21 (Adele album): Difference between revisions

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21 is the second studio album by British singer-songwriter Adele. The album was released on 21 January 2011 in the UK and most of Europe, and on 22 February 2011 in North America. The follow-up to her 2008 debut 19, 21 was named after the age of the singer at the time of its production. While it relies heavily on the folk and Motown influences that framed her debut, the album also explores various genres and styles from country and blues to alternative pop and R&B. 21 is a break-up album, with the majority of the songs focusing on aspects of the singer's most recently ended relationship.

21 features production from Rick Rubin, Paul Epworth, and Ryan Tedder among others, and was released to critical acclaim, with reviewers lauding Adele's vocal performance and introspective songwriting. Preceded by lead single "Rolling in the Deep", the album debuted at number one on the UK Album Chart, selling 208,000 copies, as well as debuting at number one in over ten countries, including Canada, Germany and Ireland. It also debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 Chart with sales of 352,000 copies, so far the largest first-week sales in the U.S. of 2011.

Following an acclaimed performance of the album's second single "Someone Like You" at the 2011 BRIT Awards, the album maintained its number one position in the UK for a total of eleven consecutive weeks, before being dethroned by the Foo Fighters' Wasting Light on the week ending 24 April 2011. However, 21 returned to the top spot the following week and has so far spent fifteen cumulative weeks at number one. The album's eleven-week consecutive run at the top broke the record for the longest running consecutive number-one studio album for a solo artist. It also became the biggest-selling digital album of all-time in the UK. 21 has been certified eight-times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry, denoting domestic shipments in excess of 2.4 million units. In the U.S., the album has so far spent seven non-consecutive weeks at number one, and has sold over 1.5 million copies.

Background and conception

Similar to her first album 19, 21 is essentially a break-up album, reflecting Adele's feelings toward the failure of her relationship. Prior to the album's production, her relationship achieved notoriety in the British press when it was revealed that she canceled her 2008 U.S. and European tour An Evening with Adele (in support of her debut album) in order to spend time with her boyfriend. She later revealed that a number of other personal factors contributed to her decision. The breakdown of the relationship left the singer devastated, as she described it "the biggest deal in my entire life to date. . .It's going to take me ten years to recover." The singer decided to craft 21 as a confessional album in which she documented her emotional journey and channelled the pain of her break-up.

Adele originally intended to title the album Rolling in the Deep, her adaptation of a British slang "roll deep," which, in her words means, "[to] always have someone that has your back". She explains that "that's how I felt in the relationship that the record's about... [that] that's what I was always going to have, and...it ended up not being the case." She decided against the title because she deemed it too confusing for audiences outside of the UK. While admitting the overt simplicity in titling her album 21, the singer suggests that the name is the most appropriate for the album— not only does it serve as a reflection of her age at the time of production, it also establishes a juxtaposition with 19, symbolizing her personal and artistic growth:

"It’s [21] different from 19, it’s about the same things but in a different light. I deal with things differently now. I’m more patient, more honest, more forgiving and more aware of my own flaws, habits and principles. Something that comes with age I think. So fittingly this record is called 21. The whole reason I called my first album 19 was about cataloging what happened to me then and who I was then, like a photo album you see the progression and changes in a person throughout the years."
— Adele, on her personal blog, discussing the inspiration behind the name of her second album.

Many critics agreed and lauded Adele's artistic growth, praising the songs for their depth and maturity. A critic from Clash Music.com writes, "In the two years between the titles of Adele’s debut and this, her second album, 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."

An avid fan of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Californication (1999), Adele expressed interest in working with the album's producer Rick Rubin. She first met him when she appeared on Saturday Night Live in 2008, recognizing and signalling to him in the audience during her live performance of "Chasing Pavements". Following a few chance meetings they eventually decided to collaborate after meeting at the 2009 Grammy Awards. Similarly, Adele's meeting with Ryan Tedder was coincidental. They first met at the 2009 Grammy Awards in the elevator of the hotel they both happened to be staying in. Following their acquaintance, they decided to collaborate on tracks for her second album, producing "Rumour Has It" and "Turning Tables". Additional collaborators include Jim Abbiss, and Francis "Eg" White, who worked with Adele on her debut album, as well as Fraser T Smith, Dan Wilson and Paul Epworth.

Music and production

Influence and sound

"I wanted the songs not to have anything glittery or glamorous about them, like an organic tapestry rather than like a Gaga album...I mean, I love Gaga, but I didn't want to get wrapped up in all that European dance music."
— Adele speaks to Rolling Stone about the musical direction of her album.

In interviews, Adele has stated that her exposure to American country music provided the framework for her album's sound. While on her 2008–2009 tour in the U.S., Adele frequently went on smoke breaks (she no longer smokes) with her tour bus driver, a Nashville, Tennessee native, who introduced her to various types of southern music styles, including bluegrass and rockabilly, during these breaks. In particular, she listened to albums by Garth Brooks, Wanda Jackson, Alison Krauss Lady Antebellum, Dolly Parton and Rascal Flatts. Adele states, "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." Lily Moayeri, writing for Under the Radar, states that "Exposure to the likes of Wanda Jackson and Lady Antebellum [gave] Adele a country bent and a genuine understanding of the blues. These styles suit her retro-soul voice perfectly."

21 relies heavily on the same Motown influences that informed 19, with old-school, retro-infused production and the "Supremes-esque backing vocals" featured on songs like "Rolling in the Deep". However the album incorporated such instruments as the saxophone, harp, banjo and the accordion, exploring styles ranging from Southern blues and soul music to jazz and bossa nova, to alternative pop and gospel infused rock music. Regarding the wide range of musical styles, Adele explains: "It’s all tied together by my voice...I don’t have a definitive sound. I have no idea what I sound like yet, so until I do, all my records will have a kind of mix-tape vibe going on."

The album comprises mainly slow and mid-tempo ballads and torch songs, characterized by "bold melodies [and] chest-clutching singing". Matthew Cole of Slant Magazine criticized what he thought was the "formulaic" structure of the songs, suggesting that the production team on 21 seemed unanimous on what constituted an "Adele song": "a four-minute runtime; a mixture of strings, piano, and acoustic guitar, which should begin quietly and swell up around the two-minute mark; and a chorus which should recur no fewer than four times over the course of the song." Adele expressed her desire to strip the songs to their basic elements in an attempt to produce a more "open" and "articulate" record than her first. The understated nature of songs like "Don't You Remember", "Turning Tables", "Someone Like You" and "I Found a Boy", where Adele's sole musical accompaniment is a piano or a guitar, is meant to place more emphasis on Adele's vocal performance, giving the album a raw, uninhibited feel. Adele later explains, "It's such an honest record, and I'm really moved by it... It's not hidden behind anything, and even though that's what I wanted, I was a little bit scared of it."

Writing and recording

Adele deems her debut album limited in its depiction of her as a person, suggesting that the album's "seriousness" contrasted with her true demeanour as a "fun, cheeky, loud, [and] sarcastic 22 year-old". As early as April 2009, while still in the relationship that inspired 21, Adele attempted to compose songs that not only explored her failing relationship, but would also capture her lighter, "spirited" side. However, repeated studio sessions were unsuccessful, and "Take It All", produced during these sessions, was the only song with which she was completely satisfied. The main inspiration for the songs followed Adele's break-up, the majority of which began as "drunken diary ramblings", which she later refined into musical compositions. They were written over a three-month period between November 2009 and January 2010. While Adele usually assumes a great degree of creative control over her work, she explained that, compared to her debut, 21 is considerably more collaborative: "I was really worried about making '19 2.0,' so I co-wrote a lot more on this record. The first record was 80%–85% all written by me; this one is 55%–65% me...When I was doing 19, I was a typical stubborn teenager. I was like 'No, I can do it all on my own!'" In a move to improve her songwriting, Adele immersed herself into various styles of music, attempting to gain insight into the structuring and composition of songs from various genres. She barricaded herself in her home for three weeks, and "just listened to loads of music...hip-hop, country, pop, loads of stuff I like already, loads of stuff I don't even like, and just trying to understand what it is about a song that moves me; where it peaks, why I think it peaks, stuff like that, just kind of studying it."

Adele composed "Rolling in the Deep" the day after the relationship ended: "We'd had a fuming argument the night before...I'd been bubbling, then I went into the studio and screamed." While in the studio with Paul Epworth, Adele intended to write a ballad; Epworth replied "absolutely not", suggesting that they write a "fierce tune" instead. While composing the song, Adele asked Epworth to feel her racing heartbeat, which inspired the song's beat. Adele then started singing the first verse a capella, as Epoworth joined in, improvising on his guitar. "Rolling in the Deep" was recorded in less than two days. The demo was used as the final version, as Adele's repeated attempts to re-record the song failed to capture the "raw" emotion of the demo. In an interview, Adele expressed her initial reservations prior to meeting with Epworth, due to their divergent musical styles: "I wasn't really expecting anything out of the session, just because he is known for being very indie and I'm known to be very pop, so I wasn't sure if it would work too well. But it ended up being a match made in heaven...he brought a lot out of me. He brought my voice out as well— there's notes that I hit in that song ["Rolling in the Deep"] that I never even knew I could hit."

With the exception of "Rumour Has It", co-written and produced by Ryan Tedder, and "Someone Like You", co-written and co-produced with Dan Wilson, the songs were all written in London. A number of studio sessions also took place in London with Paul Epworth. However, the majority of the album's production with Rubin were recorded in his studio in Malibu, California over a course of five weeks, beginning in April 2010. Recovering from her tour, Adele expected to relax and enjoy Malibu in-between recording the album. However, she stated that she disliked the area and suffered boredom, homesickness, sunburn, and food poisoning. Working with Rubin, on the other hand, was a dream come true. The pair had a more relaxed approach to the production process: "We just vibed until it felt right and there was no referencing of things in the charts that were doing well or whatever, no seeing what was hot and what was not, and there are no samples used at all. I could sit here now and play the entire record completely live without any electricity. It was just so organic." Their collaboration produced the tracks "Don't You Remember", "He Won't Go", "One and Only", and a remake of The Cure's "Lovesong". Sessions were completed with a team of musicians that Rubin assembled, including Chris Dave on drums, Matt Sweeney on guitar, James Poyser on piano, and Pino Palladino on bass. Rubin felt that Adele had a different live sound, compared to the studio recordings on her first album, and attempted to capture this sound in their sessions. Adele initially intended to cover a song by INXS, but later changed to a remake of the Cure's "Lovesong". Originally arranged for Barbra Streisand, Adele fell in love with the unused demo and decided to record it. Prior to recording "Lovesong", Adele lost her voice, but in an interview stated that it "suited the song".

On "Someone Like You", one of the last songs written for the album, Adele collaborated with famed musician and producer Dan Wilson. Prior to meeting with Wilson, Adele wrote most of the lyrics using her guitar. The two sat around the piano for almost a day and brainstormed various melodies and lyrics, ultimately deciding to keep the musical production sparse: "We just wrote it on the piano and then we recorded it when it was written. It wasn't sort of like recording it and listening to it thinking 'where can we go next?' It was really old school."

Songs and lyrics

The order of the songs on the album mirror the range of emotions Adele experienced after the breakup, progressing from themes of anger and bitterness, to feelings of loneliness, "heartbreak and regret", and finally, as exemplified by the last song, acceptance. Adele describes the album's first track "Rolling in the Deep" as a “dark, bluesy, gospel, disco tune." She states, "[the song] is my reaction to being told [by my ex] that my life is going to be boring and lonely and rubbish, and that I was a weak person if I didn't stay in the relationship. And I wrote that as a sort of 'fuck you'." The song begins with Adele singing against a steady guitar strum, then continues with "martial beats", "pounding piano chords" (played by Neil Cowley) and "chanting backing singers", followed by a broken down, hand-clapping bridge reminiscent of the soul music of the deep south. One of the more uptempo songs on the album, the Ryan Tedder-produced "Rumour Has It" is a percussion-driven jazz number, which Adele describes as a "bluesy pop stomping song". Adele states that the song was not inspired by her ex, but was written about her own friends, who had a tendency to spread rumours about her break-up. The song contrasts with the second Tedder-collaborated song "Turning Tables", the albums third track, produced by Jim Abbiss. "Turning Tables" was conceived following a confrontation with Adele's ex. Adele arrived at the studio upset and emotional that her ex kept "turning the tables" on her during their arguments, and Tedder used this idea as a concept for composing the song. Lyrically, the song describes the stage of the relationship marked by constant fighting and contention, followed by the realization that the relationship has run its course. The song begins as an understated piano-and-vocal ballad, stripped down to its most minimal elements, and towards the climax, swells into a "cinematic pop anthem laced with Broadway-worthy strings" that "serves as a fitting counterpoint to its heartbroken, hollowed-out lyrics."

As the album progresses, the theme changes from one of anger and defensiveness to feelings of reflection and heartbreak, exemplified by the Rick Rubin produced "Don’t You Remember", co-written by Adele and Dan Wilson. A country styled ballad, the song was one of the last to be composed for the album. After completing a number of songs, Adele had become aware of how her bitterness towards the break-up had negatively coloured her perception of her ex: "I managed to step out of the bitter mode that I was in when I was writing the record and I suddenly got really ashamed and disgusted with the manner that I was portraying someone who was really important to me...and I felt really childish that I had made him out to be a complete twat." The song is an admission of her own shortcomings, as well as a plea to her ex to remember why he initially fell in love with her. The album's fifth track, "Set Fire to the Rain" was written with producer Fraser T. Smith. The song describes the contradictory elements of a relationship, and the impossibility of letting go. One of the most pop-influenced of the album, the 80's-styled "power ballad" features a steady mid-tempo rhythm and swelling chords, climaxing with Adele repeating the phrase "let it burn" against a wall of sound, created by a swirling strings arrangement. The sixth track, the Rick Rubin-produced "He Won’t Go" features more R&B undertones. John Murphy of MusicOMH compares Adele to Mary J. Blige in her prime, while Aamir Yaqub, writing for Soul Culture praised the distinctiveness and "catchiness" of the harp and bass, and notes aural similarities between "He Won’t Go" and "Tell Him" by Lauryn Hill. The seventh track "Take It All", which incorporates a more soulful gospel sound, is accompanied by a choir and piano. Written with Francis "Eg" White, who worked with Adele on "Chasing Pavements", the song's lyrics focus on the protagonist's devotion to an unappreciative lover. The upbeat "I’ll Be Waiting", the eight track, discusses the singer's resilience and the rekindling of a lost love.

"The entire record is more grown up and mature and sincere. And like that lyric from "Someone Like You" ["I wish nothing but the best for you"]...You can't hold grudges forever. It just weighs you down. And that's just something I'm learning in the last year while I've been recovering from everything that happened. And I feel better for it. I feel lighter and healthier for not dwelling on things too much."

One of the only love songs not written about her ex was "One and Only." The song, which dares a love interest to take a chance on a relationship, is aimed at a friend for whom Adele had always cared about. "Lovesong", a bossa-nova style remake of the song by The Cure, received mixed critical reception from critics. It was inspired by Adele finding solace in her mother and friends while feeling lonely. The album then closes with "Someone Like You", which Adele describes as the summation of her attitude towards the relationship. A slow, plaintive ballad pairing Adele's voice with a lulling piano, "Someone Like You" is the lyrical opposite of "Rolling in the Deep" wherein the singer narrates returning to her ex to wish him happiness, and express her desire for finding someone just like him. One of the more acclaimed songs on the album, pop critics praise its introspective lyrics and "mature" outlook.

Marketing and promotion

Adele performing in 2007.

Adele had already developed a fan-base in Britain from the success of her first album, winning the BRIT Awards Critics' Choice in 2008, and named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2008 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2008. In the months leading up to the album's European release, Adele did a number of performances and interviews on various television programmes and music events across Europe, including Britain's Royal Variety Performance 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. During the week of the album's UK release on 24 January at London's Tabernacle, she performed an acoustic set of a number of songs from 21, which was screened live on her personal website. The major push came in the wake of the BRIT awards, where Adele's emotional performance of "Someone Like You" propelled both 19 and 21, and "Someone Like You" and "Rolling in the Deep" into the top five of the UK album and singles charts, a feat not accomplished since 1964 by The Beatles.

Adele's appearance on Saturday Night Live in 2008 as well as her Grammy Award wins for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2009 led to consistent sale of her first album, culminating in a platinum certification by the RIAA by the time 21 was released in the U.S. For the album's release in the U.S., Columbia executives decided to use the "long tail" sales theory' as a means of shaping 21's campaign,"building a critical mass throughout February in order to reach all those people who bought 19 over a span of 18 months." The promotion campaign began int he summer of 2010, with appearances on CMT with Darius Rucker, where she performed Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now” and an October showcase at L.A.’s Largo for music supervisors. Columbia senior VP of marketing Scott Greer stated that the record company went to some of their key internet partners such as Vevo, AOL and VH1 to begin playing and advertising both her old and new material. Celebrity bloggers, including Perez Hilton also contributed to Adele's campaign through repeated promotion. Beginning 1 February, Adele's personal site hosted a "21 Days of Adele" promotion with exclusive daily content, including a live chat and a video of Adele explaining the inspiration for each album track.

Small shows in New York, Los Angeles and Minneapolis reintroduced the singer to the American public. The week of release was also accompanied by a spate of TV 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, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live! on 24 February. Additionally, "Rolling in the Deep" was featured in the trailers for the 2011 sci-fi film I Am Number Four.

Adele has embarked on her second concert tour Adele Live in support of 21, performing sixty shows across Europe and North America. A number of venues had to be rescheduled to larger arenas due to high ticket demand.

Singles

21 has so far yielded three singles. The first, "Rolling in the Deep", was released on 29 November 2010 in the Netherlands, where it debuted at number four on the chart. The song peaked at number one, spending seven non-consecutive weeks at the top. It also peaked at number one in Germany, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, and became a top ten hit in Austria, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, and Norway. The single was released in the UK on 16 January 2011, and reached a peak of number two. In the U.S., the song became her second single to chart on the Hot 100, behind "Chasing Pavements". It had achieved crossover success, charting in the top twenty on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and the U.S. Alternative Songs chart. The song reached number two on the Hot 100 on 7 May 2011. The following week, "Rolling in the Deep" topped the chart, becoming Adele's first number one single in America. As of May 2011, the song had sold over 2 million digital copies in the U.S., surpassing "Chasing Pavements" as her best-selling single.

The album's second 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 Brit Awards, the song climbed forty-six places from the previous week to number one. It stayed atop the chart for five non-consecutive weeks, the longest stay at number one since Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" in 2008. It has been certified Platinum by the BPI, denoting shipments of 600,000 copies. It is so far the biggest selling single of 2011 in the UK. Despite not being officially released in the United States, the song peaked at number sixty five on the Hot 100 chart.

In the Netherlands "Set Fire to the Rain" was released as the second single, where it topped the chart for one week. The track will be released as the third single internationally; it has already peaked at number two in Belgium, at number five in Italy and in the top twenty in Germany and Ireland.

Release and reception

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AbsolutePunk	92%
Allmusic
The A.V. Club	A-
The Daily Telegraph
Entertainment Weekly	A-
The Guardian
NME
The New York Times	positive
Rolling Stone
Slant Magazine

Upon its release, 21 received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album had a score of 75 based on 33 reviews, which indicates "generally positive reviews". Many reviews celebrate 21 as an artistic leap from her debut both in its production and songwriting. While both albums explore similar themes, critics generally had considered 19 vocally and lyrically subdued, with the singer's "wandering vocals" underpinned by sparse production. Ryan Reed of Paste also commented that, with the exception of "Chasing Pavements", songs on 19 were "lazy" and "eschew hooks in favor of coffee-house atmosphere". However, 21 presents a more intense, daring and progressive side to the singer. Comparing both her albums, Barry Walters, writing for Spin, comments "[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 states that "In contrast to the folk-based songs of the first album, 21 beefs up the rhythmic drive and the drama of the arrangements."

Giving the album four-and-a-half out of five stars, John Murphy, writing for MusicOMH, compares Adele to Amy Winehouse, contending that "Almost every song oozes pain, sadness and anger". Murphy concludes his review by proclaiming 21 "one of the great 'break-up' albums, and the first truly impressive record of 2011." Joseph Viney, staff critic for Sputnikmusic, states that 21 exhibits influences from many great female artists: "Adele has 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 declaring that the album "fails to fully ride the tidal wave created by its first half", while Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly wrote "21 is that rarest pop commodity: timeless."

Adele received almost unanimous praise for her vocal range, power and versatility, with Ryan Reed of Paste describing her voice as "a raspy, aged-beyond-its-years thing of full-blooded beauty." Bernadette McNulty of The Daily Telegraph opined, "hers is a voice that seems to go right to your heart". Matt Collar of Allmusic agreed, calling her voice "spine-tingling", while Tom Townshend of MSN Music declared Adele "the finest singer of [our] generation." However, according to a number of reviewers, Adele's vocal prowess was also symptomatic of one of the album's shortcomings: Greg Kot of Chicago Tribune, Allision Stewart of The Washington Post and Matthew Cole of Slant Magazine suggest that the compelling nature of Adele's vocals sometimes masked the "blandness", and mediocrity of many of the songs on the album, with Stewart commenting, "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", while Cole dismissed many of the songs themselves as "outright intolerable".

Chart performance

On 30 January 2011, the album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with first week sales of 208,000 copies, making it the biggest-selling January release in five years since Arctic Monkeys' Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not in 2006. On 13 February 2011, in its third consecutive week at number one, the album sold 134,000 copies, outselling the top five combined. Following her performance at the 2011 BRIT Awards 21 experienced a sales surge of 890% on Amazon.co.uk within an hour of the show's broadcast, while her first album also saw an incremental rise in sales, jumping from number six to number four on the albums chart. "Someone Like You" also rose from number forty-seven to number one on the UK Singles Chart, while "Rolling in the Deep" ascended from five to four. Adele the first living act since The Beatles in 1964 to have two UK top five album and singles simultaneously. In 21's fifth consecutive week at number one, Adele held the top two places in the album chart, the first act to do so since The Corrs in 1999.

In the coming weeks, the album maintained its high sales, never dipping below 100,000 copies until its twelfth week. On 3 April 2011, in its tenth week at number one, a Mother's Day sales boost pushed 21 to its strongest sales week of 258,000 21 overtook Madonna's 1990 compilation The Immaculate Collection for the most consecutive weeks at number one by a solo female artist. In its eleventh week, the album became the longest-running consecutive number-one album since Bob Marley and The Wailers' Legend in 1984. 21 was set to overtake Marley's record, but was displaced from the top spot the following week by the Foo Fighters' Wasting Light. 21 regained the number one position the following week, and on 8 May 2011, celebrated its fourteenth week at number one on the UK albums chart. On 15 May 2011 the album remained at the top spot, bringing her total weeks at number one up to 15. As of 22 April 2011, the album has been certified eight-times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipments of 2.4 million units, as well as being the most downloaded album in UK.

Outside of the UK the album has also enjoyed commercial success, topping the charts in 10 countries. In the Netherlands the album debuted at number one, and topped the Dutch album chart for fifteen weeks. In Germany, 21 topped the chart for three months. As of 22 April, the album has spent a total of 11 weeks at the top of the Irish Albums Chart. 21 debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and in Canada. The album sold 352,000 copies in its debut week in the U.S., the highest debut of 2011 so far. Since its February release, it has remained in the top three, and has returned to number one after being knocked off by Lupe Fiasco's Lasers in the week ending 22 March, Britney Spears' Femme Fatale (14 April) and Foo Fighter's Wasting Light (28 April). In its sixth week at number one, 21 became the fifth album by a female artist in the last ten years to amass six or more weeks at number-one, joining Taylor Swifts' Fearless (11 weeks) and Speak Now (six), Norah Jones' Feels Like Home and Susan Boyle's I Dreamed a Dream (both with six weeks). The following week, 21 topped the Billboard 200 chart for a total of seven weeks, achieving the second-longest run atop the chart for an album by a female artist since 2000; only Taylor Swift's Fearless with eleven weeks, has spent longer. In April 2011, 21 became the first album to sell one million copies in 2011 in the U.S. The album has registered sales of over 1.5 million copies.

Impact

The album's success led Joseph Viney of Sputnikmusic to characterize Adele as the new bearer of British soul music. In an era of the waning success of the pool of British female solo singers such as Amy Winehouse, Duffy, and Lily Allen, Viney states that Adele has emerged as the frontrunner: "Amy Winehouse disappeared in a haze of smoke, Lily Allen took the money and ran whilst Kate Nash and Duffy dropped off the radar after two poorly received second albums. Adele has been given a clear runway and the chance to stake her claim as the UK’s leading solo female artist." John Murphy of MusicOMH describes Adele as "manna from heaven from those looking (musically at least) for 'the new Amy Winehouse' back in 2008", contending that "[21] is a timely reminder that British soul hasn't lost its mojo."

According to Guy Adams of The Independent, 21's success 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."

Ethan Smith writing for The Wall Street Journal states that Adele's "deliberately unflashy" nature and full figure has given her a lucrative niche in the market, and her tendency to emphasize "substance over style", makes her the "Anti-Lady Gaga". Columbia/Epic Label Group Chairman Rob Stringer says of Adele's success: "Adele is the real deal... She writes, is a fantastic singer and in total control... It just goes to show you don’t have to sell your soul to be successful... the public responds when it gets something authentic."

Track listing

The official track listing released through the iTunes Store UK on 30 November 2010.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Rolling in the Deep"	Adele Adkins, Paul Epworth	Epworth	3:48
2.	"Rumour Has It"	Adkins, Ryan Tedder	Tedder	3:43
3.	"Turning Tables"	Adkins, Tedder	Jim Abbiss	4:10
4.	"Don't You Remember"	Adkins, Dan Wilson	Rick Rubin	4:03
5.	"Set Fire to the Rain"	Adkins, Fraser T. Smith	Smith	4:02
6.	"He Won't Go"	Adkins, Epworth	Rubin	4:38
7.	"Take It All"	Adkins, Eg White	Abbiss	3:48
8.	"I'll Be Waiting"	Adkins, Epworth	Epworth	4:01
9.	"One and Only"	Adkins, Dan Wilson, Greg Wells	Rubin	5:48
10.	"Lovesong"	Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Roger O'Donnell, Porl Thompson, Lol Tolhurst, Boris Williams	Rubin	5:16
11.	"Someone Like You"	Adkins, Wilson	Wilson, Adkins	4:45

iTunes bonus track

No.	Title	Lyrics	Producer(s)	Length
12.	"I Found a Boy"	Adele Adkins	Rick Rubin	3:37

Japan bonus tracks

No.	Title	Lyrics	Producer(s)	Length
12.	"Turning Tables (Live Acoustic)"	Adele Adkins, Ryan Tedder	Jim Abbiss	4:20
13.	"Don't You Remember (Live Acoustic)"	Adele Adkins, Dan Wilson	Rick Rubin	4:18
14.	"Someone Like You (Live Acoustic)"	Adele Adkins, Dan Wilson	Dan Wilson, Adele Adkins	5:14

iTunes Netherlands bonus track

No.	Title	Lyrics	Producer(s)	Length
12.	"Don't You Remember (Live From Largo) [Pre-Order only]"	Adele Adkins, Dan Wilson	Rick Rubin

Greece bonus tracks (Limited Edition)

No.	Title	Lyrics	Producer(s)	Length
12.	"If It Hadn't Been for Love (cover of song by The SteelDrivers)"	Michael Henderson, Christopher Stapleton	Rodaidh McDonald	3:08
13.	"Hiding My Heart (cover of song by Brandi Carlile)"	Tim Hanseroth	Rodaidh McDonald	3:28

Target Deluxe Edition Bonus CD

No.	Title	Lyrics	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Need You Now (cover of song by Lady Antebellum)"	Dave Haywood, Josh Kear, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott		3:40
2.	"Someone Like You (Live Acoustic)"	Adele Adkins, Dan Wilson	Dan Wilson, Adele Adkins	5:14
3.	"Turning Tables (Live Acoustic)"	Adele Adkins, Ryan Tedder	Jim Abbiss	4:20
4.	"Don't You Remember (Live Acoustic)"	Adele Adkins, Dan Wilson	Rick Rubin	4:18

An exclusive Target-only deluxe edition is set to be released in the US, featuring an additional disc featuring several live tracks.

Personnel

(Credits lifted from Allmusic and 21's liner notes.)

Production credits

• Jim Abbiss – mixing, producer
• Adele – design, producer
• Philip Allen – engineer
• Beatriz Artola – engineer
• Phillip Broussard Jr. – assistant
• Lindsay Chase – production coordination
• AJ Clark – assistant
• Tom Coyne – mastering
• Ian Dowling – mixing
• Lauren Dukoff – photography
• Tom Elmhirst – mixing
• Greg Fidelman – engineer
• Fraser T. Smith – mixing
• Sara Lyn Killion – assistant
• Phil Lee – design
• Dana Nielsen – editing, pro-tools
• Dan Parry – assistant, vocal engineer
• Steve Price – engineer (strings)
• Mark Rankin – engineer
• Andrew Scheps – mixing
• Isabel Seeliger-Morley – assistant engineer
• Ryan Tedder – engineer, programming

Music credits

• Adele Adkins – vocals, composer, producer
• Jo Allen – violin
• Stephanie Bennett – harp
• Jerrod Bettis – drums, acoustic guitar
• Rachel Stephanie Bolt – strings
• Natalie Bonner – violin
• Harry Brown – horn arrangements, trombone
• David Campbell – string arrangements
• Ray Carless – sax (tenor)
• Carmen Carter – choir, chorus
• Lenny Castro – percussion
• Stephanie Cavey – violin
• Neil Cowley – piano
• Caroline Dale – strings
• David Daniels – strings
• Rosie Danvers – string arrangements, violin
• Chris Dave – drums
• Chris Elliot – string arrangements
• Paul Epworth – bass, composer, guitar (acoustic), guitar (electric), percussion, producer, vocals (background)
• Fraser T. Smith – composer, guitar (bass), mixing, piano, producer
• Simon Gallup – composer
• Jim Gilstrap – choir, chorus
• David Hidalgo – accordion, banjo
• 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'Donnell – composer
• Pino Palladino – bass
• Tom Pigott-Smith – strings
• Ruston Pomeroy – violin
• Hayley Pomfrett – violin
• Josef Powell – choir, chorus
• James Poyser – piano
• Rick Rubin – producer
• Jenny Sacha – violin
• Kotono Sato – violin
• Jackie Shave – strings
• Emlyn Singleton – strings
• Robert Smith – composer
• Ash Soan – drums
• Matt Sweeney – guitar
• Leo Taylor – drums
• Ryan Tedder – arranger, bass, composer, drums, engineer, guitar (electric), hammond B3, piano, producer, programming, string arrangements
• Ben Thomas – guitar (acoustic), guitar (electric)
• Cathy Thompson – strings
• Porl Thompson – composer
• Julia Tillman Waters – choir, chorus
• Laurence Tolhurst – composer
• Carmen Twillie – choir, chorus
• Lorna Maxine Waters – choir, chorus
• Oren Waters – choir director
• Greg Wells – composer
• Bruce White – strings
• Francis White – composer
• Boris Williams – composer
• Dan Wilson – composer, piano, producer
• The Wired Strings – strings
• Chris Worsey – strings
• Terry Young – choir, chorus
• Warren Zielinski – strings

Charts and certifications

Charts

Chart (2011)	Peak position
Australian Albums Chart	1
Austrian Albums Chart	1
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)	1
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)	3
Brazilian Albums Chart	4
Canadian Albums Chart	1
Danish Albums Chart	2
Dutch Albums Chart	1
Finnish Albums Chart	6
French Albums Chart	3
German Albums Chart	1
German Independent Chart	1
Greek Albums Chart	4
Irish Albums Chart	1
Italian Albums Chart	7
Japanese Albums Chart	53
Mexican Albums Chart	51
New Zealand Albums Chart	1
Norwegian Albums Chart	1
Poland Album Chart	4
Russian Albums Chart	12
Spanish Albums Chart	11
Swedish Albums Chart	2
Swiss Albums Chart	1
UK Albums Chart	1
U.S. Billboard 200	1

Certifications

Country	Certification
Australia	Platinum
Belgium	Platinum
Canada	2× Platinum
Denmark	Gold
Europe	2× Platinum
Germany	Platinum
New Zealand	Platinum
United Kingdom	8× Platinum
United States	Platinum

Release history

Region	Release date	Format	Label
Japan	19 January 2011	CD, download	Hostess Entertainment
Greece	20 January 2011	Limited Edition, including bonus tracks	XL
Australia	21 January 2011	CD, download
Austria
Germany
Netherlands
Switzerland
United Kingdom
Taiwan	22 January 2011	Standard, exclusive edition	High Note
France	24 January 2011	CD, download	XL
Poland		CD
Israel		CD	High Fidelity
United States	22 February 2011	CD, download	Columbia
Canada
Argentina	12 April 2011	CD	Sony Music
Brazil	15 April 2011	CD
Mexico	26 April 2011	CD, download

External links

• Adele 21 Review by newbeatsmedia.com