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Adele releases 30: Reviews, reactions and revelations from the singer’s new album

‘Right then, I’m ready,’ singer says on the opening track

Roisin O'Connor
Friday 19 November 2021 08:29 EST
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Adele: One Night Only with Oprah Winfrey trailer

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Adele has released her longawaited, eagerly anticipated album 30.

Fans all around the world are reacting to the British artist’s fourth record, which includes her hit single “Easy on Me”.

Reviews for the album went live earlier this week, with critics praising the “immediacy” to her lyrics, along with her vocal prowess.

“Earlier songs spoke in platitudes and broad strokes,” The Independent’s Annabel Nugent observed.

“They projected human emotions onto the natural world – a shallow valley, a shelter in the rain, the river running nearby where she grew up. But the singer of 30 is more literal. Adele unmediated. Adele unfiltered. Adele opening her Notes app at 3am mid-anxiety attack and jotting down whatever comes to mind.”

In a recent interview, Adele responded to fans who said the new music was “too similar” to her previous work, questioning: “Why would I shake up my sound?”

Read more:

The liveblog is now closed

Adele review, 30: The world’s finest chronicler of heartbreak

My wonderful colleague Annabel Nugent went to hear the album last week and wrote a fantastic review, which you can read below:

With ‘Easy On Me’, Adele has returned with exposed wounds – review

Polished but never to the point of soullessness, ‘Easy On Me’ is a crisp, plaintive and mature comeback

Roisin O'Connor19 November 2021 06:50

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