An artist commands a certain level of respect (not to mention confidence in their craft) to launch a marketing campaign for a new album that consists of just two numbers being displayed across giant billboards and iconic landmarks all over the world – knowing that unquestionably, everyone will know exactly what it means. When Adele’s bat symbol was projected across some of the world’s most famous monuments, the internet was sent into a frenzy – wouldn't Adele have been 30 around the time of writing this album? Then her social channels and website suddenly turned blue. It. Was. Happening.
Her fans have been patient, waiting six years for the queen of sad bangers to bless us with new music to cry to. And how about those numbers: Adele famously names each of her albums after the age she was when writing them, in turn manifesting some staggering sales numbers of their very own.
Adele has 15 Grammy Awards and nine Brit Awards (so far), and 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.
Next came 21 in 2011 – aka, the world’s best-selling album of the year for both 2011 and 2012 – not to mention it has sold over 31 million copies worldwide, making it 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.
The Tottenham-born singer was back in 2015 with 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.