21
by Adele
  • Record Label: XL
  • Release Date: Feb 22, 2011
User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 930 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 804 out of 930
  2. Mixed: 43 out of 930
  3. Negative: 83 out of 930
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  1. wendyszafir
    Apr 28, 2013
    0
    well, i dont like her, i dont like this album, and i hate how it is overrated... i just hope she comes with something GOOD in her next album, not about ex and cheatting sh*t
  2. GavinGski
    Apr 14, 2013
    2
    Nothing good here at all. Personally, I don't like her voice. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE SAME THING. Rumor Has It is one of the worst songs I've EVER heard. Rolling In The Deep was alright, average at best. Just a screechy over-rated album.
  3. Raymondjeffy
    Feb 19, 2013
    10
    A great album The singer sang the deepness feeling for her heart ''Rolling in the deep'' and ''someone like you'' are my favourite songs An amazing vocals with wide feeling expressions.
  4. aahfeekiee
    Jan 6, 2013
    7
    21 is a very good album as a whole. But looking at all the acclaim that 21 has garnered for itself, it's not very surprising that it will fall short of many people's expectations.

    Six Grammys aside, was 21 really worth all the media attention; the accolades? The album skilfully deals with one dominant theme in particular; heartbreak. Anger in 'Set Fire to the Rain', sadness in 'Don't    21 is a very good album as a whole. But looking at all the acclaim that 21 has garnered for itself, it's not very surprising that it will fall short of many people's expectations.

    Six Grammys aside, was 21 really worth all the media attention; the accolades? The album skilfully deals with one dominant theme in particular; heartbreak. Anger in 'Set Fire to the Rain', sadness in 'Don't You Remember', irony in 'Rumour Has It', hopelessness in 'Take it All', revenge in 'Turning Tables', sincerity in 'Someone Like You', so on and so forth. Adele scrutinizes and carefully analyzes the single theme of heartbreak from many different perspectives as she tries to justify each viewpoint. Perfect for sappy little teenagers to quote on Tumblr pretending that it relates to them in one way or another.

    There are some other themes, like in He Won't Go, Lovesong and One and Only, that still deals with love at its most trivial; just barely escaping the topic of heartbreak. But who could claim that these were actually the highlights of the album? Perhaps it was the heartbreaking songs that had put 21 in the limelight, because variety just couldn't have been it. It's great to have an exceptional songwriter every once in a while amidst commercial songstresses like Katy Perry, Rihanna and Britney Spears who barely write their own songs, or Taylor Swift and Carly Rae Jepsen who aren't as deep or intelligent as they might seem to be. But it wouldn't kill her to add in a little variety; spice things up a little, in the hopes that maybe, if she's feeling really creative and inspired, she'll even write songs which are not about love! Love is an evergreen topic a composer can rely on, but if one lets their career evolve around the same damn thing, it won't still be entertaining after a while. Now, she could explore with other genres and try out new things; which she hasn't, even since 19. Lady Gaga has been criticized for being so experimental she's losing her signature sound. Marina and the Diamonds and Lana Del Rey have been criticized over repetitive production in Electra Heart and Born to Die respectively. It's fascinating to know how Adele has escaped the critics in this area.

    Her vocals couldn't have been it either. She performs great live, but so would many other popstars today if all they did was stand in front of a microphone and sing while occasionally throwing shade and being a little profane in a British accent.

    You see, when people hear the word 'Adele', they think of heartbreak and sadness. The plump British girl who can sing. Social acceptance, perhaps. All the assumptions start rolling in that she's had a troubled past full of insecure misfit tragedies.

    I've never mentioned that more often than not, pity might have impaired the general public's impression of the album; what you interpret of what I'm writing is solely up to you. Sympathy may have had a role to play in Adele's respected image, but then again, I'm not pointing fingers. Essentially, there will always be off-stream artists who are better than Adele in terms of songwriting and singing, work even harder, and is just waiting for that big break but never really got by to achieve that. Whether or not one feels that her vocals forgive the fact that Someone Like You becomes the most overplayed song of the decade, or whether or not her songwriting justifies that she can still just stand on stage and still be a good performer; will be different for everyone to judge. But it's hard to deny that 21 will make an ideal playlist as for whoever is facing a difficult time getting over someone, or at least aspire to be in that mood for who knows what. While 21 may not fit into that idealist mold you've created for the perfect album you're seeking for, it's worth a listen or two. Not all would be impressed by her long notes and not everyone would appreciate the attention she's put in the little ideas she's came up with while pondering about love. But every now and then it's bound to come to you as 'almost interesting' or 'nearly relates to me'. I still have 21 on my daily playlist; Don't You Remember, Set Fire to the Rain, I'll be Waiting and Rumour has it being one of the better played songs. Adele stays in my music player as one of the well-played crooners beside Lady Gaga, Lana Del Rey, Bruno Mars and ABBA. Ultimately, whether or not I feel that the album is great will not change the fact that I still choose to listen to it everyday. So occasionally I will skip a few Adele tracks to listen to pretentious, manufactured Korean Pop singles, for pretty faces and a catchy beat are more than enough to grab my attention for a while.    … Expand
  5. dreammusic
    Dec 21, 2012
    10
    Adele's debut was great but this album is fantastic. Filled with songs - mostly ballads - which make your heart ache and your eyes glisten with tears of how they connect to your life, 21 marks Adele's throne in the heaven of pop music. songs such as Turning Tables and Set Fire To The Rain really make your heart melt whereas Rolling In The Deep, Rumour Has It, and Don't You Remember giveAdele's debut was great but this album is fantastic. Filled with songs - mostly ballads - which make your heart ache and your eyes glisten with tears of how they connect to your life, 21 marks Adele's throne in the heaven of pop music. songs such as Turning Tables and Set Fire To The Rain really make your heart melt whereas Rolling In The Deep, Rumour Has It, and Don't You Remember give you a sudden urge to do something (mostly sing along and try to hit that enormous and amazing note in RITD!). Overall, 21 marks a turning point in Adele's carreer and distinguishes her from other artists such as Celine Dion and Leona Lewis, making her reach summits that are beyond the reaches of others...… Expand
  6. leafar0997
    Dec 15, 2012
    10
    21 is absolutely stunning, for me is one of the best albums of all times. Adele has a magnificent vintage voice and her songs are simply amazing. Love songs like Don't You Remember, Someone Like You, Hiding My Heart and One And Only show the incredible capacity of Adele to do lyrics about love, the most beautiful but painful thing in the world. All the songs are brilliantly produced. I was21 is absolutely stunning, for me is one of the best albums of all times. Adele has a magnificent vintage voice and her songs are simply amazing. Love songs like Don't You Remember, Someone Like You, Hiding My Heart and One And Only show the incredible capacity of Adele to do lyrics about love, the most beautiful but painful thing in the world. All the songs are brilliantly produced. I was waiting for a album like for a long time. Adele is in my opinion, one of the best artists ever in the music history.… Expand
  7. star_gazing
    Nov 19, 2012
    9
    Unique voice unusual to the industry: a very blues-like female contralto that can belt it like no other. Lyricism is your traditional simplicity, but the music is organic and full of ACTUAL INSTRUMENTS. It's almost like listening to REAL music for once. And let's take a moment to set it in.... 25 million sold. That's more than Maroon 5 in it's lifetime. That's more than Kanye West. That'sUnique voice unusual to the industry: a very blues-like female contralto that can belt it like no other. Lyricism is your traditional simplicity, but the music is organic and full of ACTUAL INSTRUMENTS. It's almost like listening to REAL music for once. And let's take a moment to set it in.... 25 million sold. That's more than Maroon 5 in it's lifetime. That's more than Kanye West. That's more than a lot of people. It's impressive. This one person could bring my faith back into the music industry like Darren Hayes did 10 months later. It's a serious listen to with varying emotion. Some of it does sound very bratty at times, but it's good nonetheless. This is the one of the few times I'd recommend buying the album and being a part of the madness.… Expand
  8. Spotlights
    Nov 17, 2012
    6
    I'm not actually sure about this one. It's very melancholy. I definitely prefer 19. 21 is good but does feature quite a few fillers. Basically, the really good tracks are REALLY good and the fillers are just meh. The ratio of fillers to hits is about 3:1.
  9. NKOAS
    Nov 17, 2012
    8
    Oh, dear reader, I still stand by my belief that Adele is massively overrated. I still believe that the magazines and public idea that Adele is great for
  10. BaltimoreFreak
    Nov 14, 2012
    9
    Thesecond album of Adele reaffirms her fascinating talent, she has beat her skills, the album is better than the first, more mature, more sophisticated, more deep and hard. I love her.
  11. Itsamassivebulb
    Nov 12, 2012
    0
    Morose, Dull, Uninspiring, Middle of the road, Non-offensive blandness. Of course everyone is drawn to her as shes a stripped down pseudo soul-pop singer who popped up as a counter to the over the top electro-pop trend, right place right time. Imagine if she released this album in the mist of the mid 00s when this stuff was all over the place, no one would bat an eyelid..much like herMorose, Dull, Uninspiring, Middle of the road, Non-offensive blandness. Of course everyone is drawn to her as shes a stripped down pseudo soul-pop singer who popped up as a counter to the over the top electro-pop trend, right place right time. Imagine if she released this album in the mist of the mid 00s when this stuff was all over the place, no one would bat an eyelid..much like her first album as a matter of fact.
    A great songwriter she is not (for one read the amount of songwriters credited on each song, not so personal as she claims) the lyrics are nothing that Alanis Morrisette or Liz Phair have done before, and Adeles lacking the punch and passion of the former. Instead were met with a collection of easy listening flat instrumentation with cliche break lyrics knitted to very standard Melody.
    Adele was among a batch of artists in the UK that came about after Amy Winehouses Back to Black had got big alongside Duffy and Gabrielle Cilmi, Adele timed her release just right and she filled the hole for when Amy Winehouse died to claim the throne of queen of the middle of the road pop. Not too cheesy to alienate parents, not too retro to alienate the teenagers. The music being artistically flat has no bearing on what people are looking for in Adele. Why have groundbreaking, experimental and challenging music when you have this teenage-white girl singing mature orientated songs? I think peoples admiration of her is more down to the fact that she lost a load of weight, rather than her raw lyrical output. Lets see where she is come release of her next album.    … Expand
  12. kalamaris
    Oct 15, 2012
    5
    It gave me mixed feelings while listening to it. Only 4 songs (Rolling In The Deep, Set Fire To The Rain, Someone Like You, Rumour Has It) make this album somehow interesting, the rest of them are so monotonous. I just cannot understand why it is so much overrated. OK, Adele is a good artist with a nice voice but this overexposure of her really makes me wonder why. An average job.
  13. aaronpaul121
    Oct 1, 2012
    9
    I don't understand why some people are giving a low score to this amazing album. The vocals of Adele are absolutely spectacular and the songs in the album are great. An incredibly fantastic album from Adele........
  14. axelkoch
    Aug 5, 2012
    7
    I'm sorry with saying this, but '21' is overrated. 12 Songs: 6 songs very good, 6 songs only average. Her voice is fantastic, without a doubt. But honestly, this album could've been much better. Some songs are just too sketchy for me. Yeah, there are all sad love songs and that's also a thing that makes the disk a bit boring to me. Only rage against ex lovers that she still loves. Yeah,I'm sorry with saying this, but '21' is overrated. 12 Songs: 6 songs very good, 6 songs only average. Her voice is fantastic, without a doubt. But honestly, this album could've been much better. Some songs are just too sketchy for me. Yeah, there are all sad love songs and that's also a thing that makes the disk a bit boring to me. Only rage against ex lovers that she still loves. Yeah, Miss Adkins, we've got it now. In other cases, only the music makes the song special. Best Songs:
    Turning Tables
    Rolling In The Deep
    Set Fire To The Rain

    Conclusion:
    This album is really good, don't misunderstand me, but you now, with her voice this could've been much better.    … Expand
  15. JoshuaCole
    Jul 21, 2012
    10
    Simply amazing the album tells a tale of lost love which is what everybody has felt one time or another the album is master class and from a singer whose voice is so memorising. One of the best albums of all time!
  16. paulwilsonlogic
    Jul 18, 2012
    9
    Absolutely stunning. Though I think there's so much "heartbreaking" topics in the album, Adele's powerful voice really makes the day! The most particular thing is the incredible Adele's capacity to go through different types of styles, as we can see in "Set Fire to the Rain" and "Don't you remember". So far, one of the most incredible albums ever in the 21 st century! (Album's name says it: "21")
  17. mdm389
    Jul 13, 2012
    5
    Million dollar voice, totally generic songwriting. It doesn't venture into any waters that haven' been sailed through a thousand times before by soul and R&B singer, and the cliche lyrics and backing instrumentation fail to prop up the songs here. Adele has little to say beyond examining a failed past relationship. She'd be more tolerable if Florence Welch of Florence + The Machine wasn'tMillion dollar voice, totally generic songwriting. It doesn't venture into any waters that haven' been sailed through a thousand times before by soul and R&B singer, and the cliche lyrics and backing instrumentation fail to prop up the songs here. Adele has little to say beyond examining a failed past relationship. She'd be more tolerable if Florence Welch of Florence + The Machine wasn't doing the female British singer act so much better at the same time.… Expand
  18. fionasapple
    Jun 25, 2012
    0
    Overrated garbage. Adele can sing but this album is just awful ! the only song i liked was Rolling In The Deep which got annoying after radios overplaying it.
  19. HonestJudging
    Jun 18, 2012
    10
    This album is literally perfection. If you think so otherwise, please take a minute to listen to these songs while reading the lyrics, and understanding the musical arrangement.
  20. GagaForGhibli
    May 30, 2012
    1
    Adele Makes Me Mad..
    Yes We Get It She Can Sing.. I Dont Like It That Everyone Says "Adele Is The Only Current Artist Who Can Carry A Tune Live" Hello People Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, Florence And The Machine?
    The Album Is Nothing Special At All Is The Most Overated Album Of All Time! This Album Win's 5 Or 6 Grammys Florence And The Machine Is Ignored..
  21. Boydiepoohs
    May 19, 2012
    10
    No amount of classy stylish production can hide the power and stunning beauty of the voice here. What a fabulous collection of songs. Even the cover version of the great Cure track is great!
  22. wallofjericho42
    May 14, 2012
    8
    While it lacks the peculiar charm "19" had, her immensely powerful vocals sweep the floor. Less bluesy and jazzy and more leaning towards Pop, "21" is a step in the right direction despite losing some of the original pep. "21" is less pep, and more sass, which is by no means bad - just different.
  23. ChrnoTodd
    May 2, 2012
    0
    Very bad album. Adele has a nice voice, but the lyrics and melody are suck. My mother make better lyrics than Adele and her producers...........................
  24. Seasz
    Apr 14, 2012
    4
    Her voice is so beautiful, but most of these songs are really depressing or boring, Rolling in The Deep is, in my opinion, the only catchy and good song from this album.
  25. ernis_v
    Apr 3, 2012
    5
    Adele intrigues us with something new for the first two songs, but then it all fades away into boring and banal same old-same old melodies about a cliché - he left her, now she's sad. Adele could have just put "Someone Like You" instead of the most part of the album, and the effect would have been be the same
  26. Eddiegamer
    Mar 31, 2012
    10
    What a great album.Adele puts her heart and soul into this album.Great songs from Rolling in the Deep to Rumour Has It this is something to hear.21 is a album that you will love.Adele is a amazing singer.This is something you will enjoy and worth your money.
  27. BlacKat1025
    Mar 27, 2012
    4
    With all the praise surrounding this piece, it falls suprisingly flat for me. Even after a few listens, I have trouble distinguishing between songs. All of the tracs deal with the same subjects : Heartbreak, Love, Betrayal. I can appreciate the depth of emotion in this record, however, to describe it in one word...it's boring. That's it.
  28. doc2be
    Mar 26, 2012
    7
    Good album. Some of the songs feel a little repetitive on repeat listens. Her silky voice commands attention. But after a while the songs are a bit 'samesy'
  29. RIProo
    Mar 25, 2012
    7
    Without any incredible sounds, without any incredible video and without any fashion style Adele made a good album, for all the ages. Congrats. ( sorry for my English )
  30. JoelSN
    Mar 24, 2012
    6
    "21" is the most successful album of the digital era, and we will probably never see any other album acquire this success. It will most likely reach the "Diamond" certification in the US very soon, being the first album since 2004 Usher's "Confessions" to do so. But does the album deserve all the success that it's getting? No one can deny the incredibly talented singer that it's Adele. Not"21" is the most successful album of the digital era, and we will probably never see any other album acquire this success. It will most likely reach the "Diamond" certification in the US very soon, being the first album since 2004 Usher's "Confessions" to do so. But does the album deserve all the success that it's getting? No one can deny the incredibly talented singer that it's Adele. Not many artists in the pop scene can own the stage only with their voices, and Adele is perfectly capable of doing so. If I were to grade Adele herself, she would probably get excellent score, but "21" is not that good. The album shares Adele's feelings after a breakup with her former boyfriend, and I think the record suffers of "extreme depression" being "Rumour Has It" the only song that it's not some kind of ballad. This is not necessarily bad at all, but it becomes a problem when most of the songs in the record are dull and forgettable. In my opinion "21" has 4 or 5 extremely good songs, that would make super successful singles (and in fact they have). But the rest of the record is not that good, unfortunately. I think Adele's success has more to do with how refreshing her sound is compared to what's on mainstream radio all day, her mind blowing performances, her interesting persona and of course, her great singles than with the quality of the album. However, it's a midly solid sophomore effort, and now that she is on top of the world I hope she can outdo herself and deliver an amazing third record. Everybody will look at her and that's a lot of pressure, but she has the talent to make it.

    Highlights: Rolling in the Deep, Set Fire to the Rain, Someone Like You, Turning Tables    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

4
#4 Most Discussed Album of 2011
4
#4 Most Shared Album of 2011

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 34 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 34
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 34
  3. Negative: 0 out of 34
  1. Sputnikmusic
    Jun 14, 2011
    80
    Hearing a voice that grows scratchy and threatens to break and has not been tampered with, has not been slicked over in a studio, a voice that reveals all that can be found within a person and also seems to hold something back, to suggest another truth just behind the veil.
    Read full review
  2. Mojo
    Apr 20, 2011
    60
    The Brit School girl undergoes a successful soul-pop makeover. [Feb. 2011, p. 108]
  3. Consequence
    Apr 11, 2011
    70
    On her sophomore album, 21, Adele channels real emotion and blasts through sincere ballads and angry rockers with few missteps.
    Read full review
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