Adele's '30' is the new '25'
Adele poses as she arrives for the Brit Awards, London, Britain, Feb. 8, 2022. (Reuters Photo)


International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), the recorded music industry representative body, said on Tuesday that the British singer Adele is back with her latest record "30" winning the Global Album All Format Chart for 2021.

The album "30", which went on to become number one around the world upon its release in November, also topped IFPI's Global Album Sales Chart and its inaugural IFPI Global Vinyl Album Chart.

The album, Adele's fourth, was her first in six years since 2015's Grammy Award-winning "25." Last month, "30" won album of the year at Britain's pop music honors, the BRITs.

"It has been wonderful to have Adele back and releasing music over the second half of last year," IFPI Chief Executive Frances Moore said in a statement.

"Her dominance of all three IFPI Album Charts speaks to her unique songwriting talent, her iconic voice and unrelenting global popularity."

Known for her ballads about heartbreak and nostalgia, Adele said she wrote "30" to explain her divorce to her young son.

"Following its release in November 2021, '30' surpassed over 5 million physical album-equivalent units in 2021 alone, in under two months," IFPI said.

American singer Olivia Rodrigo's "Sour" was second in the Top 10 Global Album All Format Chart, followed by Canadian pop star Justin Bieber's "Justice."

ABBA's "Voyage," the Swedish supergroup's first album in 40 years, was number two in the Top 10 Global Album Sales Chart, followed by K-pop band Seventeen's "Attacca."

For the vinyl album chart, Harry Style's "Fine Line" and Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" completed the top three.