beatles in 1964 to have two UK top five albums and singles simultaneously. In the album's fifth consecutive week at the top, 19 rose to number-two in its 102nd week of release, which gave the singer the distinction of being the first act to occupy the chart's top two positions, since The Corrs
The Corrs
The Corrs are an Irish band which combine pop rock with traditional Celtic folk music. The brother and sisters are from Dundalk, Ireland. The group consists of the Corr siblings: Andrea ; Sharon ; Caroline ; and Jim .The Corrs came to international prominence with their performance at the...
' Talk On Corners
Talk on Corners
Talk on Corners is the second album by Irish band The Corrs, released in 1997. The name of the album is derived from a line from the album's song "Queen of Hollywood"....
and Forgiven, Not Forgotten
Forgiven, Not Forgotten
-The Band:*Andrea Corr – lead vocals, tin whistle*Caroline Corr – drums, bodhrán, vocals*Jim Corr – guitar, keyboards, vocals*Sharon Corr – violin, vocals-Featuring:*Simon Phillips – drums*Michael Thompson – guitar*David Foster – keyboards...
landed at number one and two in 1999. Adele occupied the top two positions for five non-consecutive weeks between February and May 2011.
Weekly sales for 21 exceeded 100,000 copies until its twelfth week on the UK Albums Chart. It experienced its strongest sales in its tenth week at the top, in the week ending 3 April 2011, when a Mother's Day
Mother's Day
Mother's Day is a celebration honoring mothers and celebrating motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, yet most commonly in March, April, or May...
sales boost pushed the album to a peak of 258,000 copies sold. In its eleventh week, the album became the longest-running consecutive number-one album since Bob Marley and The Wailers' Legend in 1984, which spent twelve consecutive weeks at number one. On 17 July, after its previous eleven-week stint at number-one between February and April 2011, followed by another five-week number-one spell between April and June, 21 returned to the summit for a another two-week run, totalling eighteenth non-consecutive week at the top, as of 24 July. This is the longest run at number one in the UK since The Bee Gees' Saturday Night Fever soundtrack spent as many weeks on top in 1978. As of 19 November 2011, 21 has been certified twelve-times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry
British Phonographic Industry
The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...
(BPI) for shipments of 3,600,000 units. It also became the most downloaded album in UK history. As of November 2011, 21 has sold over 3.3 million copies in the UK, and became the second biggest-selling album of the 21st century behind Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize...
's Back to Black
Back to Black
Back to Black is the second studio album by English recording artist Amy Winehouse, released on 27 October 2006 by Island Records. It is the last album released in her lifetime. The album incorporates 1960s soul music styles and modern R&B production, with subjective lyrics that concern...
(2006). In September 2011, Adele was recognized by the Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
for becoming the first female artist to have two singles and two albums in UK top five 5 simultaneously. 21 also became the first album in UK chart history to reach sales of three million in a calendar year, and set records for the most consecutive weeks with a UK number-one album (solo female) with eleven weeks (overtaking Madonna's 1990 compilation The Immaculate Collection
The Immaculate Collection
The Immaculate Collection is the first greatest hits album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on November 9, 1990 by Sire Records. It contains fifteen of her hit singles from 1982 to 1990, as well as two new tracks "Justify My Love" and "Rescue Me"...
), and the most cumulative weeks at number one (solo female) in the UK with eighteen weeks at the top.
International
Outside of the UK, the album has also enjoyed commercial success, and topped the charts in over nineteen countries, including the Belgian Albums ChartUltratop
Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts...
(Flanders), the Danish Albums Chart, the Dutch Albums Chart
MegaCharts
MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top...
and the New Zealand Albums Chart
Recording Industry Association of New Zealand
The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand...
. In the Netherlands, the album debuted at number one, and topped the Dutch album chart for thirty weeks, the co-longest number-one of all time. In Germany, it led the chart for four weeks. The album spent a total of twenty-nine weeks at the top of the Irish Albums Chart
Irish Albums Chart
The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically...
. In Australia, 21 spent twenty-three weeks at number-one on the ARIA
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
Top 50 Albums Chart, ten of which were consecutive, while "Someone Like You" dominated the corresponding singles chart for seven consecutive weeks. Both titles also led the album and singles charts simultaneously for seven consecutive weeks. On 18 April, while "Someone Like You" and 21 reign at the top, both "Rolling in the Deep" and 19 ascended to number-three on their respective charts, giving Adele two entries in the top-five of both the album and singles charts concurrently. On the New Zealand RIANZ Albums Chart, 21 debuted at number-one in January, and spent twenty-six weeks at the top, the longest running number-one of all time on that chart. The album also spent ten non-consecutive weeks at number two, and achieved thirty-five weeks in the top three.
21 debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
and in Canada, selling 352,000 copies in its first week in the U.S. Since its entry on the Billboard 200 in February 2011, it has not charted lower than number five, and remained in the top three for twenty three weeks, and the top five for thirty nine weeks, outlasting all albums released in the U.S. in 2011. 21 is the first album to spend as many weeks in the top five since Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...
's The Bodyguard soundtrack spent thirty weeks in the top five between 1991 and 1992. Billboard reported that 21 is the sixteenth album by a female artist to spend at least nine weeks on top of the Billboard 200, and the first by a British act since George Michael
George Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
's Faith
Faith (George Michael album)
Faith is George Michael's first solo album, released in October 1987 via Columbia Records/Epic Records. The album has won several awards including the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1989. To date, the album has sold over 25 million copies worldwide, and received diamond certification from...
, which led the charts for a total of twelve weeks in 1988. As of September 2011, 21 has become the best-selling album of the year and the only 2011 release to sell over 2 million copies. It is also the best-selling digital album of all time in the U.S., selling 1.02 million copies. As of November 2011, 21 has sold over 4.75 million copies in the United States, and has spent thirteen weeks at the top of the Billboard 200. In Canada, 21 has been certified five-times platinum, and sold 650,000 copies as of 20 October 2011.
Impact and response
The album's success has been attributed to its "very broad appeal", which has catered to fans of various genres of pop, adult contemporary and R&B, as well as various generations and musical timelines. Sasha Frere-JonesSasha Frere-Jones
Sasha Frere-Jones is an American writer, music critic, and musician. He has written for Pretty Decorating, ego trip, Hit It And Quit It, Mean, Slant, The New York Post, The Wire, The Village Voice, Slate, Spin, and The New York Times...
of The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, who listed Adele among the three most dominant female artists in popular music (alongside Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
and Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
), also ascribed the album's success in the U.S. to its target audience: "21 ... is selling to the demographic that decides American elections: middle-aged moms who don’t know how to pirate music and will drive to Starbucks
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
when they need to buy it." Critics have praised the album's back-to-basics approach, its vintage authenticity, and the relative lack of artifice in the singer's music, qualities that stand out against the "bombastic theatrics" of the mainstream music industry. Ethan Smith of The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
noted that Adele's "deliberately unflashy" nature, full figure, and "everywoman" appeal gave her a lucrative niche in the market, while her tendency to emphasise "substance over style" made her the "Anti-Lady Gaga". Guy Adams of The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
argued that 21s success also signals the reemergence of the more traditional approach to commercial success:
There are two approaches to the business of being noticed by today's record-buying public. The first, showcased by Lady Gaga at the recent Grammys, revolves around oodles of hype and ever-more preposterous wardrobe selections. The second, adopted by Adele at this year's BRITs, is more understated: it requires a simple black dress and the confidence to let your music do the talking... Amazingly, given preconceived notions about America's supposed preference for style over substance, it is the second of these two sales techniques which appears to be working better.
Richard Russell, founder of Adele's record label XL Recordings
XL Recordings
XL Recordings is a British independent record label owned by Richard Russell. It originated as a 1989 offshoot of Beggars Banquet Records.Though only releasing an average of six albums a year, XL Recordings has worked with The Prodigy, Radiohead, The White Stripes, Dizzee Rascal, M.I.A., Vampire...
, spoke out on what he believed to be the quasi-subversive nature of the album's chart dominance. Russell viewed the success of 21 as "almost political and sort of radical", and stated that the lack of gimmicks in Adele's music undermined the widespread perception that female performers have to conform to specific body-types, or imbue their music with gratuitous sexual imagery, in order attain success. In an interview, Adele addressed the lack of sexualisation of her music, stating, "If you've got it, flaunt it, if it works with your music ... But I can't imagine having guns and whipped cream coming out of my tits." She added, "I don't make music for eyes. I make music for ears."
The success of the album led many music critics to tout Adele as the torchbearer for the British brand of soul music that ascended to prominence in the U.S., with the mainstream success of Joss Stone
Joss Stone
Jocelyn Eve Stoker , better known by her stage name Joss Stone, is an English soul singer-songwriter and actress. Stone rose to fame in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, The Soul Sessions, which made the 2004 Mercury Prize shortlist...
, Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize...
and Lily Allen
Lily Allen
Lily Rose Beatrice Cooper , better known as Lily Allen, is an English recording artist and fashion designer. She is the daughter of actor and musician Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. In her teenage years, her musical tastes evolved from glam rock to alternative...
. While their initial popularity at the beginning of the 2000s decade incited the media to declare a "new wave of British invasion
British Invasion
The British Invasion is a term used to describe the large number of rock and roll, beat, rock, and pop performers from the United Kingdom who became popular in the United States during the time period from 1964 through 1966.- Background :...
", Joseph Viney of Sputnikmusic stated that the subsequent commercial decline of many of these artists created a void within the music industry, which gave Adele "the chance to stake her claim as the UK’s leading solo female artist." John Murphy of MusicOMH described Adele as "manna from heaven from those looking (musically at least) for 'the new Amy Winehouse back in 2008", and concluded that "[21] is a timely reminder that British soul hasn't lost its mojo."
American R&B artist Beyoncé Knowles cited Adele among the influences for her latest album 4
4 (Beyoncé Knowles album)
4 is the fourth studio album by American recording artist Beyoncé Knowles, released through Columbia Records on June 24, 2011. Three weeks before its scheduled release, 4 leaked in full. The twelve-song set marks the first release by Knowles since separating professionally with father and manager,...
. In addition to the numerical titular reference, Knowles' album also showcased an understated and more soulful side that contrasted with her more up-tempo, aggressive side.
Track listing
The official track listing released through the iTunes Store UK on 30 November 2010.Personnel
(Credits lifted from Allmusic and 21s liner notesLiner notes
Liner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...
.)
Production credits
- Jim AbbissJim AbbissJim Abbiss is a British music producer, best known for his work on records including Arctic Monkeys' Mercury Music Prize winning debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, Ladytron's Witching Hour, Sneaker Pimps' debut Becoming X, Editors' debut The Back Room, Kasabian's...
– mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
, producer - Adele – design, producer
- Philip Allen – engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
- Beatriz Artola – engineer
- Phillip Broussard Jr. – assistant
- Lindsay Chase – production coordination
- AJ Clark – assistant
- Tom Coyne – masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
- Ian Dowling – mixing
- Lauren Dukoff – photography
- Tom Elmhirst – mixing
- Greg Fidelman – engineer
- Fraser T. SmithFraser T. SmithFraser T. Smith is an English record producer, songwriter, mix engineer and guitarist....
– mixing - Sara Lyn Killion – assistant
- Phil Lee – design
- Dana Nielsen – editingMusic sequencerThe music sequencer is a device or computer software to record, edit, play back the music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically :...
, Pro ToolsPro ToolsPro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television... - Dan Parry – assistant, vocal engineer
- Steve Price – engineer (strings)
- Mark Rankin – engineer
- Andrew Scheps – mixing
- Isabel Seeliger-Morley – assistant engineer
- Ryan TedderRyan TedderRyan Benjamin Tedder is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the frontman of the pop rock band, OneRepublic, though he has an independent career as songwriter and producer for various artists such as Beyoncé, Kelly Clarkson, Far East Movement, Jordin Sparks, Leona...
– engineer, programmingProgramming (music)Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices, often sequencers or computer programs, to generate music. Programming is used in nearly all forms of electronic music and in most hip hop music since the 1990s. It is also frequently used in modern pop and rock...
Music credits
- Adele Adkins – vocals, composer, producer
- Jo Allen – violin
- Stephanie Bennett – harpHarpThe harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
- Jerrod Bettis – drums, acoustic guitarAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
- Rachel Stephanie Bolt – stringsString instrumentA string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
- Natalie Bonner – violin
- Harry Brown – hornHorn (instrument)The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
arrangements, tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate... - David Campbell – string arrangements
- Ray Carless – sax (tenor)Tenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
- Carmen Carter – choirChoirA choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
, chorus - Lenny CastroLenny CastroLenny Castro is an American freelancing percussionist in the studio recording industry in the Los Angeles area.-Early life:Castro is a percussionist of Puerto Rican descent and was born and raised in New York City. His father, Hector Castro, played the keyboard in a Latin style and gave his son...
– percussion - Neil CowleyNeil CowleyNeil Cowley is a contemporary jazz pianist who previous incarnations include Fragile State, The Green Nuns of the Revolution, and the recently formed Neil Cowley Trio that appeared on Jools Holland in April 2008 and won the 2007 BBC Jazz Award for best album, "Displaced".-Biography:Cowley began...
– piano - Caroline Dale – strings
- David Daniels – strings
- Rosie Danvers – string arrangements, violin
- Chris Dave – drums
- Chris Elliot – string arrangements
- Paul EpworthPaul EpworthPaul Epworth is an award-winning British music producer, musician, and songwriter. His production credits include Adele, Cee Lo Green, Florence and the Machine, Plan B, Friendly Fires, Bloc Party, Primal Scream, The Rapture, Jack Peñate, Kate Nash and Maxïmo Park.-Lomax:From 2002-2004 Paul provided...
– bass, composer, guitar (acoustic), guitar (electric), percussion, producer, vocals (background) - Fraser T. SmithFraser T. SmithFraser T. Smith is an English record producer, songwriter, mix engineer and guitarist....
– composer, guitar (bass), mixing, piano, producer - Simon GallupSimon GallupSimon Jonathon Gallup is an English musician and bassist of the post-punk band The Cure.-Early years:...
– composer - Jim Gilstrap – choir, chorus
- David Hidalgo – accordionAccordionThe accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new... - Smokey Hormel – guitar
- Patrick Kiernan – strings
- Boguslaw Kostecki – strings
- Peter Lale – strings
- Noel Langley – trumpet
- Chris Laurence – strings
- Julian Leaper – strings
- Rita Manning – strings
- Eleanor Mathieson – violin
- Stephen Morris – strings
- Roger O'DonnellRoger O'DonnellRoger O'Donnell is an English keyboardist best known for his work with The Cure. O'Donnell has also performed in the Psychedelic Furs, the Thompson Twins and Berlin, as well as having an active solo career.- Background :...
– composer - Pino PalladinoPino PalladinoPino Palladino is a Welsh bass guitarist who gained fame playing primarily rock and roll, blues rock, and rhythm and blues music, although he has been lauded for his ability to play most genres of popular music, including jazz, neo soul, and funk...
– bass - Tom Pigott-Smith – strings
- Ruston Pomeroy – violin
- Hayley Pomfrett – violin
- Josef Powell – choir, chorus
- James Poyser – piano
- Rick RubinRick RubinFrederick Jay "Rick" Rubin is an American record producer and the co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, Rubin was the co-founder of Def Jam Records and also established American Recordings...
– producer - Jenny Sacha – violin
- Kotono Sato – violin
- Jackie Shave – strings
- Emlyn Singleton – strings
- Robert SmithRobert Smith (musician)Robert James Smith is an English musician. He is the lead singer, guitar player and principal songwriter of the rock band The Cure, and its only constant member since its founding in 1976...
– composer - Ash Soan – drums
- Matt SweeneyMatt SweeneyMatt Sweeney is a guitarist, vocalist, and producer who has worked with various musicians and groups.-Biography:Sweeney's high school band Skunk released two albums on Twin/Tone records...
– guitar - Leo TaylorThe Invisible (band)The Invisible are an indie rock/post-rock band based in and originating from London, and fronted by the singer and guitarist Dave Okumu, a long-time member of the London jazz scene. The band formed as Dave Okumu's solo project but quickly developed into a full fledged band with friends Tom Herbert ...
– drums - Ryan TedderRyan TedderRyan Benjamin Tedder is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the frontman of the pop rock band, OneRepublic, though he has an independent career as songwriter and producer for various artists such as Beyoncé, Kelly Clarkson, Far East Movement, Jordin Sparks, Leona...
– arranger, bass, composer, drums, engineer, guitar (electric), hammond B3, piano, producer, programming, string arrangements - Ben Thomas – guitar (acoustic), guitar (electric)
- Cathy Thompson – strings
- Porl ThompsonPorl ThompsonPorl Thompson is an English musician best known for his work with The Cure.-Life and work:Thompson is the oldest of four children; he has two brothers and one sister...
– composer - Julia Tillman Waters – choir, chorus
- Laurence TolhurstLaurence TolhurstLaurence Andrew "Lol" Tolhurst is a founding member and former drummer and keyboardist of British band The Cure. He left The Cure in 1989 and was later involved in the band Presence and his current project Levinhurst, a portmanteau of Tolhurst and his wife vocalist Cindy Levinsons' surnames...
– composer - Carmen Twillie – choir, chorus
- Lorna Maxine Waters – choir, chorus
- Oren Waters – choir director
- Greg WellsGreg WellsGreg Wells is a multiple Grammy nominated musician, record producer and songwriter based in Los Angeles. Wells has produced and written hits with Adele, Weezer, Pink, Theophilus London, Deftones, Katy Perry, Rufus Wainwright, The All American Rejects, OneRepublic, Mika, Aerosmith, Burt Bacharach,...
– composer - Bruce White – strings
- Francis WhiteEg WhiteFrancis Anthony "Eg" White is a British musician, songwriter and producer. White is primarily known for his work with successful commercial pop acts such as Adele, Duffy, Will Young and James Morrison...
– composer - Boris WilliamsBoris WilliamsBoris Peter Bransby-Williams is an English drummer best known for his extensive work with The Cure . He had previously worked with various artists, including Thompson Twins, Kim Wilde, Strawberry Switchblade and Tomato City...
– composer - Dan WilsonDan Wilson (musician)Daniel Dodd "Dan" Wilson is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, Grammy-winning songwriter and producer...
– composer, piano, producer - The Wired Strings – strings
- Chris Worsey – strings
- Terry Young – choir, chorus
- Warren Zielinski – strings
Charts
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Argentinian Albums Chart | 8 |
| Australian Albums Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
1 |
| Austrian Albums Chart | 1 |
| Belgian Albums Chart Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... (Flanders) |
1 |
| Belgian Albums Chart Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... (Wallonia) |
1 |
| Brazil TOP 20 Semanal ABPD | 1 |
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
1 |
| Croatian Albums Chart | 1 |
| Czech Albums Chart | 1 |
| Danish Albums Chart | 1 |
| Dutch Albums Chart MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
1 |
| Finnish Albums Chart | 1 |
| French Albums Chart Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
1 |
| German Albums Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
1 |
| Greek Albums Chart IFPI Greece International Federation of the Phonographic Industry Greece or IFPI Greece is the Greek branch of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and is the official charts provider and recording sales certification body for Greece. Currently two charts are compiled, one for sales of... |
1 |
| Hungarian Albums Chart Mahasz Mahasz is the Hungarian music industry association, founded in 1992. Mahasz hands out the Hungarian Music Awards and maintains the music charts for Hungary.... |
11 |
| Irish Albums Chart Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically... |
1 |
| Italian Albums Chart Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy.... |
1 |
| Japanese Albums Chart Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... |
53 |
| Mexican Albums Chart Top 100 Mexico Top 100 México is a record chart which accounts for sixty percent of the albums sold in Mexico. The chart has the support of major record distributors in Mexico and is issued by the Mexican Association of Producers of Phonograms and Videograms, A.C. since 2005 on a weekly basis... |
1 |
| New Zealand Albums Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
1 |
| Norwegian Albums Chart | 1 |
| Polish Albums Chart Polish Music Charts The Polish Music Charts are two official album charts and seven singles charts in Poland, provided by ZPAV, the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry . The first, the Top 100, is a monthly chart based on data received from the album companies... |
1 |
| Russian Albums Chart Russian Music Charts The Russian Music Charts are Russian music industry standard popularity rankings compiled weekly by 2M and Tophit . Albums and tracks rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through retail data captured electronically each week from Russian music retailers... |
9 |
| Scottish Albums Chart | 1 |
| Slovenian Albums Chart | 1 |
| Spanish Albums Chart | 2 |
| Swedish Albums Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
1 |
| Swiss Albums Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
1 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
1 |
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
1 |
Certifications
| Country | Certification |
|---|---|
| Argentina Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers The Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers is an Argentine organization member of the IFPI, which represents the music industry in the country. It is a nonprofit organization integrated by multinational and independent record labels.... |
Gold |
| Australia Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956... |
8× Platinum |
| Austria IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a not-for-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland... |
Gold |
| Belgium Belgian Entertainment Association The Belgian Entertainment Association is the organization that represents the interests of the music, video and video game industries in Belgium... |
2× Platinum |
| Canada Canadian Recording Industry Association Music Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada... |
7× Platinum |
| Chile | Gold |
| Denmark | 2× Platinum |
| Europe | 2× Platinum |
| Finland | Gold |
| France Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
Diamond |
| Germany Bundesverband Musikindustrie The Bundesverband Musikindustrie or simply BVMI represents the music industry in Germany. The association represents the interests of nearly 350 labels and music industry related enterprises.... |
3× Platinum |
| Ireland Irish Recorded Music Association Irish Recorded Music Association is the Irish record industry association. IRMA is a non-profit association set up to manage and control the music industry in the Republic of Ireland.-Goals and activities:... |
10× Platinum |
| Italy Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy.... |
Platinum |
| Mexico AMPROFON Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas is a non-profit organization integrated by multinational and national record companies in Mexico. Established on April 3, 1963, it groups phonographic companies that represent more than 70 percent of the market in Mexico... |
Platinum |
| Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... |
5× Platinum |
| New Zealand Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
7× Platinum |
| Poland Polish Music Charts The Polish Music Charts are two official album charts and seven singles charts in Poland, provided by ZPAV, the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry . The first, the Top 100, is a monthly chart based on data received from the album companies... |
3× Platinum |
| Russia | Gold |
| Spain | Platinum |
| Sweden | Platinum |
| Switzerland | 2× Platinum |
| United Kingdom British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies... |
12× Platinum |
| United States Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... |
4× Platinum |
Release history
| Region | Release date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 19 January 2011 | CD, digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
Hostess Hostess Entertainment , DBA Unlimited, is a Japanese independent music company, representing some of the biggest Western alternative artists and labels in Japan, such as the Beggars Group , Domino Records, V2 Records and PIAS UK Distribution... |
| Australia | 24 January 2011 | XL XL Recordings XL Recordings is a British independent record label owned by Richard Russell. It originated as a 1989 offshoot of Beggars Banquet Records.Though only releasing an average of six albums a year, XL Recordings has worked with The Prodigy, Radiohead, The White Stripes, Dizzee Rascal, M.I.A., Vampire... |
|
| Austria | |||
| Germany | |||
| Ireland | |||
| Netherlands | |||
| Switzerland | |||
| United Kingdom | CD, Limited edition | ||
| Poland | |||
| France | CD, digital download, LP | ||
| United States | 22 February 2011 | Columbia Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company... |
|
| Canada |
External links
- 21 at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...