Adele has become a major label artist in the UK for the first time in her career, having signed a new deal with Columbia Records UK. She has also confirmed that her new album 30 will be released on November 19.
Adele, whose releases Easy On Me, the first single from 30, tomorrow (October 15), was previously signed to independent label XL Recordings, part of Beggars Group. Her contract with the indie expired after the release of her last album 25. A global deal with Sony Music was subsequently struck to the tune of a reported £90 million.
To date, Adele has 15 Grammy Awards and nine Brit Awards to her name, having firmly cemented herself as one of the most successful recording artists making music today. Her debut album 19 (2008) is certified eight times platinum by the BPI with sales of over 2.4 million, three times platinum in the US by RIAA, and has sold over 6.5 million copies worldwide.
This was followed up in 2011 by 21, which catapulted Adele from ‘one to watch’ to one of the biggest artists on the planet. 21 would go on to break all kinds of records, becoming the world’s best-selling album of the year for both 2011 and 2012 and shifting over 31 million copies worldwide. As things stand, it is currently the best-selling album of the 21st century, the fourth best-selling album of all time, and the best-selling album by a solo artist of all time.
Where many may have crumbled under the pressure of such a juggernaut of a release, in 2015 Adele released 25, breaking first-week sales records in multiple countries, becoming the world's best-selling album of the year for 2015 and going on to sell over 22 million copies worldwide. 25 is the fourth-best selling album of the 21st century, the second-best selling album of the 2010s (only behind 21) and is one of the best-selling albums of all-time.
Discussing her new album on social media, Adele posted: “I was certainly nowhere near where I’d hoped to be when I first started it nearly three years ago. Quite the opposite actually. I rely on routine and consistency to feel safe, I always have. And yet there I was knowingly – willingly even, throwing myself into a maze of absolute mess and inner turmoil!
“[30] was my ride or die throughout the most turbulent period of my life. I’ve painstakingly rebuilt my house and my heart since then and this album narrates it. Home is where the heart is.”
On November 19, be prepared for Adele to rewrite the history books all over again.
You can read Headliner's interview with legendary Adele producer Paul Epworth here.