Adele released 30 on Friday, and it is already the best-selling album of 2021 in the U.S., Billboard reports. More than 500,000 copies have sold between Nov. 19 and Nov. 21.
Adele’s fourth studio album bests the Taylor Swift’s previous reining top-selling record of the year, Evermore, which moved 462,000 copies through the week ending Nov. 18. Adele’s new LP has also had the biggest individual sales week of the year, eclipsing Red (Taylor’s Version), which sold 369,000 copies its debut week.
Should 30 debut at No. 1 on Dec. 4 when tracking for its debut week is reported, it will mark Adele’s third No. 1 following 2015’s 25 and her sophomore record 21 from 2011.
Adele’s “best album yet” is available in a variety of formats and exclusive editions. The artist recently requested Spotify to remove its shuffle function so that her album could be heard in the sequence that she had intended, and the streaming platform acquiesced.
In Adele’s cover story with Rolling Stone, she discussed the events — including her divorce and aftermath — that informed the album, which unfurls almost chronologically. During the interview, she revealed that “I Drink Wine” was originally 15 minutes long and discussed the bonus version of “Easy on Me” featuring Chris Stapleton.
Fontaines D.C. have teamed up with Rosalía for their new collaboration, Where Is Gone?.
The song features on the Irish rock band's forthcoming album, Dopamine Chamber, which arrives on Friday (16.10.26). For guitarist Carlos O’Connell, working with the Spanish superstar is particularly special because of his own Spanish roots.
He explained: “I’ve admired Rosalía ever since her debut album, which I thought was absolutely beautiful.
“What excited me most was the way she continued to preserve Spain's musical traditions, something that felt spiritually connected to what we've been trying to achieve with Irish music. Having roots in both countries, it's been really special to witness. "She's an artist who has continued to amaze me at every point in her career.”
Frontman Grian Chatten has also described the collaboration with Rosalía as one of the most memorable achievements of his career.
He revealed that he felt "humbled" when she agreed to lend her voice to the band's album.
Speaking to NPR, Grian said: “I've always felt there's something almost like a single big idea that I'm personally trying to communicate to the world before I get old and die, if that makes sense. There's one thing I think I'll spend my life trying to express. I have a feeling she has a similar outlook. … I mean, she's an amazing arranger, composer and lyricist. It means so much that she wanted to sing on something we'd put together. It's definitely one of the highlights of my career.”
Rosalía's links to Irish rock music extend beyond Fontaines D.C. She also offered inspiration and helped develop the Spanish lyrics for U2's The Mirror Maker (Rosalía), a track from their forthcoming album, Carnaval de Luz.
During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last week, she spoke about frontman Bono, saying: “I don't know him personally, but he sent me a text explaining that he was working on a new project and had written a song called The Mirror Maker."
Rosalía joked that Bono had invented a few words of his own.
She recalled telling him: “I wasn't sure what to make of it, but I told him he could create his own language if he wanted to.”
She described the opportunity to collaborate with the 66 year old music veteran as a real privilege.
She added: “Bono is a legend.
“It's amazing.”
Bono recently revealed that he was worried about seeming like a stalker when he reached out to Rosalía to ask whether he could name the song after her.
