Adele Announced the Release Date of Her Next Album

Hello from the other side! It's been six years since Adele's album 25 came out, and since then, fans have waited patiently as she collected life experiences to turn into soulful and tear-jerking ballads. And as of the fall of 2021, the long wait is over. Adele confirmed in an Instagram post that 30, her fourth album, will be released on November 19.

The notoriously secretive pop star dropped clues that hinted at its arrival. So for internet sleuths, this announcement is no surprise. First clue? Adele's Twitter and Instagram images were changed to a blue and turquoise pattern. Next, her website was replaced by a single page, calling for for fans to sign up for information.

And then there were the posters and light projections that popped up suddenly in cities around the world, bearing the same blue and turquoise pattern found in Adele's social media account. And this elaborate stunt is what convinced many that Adele's return was imminent.

"Something is happening," the Twitter account Adele Daily, devoted to updates about the British singer tweeted, along with two posters.

The number was also projected onto monuments like Paris's Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, London's Westminster Palace, and the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. Adele's particular "30" was also spotted in Dublin, Cardiff, Beijing, Stockholm, Toronto, Rome, China, Manila, and beyond.

Here's what to expect from 30.

Adele's album 30 fits a pattern attached to her age.

30 continues the pattern set by the singer's previous albums: Each them are named after an age. 19, 21, and 25 are like emotional portraits of Adele's outlook, dreams, disappointments, and expectations at that time.

Essentially, each album is about what Adele was going through while writing—and 30 was a big year for Adele, who is now 33. Back in 2019, Adele was in the process of separating from her ex-husband Simon Konecki, with whom she shares a son. The divorce was settled in 2021.

She once joked that 30 would be a "drum n bass" record.

Adele is in on the joke. For her 31st birthday, Adele wrote a long Instagram caption paying tribute to everything she learned during her most recent trip around the sun. According to Adele, it was a tumultuous journey.

"30 tried me so hard but I'm owning it and trying my hardest to lean in to it all," she wrote in 2019. "No matter how long we're here for life is constant and complicated at times. I've changed drastically in the last couple years and I'm still changing and that's okay."

"31 is going to be a big ol' year and I'm going to spend it all on myself," the singer went on. "For the first time in a decade I'm ready to feel the world around me and look up for once. Be kind to yourself people we're only human, go slow, put your phone down and laugh out loud at every opportunity."

At the end of the caption, Adele joked that the next album would deviate sonically from her past ones: "Learning to REALLY truly love yourself is it, and I've only just realized that that is more than enough. I'll learn to love you lot eventually. Bunch of f***ing savages, 30 will be a drum n bass record to spite you."

Adele says it will be a "divorce album."

But not in the way you might think. Indeed, the album was written in her divorce from Konecki—who, according to Vogue, still lives down the street. But it's more about Adele's relationship to herself.

"It was more me divorcing myself,” Adele said, adding that the theme is her urging herself to "get her sh--t together."

This album will be different than past ones, as a result of its focus. "All the other albums are like, You did this! You did that! F-ck you! Why can’t you arrive for me? Then I was like: Oh, shit, I’m the running theme, actually. Maybe it’s me!” she told Vogue.

The release date is here, and it's November 19.

Adele shared the date in an Instagram post along with a candid message about why now is the right time to release the album—and the emotional work it took her to get here. "I've never felt more peaceful in my life. And so, I'm ready to finally put this album out," she wrote. Adele says 30 illustrates how she "painstakingly rebuilt" her house and her heart over the last three years.

Before the album drops, we'll get a single. On October 5, Adele teased the release of her first single, "Easy on Me," out October 15. She posted a short clip of a music video to her Instagram page. In the black-and-white video, Adele drives down a quiet road, her hand feeling the breeze out the window. She's enjoying the present moment—and maybe getting rid of the past, judging by the papers that are flying out of the car window.

As for the music? All we hear are a few evocative piano chords. Speaking to British Vogue, Adele said "Easy on Me" was the first song she wrote after leaving her marriage. "Then I didn’t write anything else for six months after because I was like, ‘OK, well, I’ve said it all,’” she said.

We just know that when we hear her voice, it's going to be worth the wait.

Want more stories to inspire you to live your best life? Sign up to become an Oprah Insider!

You Might Also Like

• A Cleaning Expert Explains the Best Way to Clean Cloth Face Masks After You Wear Them — Good Housekeeping

• 35 Delicious Pantry Recipes That Use What's Already in Your Cabinets and Freezer — Good Housekeeping

• The Amish keep to themselves. And they’re hiding a horrifying secret. — Cosmopolitan