Adele has announced the release date of her long-awaited fourth album, 30.
On Wednesday afternoon, the chart-topping singer revealed that her new album was coming on 19 November, almost six years to the day after her most recent release, 25.
She also unveiled the album artwork, which shows herself in side-profile.
Along with the album’s title, release date and artwork, Adele shared a short passage detailing the creation of 30.
“I was certainly nowhere near where I’d hoped to be when I first started it nearly three years ago,” she explained. “Quite the opposite actually.
“I rely on routine and consistency to feel safe, I always have. And yet there I was knowingly – willingly even, throwing myself into a maze of absolute mess and inner turmoil.
“I’ve learned a lot of blistering home truths about myself along the way. I’ve shed many layers but also wrapped myself in new ones. Discovered genuinely useful and wholesome mentalities to lead with, and I feel like I’ve finally found my feeling again. I’d go as far as to say that I’ve never felt more peaceful in my life. And so I’m ready to finally put this album out.”
Explaining how the album got her through “the most turbulent period of my life”, Adele continued: “When I was writing it, it was my friend who came over with a bottle of wine and takeaway to cheer me up. My wise friend who always gives the best advice. Not to forget the one who’s wild and says, ‘it’s your Saturday return, babes, fuck it, you only live once’.
“The friend who’d stay up all night and just hold my hand while I’d sob relentlessly and not know why. The get-up-and-go friend who would pick me up, take me somewhere I said I didn’t want to go but just wanted to get out of the house for some vitamin D.
“That friend who snuck me in and left a magazine with a face mask and some bath salts to make me feel loved inadvertently reminding me not only what month it actually was but that I should probably exercise some self-care!
“And then that friend who no matter what, checked in on me even though I’d stopped checking in with them because I’d become so consumed by my own grief. I’ve painstakingly rebuilt my house and my heart since then and this album narrates it.”
“Home is where the heart is,” she concluded.
30 will be preceded by lead single Easy On Me, which is set for release on Friday.
Over the weekend, Adele previewed a 40-second clip of the song during an Instagram Live session, watched by more than 100,000 of her fans.