In life there are three absolutes; you are born, you will die and at some point in-between those two things, Adele will release new music. We know the record — rumoured to be titled 30 — is coming, of course, but we just don’t know exactly when. Since 25’s record-breaking release in 2015, there have been ruminations and rumblings: that it would focus on Adele’s divorce; that it would be a drum’n’bass record; that it would be inspired by reggaeton following the leak of that iconic photo. Truth be told, none of us know this, but if her social media is anything to go by, it looks like Adele’s return is set to come sooner than later.
Today, Adele’s social media channels all got a plush blue rebrand, with her Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts being ‘reset’, her 25 era imagery being swapped out for a new look instead.
The background bears a striking resemblance to the look of several mysterious billboards and projections that have been spotted across the world last weekend, each one bearing the number 30, leading to the seemingly very obvious assumption that Adele is behind them. The billboards have been spotted in the US, UK, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Brazil and Mexico, as well as dozens of other locations.
Stan account Adele Daily (do you think they might be able to send Sky Ferreira Updates flowers or something?) have also added yet more evidence to the pile; with tweets from various sources alleging that the projectors have either been loaned out by Sony, or are being projected on buildings directly owned by the record company too.
There’s also some rising suspicion that the album might be coming pre-Christmas too. Specifically 19 November. Why? Well, why else would pop’s second biggest woman, Taylor Swift, shift the release date of her re-recording of Red a week ahead of schedule? The expectations for T-Swift to hit number one are high, and a top spot seems like the natural conclusion, considering how fervent her fanbase are. What artist is big enough to block her from that top spot? At this stage, it seems like a half-decade-in-the-making Adele record might do the job.
Adele herself, for the most part, hasn’t commented on the making of her album – apart from her stint as host on SNL at the end of last year, where she admitted in her host monologue that she wasn’t performing on the show because her new record wasn’t actually finished yet. But now it seems like the time is nigh. Adele is actually ready to return.