Artist of the Week: Adele

Three years after the release of her critically-acclaimed album "19", Adele returns with a bang with her sophomore set "21". She debuted at No. 1 on the U.K. albums chart with 208,000 copies, scoring the biggest January album sales since 2006. Arctic Monkeys sold 363,000 copies with their debut album "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I Am Not" in the same month that year.

A collection of deeply personal songs, "21" showcases the growth of this Grammy-winning singer at the very young age of twenty two. The album also allows fans to get closer to the real Adele through the songs, inspired by her personal life, which range from talking about the power and glory of love to the real heartbreak.

The first single "Rolling in the Deep", written in a fit of rage, features driving, fierce beat with her signature wail. The revenge-themed tune is soon followed by powerful track "Set Fire to the Rain" which is also as irresistible as the predecessor.

"I'm very excited, nervous, eager, anxious but chuffed to announce my new album! It's taken a while and it knocked me for six when writing it," she said of the new release. "It's different from '19', it's about the same things but in a different light. I deal with things differently now."

"I'm more patient, more honest, more forgiving and more aware of my own flaws, habits and principles. Something that comes with age I think. So fittingly this record is called '21'. The whole reason I called my first album '19' was about cataloging what happened to me then and who I was then, like a photo album you see the progression and changes in a person throughout the years."

© AceShowbiz.com