I am so there.

I so hope this is as good as the first 2. She is my favorite new artist of this decade (Wilson doesn't count, do to 20 years of Porcupine Tree!)

...20 years of Porcupine Tree AND No-Man (Tim Bowness + Steven Wilson with some wonderfully dancy and dreamy output).

but we digress...
i'm actually hoping the new collection does NOT contain the James Bond theme that she did for Skyfall.

http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/ ... ase-letter

Aside from that Oscar-winning James Bond song, it's been a long time since we've heard from Adele. 2015 has been filled with consistent murmurs that her long-awaited follow-up to the blockbuster 2011 album 21 is on the way, and this morning (Oct. 21), Adele herself finally addressed the impending album in a contemplative letter to fans.

First things first: She doesn't confirm a release date, but she does seem to confirm the title of the album will be 25, as hinted previously. And while no hard drop date is given, it seems a 2015 release is likely given the words her post ends on: "I'm sorry it took so long, but you know, life happened."

"Sorry it took so long" isn't the kind of thing you say if you're making fans wait another three months (or industry execs wait another quarter) for a record. Plus, given that an Adele album is a perfect cross-generational holiday gift item, expect 25 before 2015 is over.

She also shares how 25 will differ from 21, the Grammy-winning album that has sold more than 11 million copies in the U.S.: "My last record was a break-up record and if I had to label this one I would call it a make-up record. I'm making up with myself. I'm making up for lost time."

You can read Adele's full letter below. It's a reflective read where Adele, like many artists before, realizes that the phase of struggling to succeed/working to grow up is actually a lot more fun than success itself/being a grown-up. "Even following and breaking rules… is better than making the rules," Adele writes, providing us with a truth bomb we'd be shocked to hear literally any other pop star in 2015 say.

The thing I think is so unique about Adele: imo, she's the only current pop star with both MEGA SALES, talent & integrity.

Her two attributes are mega sales, talent and integ...her three attributes are mega sales, talent and integrity, and a ruthless devotion to the pope....I'll start again...

http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/ ... um-release

Adele Reveals Release Date, Tracklist for '25' Album

By Joe Lynch | October 22, 2015 10:41 AM EDT


New single 'Hello' coming this Friday!

After waiting four years, we will finally have a new Adele album this year. 25, the follow-up to the British singer's blockbuster 2011 album 21, will drop on Nov. 20.

Thankfully, we won't have to wait that long to sample it. Adele's first single from 25, "Hello," will be available for purchase and streaming on Friday, Oct. 23, with the music video dropping that same day. According to the press release, the video "was shot in the countryside surrounding Montreal and is directed by the celebrated young Canadian director Xavier Dolan.

Adele's reps also shared the tracklist for 25, which you can see right here:

1. Hello
2. Send My Love (To Your New Lover)
3. I Miss You
4. When We Were Young
5. Remedy
6. Water Under The Bridge
7. River Lea
8. Love In The Dark
9. Million Years Ago
10. All I Ask
11. Sweetest Devotion

We first got wind of 25 in late 2014 when Adele tweeted, "Bye bye 25…see you again later in the year," just before turning 26. That tweet got a lot of people excited that Adele's follow-up to 19 and 21 would drop before the end of that calendar year or before the end of her 26th year.

Neither happened, and on Oct. 21, 2015, Adele revealed why. "I'm sorry it took so long, but you know, life happened," she wrote in a Twitter letter.

Hard to argue with that. Adele and her longtime boyfriend welcomed son Angelo into the world in 2012, and she delivered the Oscar winning James Bond song "Skyfall" that same year -- so it's not like she's been lazy.

Adele's '21' Surpasses 11 Million U.S. Sales

Adele also explained how 25 would differ from her Grammy-winning 21 in the online letter. "My last record was a break-up record and if I had to label this one I would call it a make-up record. I'm making up with myself. I'm making up for lost time."

Speaking of her breakup record, 21 spent 24 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart -- the most weeks atop the list for any album by a woman. The album has been on the chart every week of its release: 243 weeks and counting (through the Oct. 31-dated chart).

21 has sold 11.2 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen Music, which makes it the tenth-largest selling album since Nielsen began tracking sales in 1991.

The album generated five hit singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, including three consecutive No. 1s: "Rolling In the Deep" (No. 1 for seven weeks), "Someone Like You" (No. 1 for five weeks) and "Set Fire to the Rain" (No. 1 for two weeks).

Additional reporting by Keith Caulfield.

She had me at Hello!

I can't wait!

Bump: Added the pre-order details to the first post.

They've had this on full rotation in Boston today. It's fine, actually better than fine, but I prefer her more upbeat material. I hope the whole album isn't like this.

http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/ ... nus-tracks

Adele's '25' Will Include a Target Deluxe Edition With 3 Bonus Tracks
ARTICLESNEWS
By Lindsey Sullivan | October 22, 2015 4:05 PM EDT


As if Adele couldn’t break the Internet any more this week.

After teasing a track from her highly anticipated (#understatement) album last week during The X Factor U.K., Adele addressed fans in an emotional letter on social media Wednesday, and to top it all off, announced the release date for 25 the next day.

The powerhouse songstress’ third studio album hits ear buds Nov. 20 -- and she’s giving fans a taste with her debut single (and its cinematic music vid) “Hello” tomorrow. (Nope, this is not a drill.)

Adele Reveals Release Date, Tracklist for ‘25’ Album

In addition, there will be a Target Exclusive Deluxe Edition of 25 -- with three bonus tracks, including “Can’t Let Go,” “Lay Me Down” and “Why Do You Love Me.” The Target edition of the album will be available for preorder at Target.com starting on Friday and will hit stores on Nov. 20.

Check out the full Target edition track list below (and begin the countdown, pavement chasers).

Adele 25 Target edition track list:
1. Hello
2. Send My Love (To Your New Lover)
3. I Miss You
4. When We Were Young
5. Remedy
6. Water Under The Bridge
7. River Lea
8. Love In The Dark
9. Million Years Ago
10. All I Ask
11. Sweetest Devotion
12. Can’t Let Go*
13. Lay Me Down*
14. Why Do You Love Me*

*Target exclusive bonus track

How many other "bonus editions" will there be? There were several each for the 1st 2.

Hello is quite good, though it the song still sounds like part of a break up album!

From a piece in today's NY Post by Chelsea Samelson:


So what’s at the root of Adele’s success? What has she done to elicit such love and adoration across the world? And could American pop stars please start paying closer attention?

It’s partly Adele’s voice with its unique sound and incredible range. Her vocal talent is undeniable, especially compared to many of her pop star peers. It’s partly the quality of her music and lyrics, which she writes herself. Most music on rotation on the radio has a pre-packaged sound that feels predictably sugar-sweet but empty, with lyrics that are often vapid. By contrast, Adele’s music has maturity and depth, despite the fact that it comes from someone who is still in her twenties, and she has an uncanny ability to make you feel what she’s feeling. “This sense of everywoman emotion is what people always responded to in Adele,” one music critic observed, “she is a pop diarist, sharing the simple secrets of her heart with no pretense.”

But when it comes to Adele’s success, there’s more than meets the ear. She has something the vast majority of American pop stars lack: Class. She exudes grace, taste, elegance, and self-respect.

She recalls the early Whitney Houston, both in vocal talent and dignity, before the darker side of celebrity claimed Houston. In fact, Adele’s career is in many ways following the trajectory of earlier decades of pop music, before the Internet and social media drove celebrity. She plays by those older rules.

When you do an online image search of Adele, you’ll find some headshots, some award show pictures, and some live show shots. When you do an image search of just about any American pop star, you will find soft porn—women trying desperately to convey sex appeal and little else. Compared to Adele, they look sad and embarrassing.

And speaking of her body, though she’s been criticized for her weight and appearance, Adele seems to have enough personal confidence to brush off the haters, saying, “I’m not going to lose weight because somebody tells me to. I make music to be a musician, not to be on the cover of Playboy.”

Adele has the increasingly rare combination of both talent and taste, two areas where the vast majority of pop artists could use some serious help. She has become an influential and beloved musician by making her own rules and staying true to her values. Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, et al. could learn something from her example.

I agree, other than the Whitney Houston comparison; Houston wasn't in the same league as Adele.

Flip that -- one may prefer Adele's material and presentation, but Houston's voice at its prime was untouchable.