In 2009, the British singer-songwriter-performer Adele took home a pair of Grammy Awards–including Best New Artist–for 19, a highly acclaimed debut album of songs which introduced a new and authentic young voice to the world, expressing the bittersweet turbulence of adolescence awakening into adulthood.

With 21, one of 2011’s most anticipated releases, Adele comes of age with her second album, a collection of deeply personal songs, finely wrought and powerfully delivered, which communicate the power and glory of real love and real heartbreak through a range of musical moods and settings.

From the album’s first single, “Rolling In The Deep,” co-written with producer Paul Epworth and described by Adele as “a dark bluesy gospel disco tune,” through the fiery rumble of “Rumour Has It” to the orchestral builds of “Turning Tables,” the mysterious pop imagery of “Set Fire To The Rain,” the gospel-tinged “One and Only” and the tear-stained resignation of “Someone Like You,” co-written with Grammy-winner and track-producer Dan Wilson, Adele’s 21 is a musical and emotional tour de force, a portrait of the artist as a young woman coming into her own.