25 (Adele album)
25 is the third studio album by the English singer-songwriter Adele, released on 20 November 2015 by XL Recordings and Columbia Records. The album is titled as a reflection of her life and frame of mind at 25 years old and is termed a "make-up record". Its lyrical content features themes of Adele "yearning for her old self, her nostalgia", and "melancholia about the passage of time" according to an interview with the singer by Rolling Stone, as well as themes of motherhood, new love, and regret.
25
20 November 2015
2013–2015
- AIR (London)
- British Grove (London)
- The Church (London)
- Dean Street (London)
- Eastcote (London)
- Metropolis (London)
- Sam's Studio (London)
- West Point (London)
- Zelig (London)
- Vox (Los Angeles)
- Glenwood (Los Angeles)
- Greenleaf (Los Angeles)
- Harmony (Los Angeles)
- MXM (Stockholm)
- Smecky (Prague)
- Diamond Mine (Queens)
48:24
In contrast to Adele's previous works, the production of 25 incorporated the use of electronic elements and creative rhythmic patterns, with elements of 1980s R&B and organs. Four singles were released to promote the album, with "Hello" becoming an international number one song and the fastest selling digital single in the US, with over a million copies sold within a week of its release, "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)" charted within the top 10 and "When We Were Young" and "Water Under the Bridge" charted within the top 20 across Europe and North America.
25 received generally positive reviews from music critics, who commended its production and Adele's vocal performance. 25 became a massive commercial success, debuting at number one in 32 countries and breaking first-week sales records in multiple countries, including the UK and US. In the US, the album sold over 3.38 million copies in its first week of sales, marking the largest single-week sales for an album since Luminate Data began tracking point-of-sale music purchases in 1991. 25 was the world's best-selling album of the year for 2015, with 17.4 million copies sold within the year,[4] and has gone on to sell over 23.3 million copies worldwide, making it the fourth-best selling album of the 21st century, the second-best selling album of the 2010s (behind 21), and one of the best-selling albums of all-time.[5] Following 21, it was certified Diamond by the RIAA, making Adele the only artist of the 2010s to achieve this certification with two albums.
Credited for impacting the music industry by encouraging a renewed interest in buying physical releases rather than downloading or streaming and much like 21, for saving the dwindling sales of the global music industry, 25 won the 2016 Brit Award for British Album of the Year, and the 2017 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. To promote the album, Adele embarked on her third worldwide concert tour, Adele Live 2016. It started on 29 February 2016 and ended on 30 June 2017. The concert broke numerous attendance records across the globe and grossed $167.7 million.
Background[edit]
Following the release of 21 (2011), Adele was considering quitting music. However, in early 2012 she announced she was simply taking a hiatus from music to "take time and live a little bit".[6] Her hiatus from music came to an end after the birth of her first child in October 2012, with Adele stating her son inspired her to start recording music again for him to "know what I do".[7][8] Before the album's recording came under way, Adele made a conscious decision not to try and create another 21 and would not make another "heartbreak record".[9]
Prior to the album's release, 25 was listed as one of the most anticipated albums of 2015. Billboard, Fuse, The Sydney Morning Herald and numerous others placed the album at number one on their most anticipated list, with the latter stating "if Adele releases her third album in 2015, she could dominate the year."[10] Prior to the album's official announcement, music journalists and fans speculated that the album would be titled 25 continuing the age theme from Adele's previous releases 19 and 21.[11][12] On the eve of her 26th birthday in May 2014, Adele posted a message via her Twitter account which prompted media discussion about her next album. The message, "Bye bye 25 ... See you again later in the year", was interpreted by outlets including Billboard and Capital FM as meaning that her next album would be titled 25 and released later in the year.[13][14]
Commercial performance[edit]
United Kingdom[edit]
In the United Kingdom, 25 debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and sold 800,307 copies in its first chart week, overtaking Oasis' Be Here Now (1997) to become the fastest-selling album of all time in the UK.[146] Of that total, 252,423 copies were digital downloads, breaking the record for most digital copies sold in a week, and 548,000 were physical copies.[147] In its first week, 25 sold more copies in the UK than the combined sales of the last 19 number-one albums in UK on their debut week.[148] It also outsold that week's other 86 highest-selling albums combined.[146] After ten days on sale, it became the fastest million-seller in the UK, surpassing Be Here Now, which achieved this feat in 17 days in 1997.[149] In its second week, 25 sold 439,337 copies, which broke the record for highest second-week sales in the UK and also was the sixth biggest weekly sales of all time.[150] In its third week, 25 sold 354,000 copies, which represents the second highest third-week sales since Take That's The Circus, which sold 382,000 copies in its third week,[151] and was also certified quintuple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry, with total UK sales at 1,593,530 copies.[152] On 18 December 29 days after its release, the album surpassed sales of 2 million copies in the UK, becoming the fastest 2 million-seller in the country.[153] In its fifth week of release, the album sold another 450,000 copies in the UK, becoming the Christmas number one.[154] The album has spent 13 non-consecutive weeks at number one[155] and, as of November 2016, had sold 3.12 million copies, being later certified 11× Platinum.[156][157] In December 2016, it became only the third album to be the UK's biggest-seller two years in a row, after Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge over Troubled Water (1970 and 1971) and Simply Red's Stars (1991 and 1992).[158] It has sold over 3.50 million copies as of October 2018, making it the tenth biggest selling studio album in the UK in history.[159]
Europe[edit]
In Europe, 25 also opened atop of the German charts after selling 263,000 units, the largest weekly sale for a record since Herbert Grönemeyer's 2007 release 12.[160] In France, 25 became the fastest-selling album of 2015 after it sold 169,693 copies, of which 26,295 were downloads.[161] The album sold another 129,200 copies in France in its second week, bringing its two-week total to 300,000 copies.[162] In its third week, 25's sales rose to 132,200 copies in France, bringing its total sales to 430,000 copies.[163] In its fourth week of sales in France, sales of the album further rose to 133,000 copies, bringing its total sales to 565,000 copies in the country, earning it a diamond certification there.[164] In 2015 25 had sold 785,000 copies in France.[165][166] As of November 2021, 25 has sold over million copies in France.[167] In the Netherlands, the album debuted at number one with first week sales of over 120,000 copies.[168] The album also sold over 180,000 copies in the Benelux in its first week of release.[169] In Spain, the album debuted atop the charts selling 20,000 copies in its first week,[170] while in Portugal it also debuted at number one with sales of 3,200 copies.[171] 25 also entered the charts at number one in Switzerland, selling over 40,000 copies in its first week, receiving a double platinum certification there.[172]
North America[edit]
In the United States, 25 sold 2.3 million after three days of availability, becoming the fastest-selling album of the 21st century and the best-selling album of 2015.[173][174] The album reached sales of 2.433 million early on its fourth day, surpassing the single-week record for an album since Nielsen Soundscan began tracking sales in 1991, set by NSYNC's No Strings Attached in March 2000 when it debuted with 2.416 million copies.[175] In total, it sold 3.38 million copies in the US in its first week, becoming the first album ever to sell over 3 million copies in a week.[176] The album earned 3.48 million album-equivalent units in the US in its first week of release, which is the largest registered figure since the Billboard 200 began tracking weekly popularity based on overall units in December 2014. 25 also achieved 96,000 in track-equivalent album units in the US in its debut week, and another 8,000 in streaming-equivalent album units, all of which came from streams of the single "Hello", as it was the only song from the album available on streaming services.[177]
In the first three days of its second week, 25 sold over 650,000 units, surpassing 4 million sales, ending the week with 1.11 million copies.[178][179] In its third full week, the album sold 695,000 copies, surpassing 5 million sales, becoming the first album to do so in a calendar year since Adele's own album 21 in 2011.[180][181] By its fourth week sale of 790,000 copies, 25 became the best-selling album in any calendar year since Usher sold 7.98 million in 2004 with Confessions.[182] It sold 1.16 million copies in pure album sales in its fifth week, and became the first album to sell over one million copies in three different frames.[183] In its sixth week, the album sold another 307,000 copies at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the first album to sell over 300,000 copies in consecutive six weeks since 2001 when Creed did so with Weathered.[184] By the end of 2015, 25 had sold a total of 8,008,000 equivalent album units, 7,441,000 of which were pure album sales. It also sold 2,310,000 digital copies by the year end, making it the third best-selling digital album of all time behind Adele's own 21 and Taylor Swift's 1989. 25 was also the second biggest-selling album of a calendar year by a female artist in Nielsen history, only trailing behind Britney Spears' Oops!... I Did It Again which sold 7,890,000 copies in 2000.[185] In its seventh week, the album remained at number one, selling another 164,000 units, becoming the first album by a female artist to top the Billboard 200 in its first seven weeks since Whitney Houston's 1987 album Whitney.[186] In total, the album spent ten non-consecutive weeks at the top of the chart, becoming the fifth album released since 2000 to achieve at least 10 weeks at the summit.[187] In the year of 2016, it sold 2.37 million copies and equivalent units, of which 1.7 million were pure sales, ranking as the best-selling album of the year in pure sales and second best including equivalent albums.[188] As of January 2020, 25 has sold 9.517 million copies in pure sales, making it the decade's 2nd best sold album.[189][190]
In Canada, the album debuted at number one with sales of 306,000 copies, breaking the record for highest first-week sales, which was previously held by Celine Dion's Let's Talk About Love, which had sold 230,000 copies.[191] In its second week 25 sold another 145,000 copies in Canada, bringing its two-week total to 451,000 copies. This represents the eighth-highest weekly sales in Canada, as well as the second highest second-week sales for an album, just behind the 146,000 copies sold by the Canadian compilation Big Shiny Tunes 2 in its second week in 1997.[192] The album sold 1.09 million copies across the nation as of 2019.[193]
In Mexico, the album sold 60,000 copies and debuted at number one in Mexico Top 100, certificating Platinum, making it the 10th best selling album in Mexico of 2015.[194] By January 2020, the album had sold 210,000 copies, making it certified as triple platinum.[195]
Oceania and South Africa[edit]
In Australia, the album sold more than 210,000 copies in five days, passing the triple platinum mark there.[196] It was the best-selling album of both 2015 and 2016,[197] and achieved decuple platinum certification (700,000 units) there in May 2017.[198] In New Zealand, 25 broke the record for highest first week sales, selling 18,766 copies. The previous record holder was Susan Boyle whose I Dreamed a Dream sold 17,435 copies in its first week.[199] By the end of the year, 25 became the best-selling album of 2015 in New Zealand.[200] In South Africa, 25 achieved double platinum sales in five days through physical and digital vendors.[201]
Impact[edit]
In October 2015, numerous journalists speculated that other musicians had pushed back their album releases to avoid chart competition with Adele; artists such as Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Sam Smith, and One Direction all did this so that their sales would not be affected.[73][202] Columbia Records shipped 3.6 million physical copies of 25, across the United States, making it the most CDs shipped for a new release since the shipment of 2.4 million copies of NSYNC's No Strings Attached in 2000.[203] One million copies of 25 were shipped to UK retailers, including HMV and Tesco. Ian Topping, chief executive of HMV, stated that the company had a great start with the album, and sales had exceeded their expectations, continuing to say it was their "fastest-selling album for many years."[204]
Following the album's release, journalists reported that 25 was able to encourage the public to return to buying physical copies, compared to streaming. Adam Sherwin of The Independent stated that "25 sent casual purchasers back to the remaining physical stores and may even have introduced a new generation to the delights of ownership."[204] The album was described as saving the music industry, which was seeing dwindling profits with downloading and streaming as the popular methods of music consumption.[113] The album was also noted for boosting sales of retailer Target, which sold the extra track edition of 25, during Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Target Chief Executive Brian Cornell stated that 25 was "the biggest release we've ever had – this is going to break all the records for us" and that "the combination of Adele dropping when it did, the weekend before Thanksgiving, really helped bring in people".[205]
The album's first-day sales in the US were 1.49 million, averaging at 62,000 copies per hour, and 1,000 copies per minute, while on iTunes, 25 sold 900,000 copies on its first day[206] becoming the fastest-selling album in iTunes history, breaking the record previously held by Beyoncé's self-titled album.[207] The album sold more copies in the US in its debut week than the previous number-one albums had sold in the previous 22 weeks combined. Additionally, it sold more copies in its first week than any album sold in an entire calendar year in three recent years (2008, 2009, and 2013).[208] 25 sold more copies in the US in its opening week than the next two best-selling albums of the year combined (Taylor Swift's 1989 and Drake's If You're Reading This It's Too Late, which combined to sell 2.885 million copies in 2015).[208] 25 sold more copies in its first week than the next two fastest-selling albums by female artists combined—Britney Spears' Oops!... I Did It Again, which sold 1.319 million in its first week, and Swift's 1989, which sold 1.287 million in its first week.[208]
It was stated by Billboard on 5 January 2016 that in 2015, overall album sales both digital and physical experienced a 6% decline compared to 2014. 25 is credited with having eased the decline of album sales. It was also noted that if it was not for the success of 25, the 6% decline would have been 9% as the album made up 3.1% of the entire album sales total of 2015.[185]
Credits adapted from AllMusic and album's liner notes.[211][212]
Locations
Musicians
Technical