History Music / TwentyOne

!! We could've had it allllllll! Listing all the trooooooooopes:

->''"Adele’s {{soul}}-inflected pop [[GenreThrowback appealed to Baby Boomers nostalgic for Etta James, Carole King and 'Dusty in Memphis'.]] It also appealed to teens struggling with the first sting of heartbreak, {{hipster}}s who missed Music/AmyWinehouse, [[ThreeChordsAndTheTruth traditionalists weary of synthesizers and vocal effects and non-pop fans who simply found it refreshing to hear a singer belt out her blues with conviction.]] [[BreakupSong By singing almost exclusively about a relationship gone wrong,]] [[MultipleDemographicAppeal Adele made songs that anyone could identify with.]] Conventional wisdom says that in the fragmented post-modern era, an artist must target her demographic carefully, but '21' wasn’t niche-marketed. It was made for everyone and — surprise! — everyone listened."''

''21'' is the second studio album recorded by British singer-songwriter [[Music/{{Adele}} Adele Adkins]]. It was released through XL Recordings on 24 January 2011 in the United Kingdom, and through Creator/ColumbiaRecords on 22 February 2011 in the United States.

[[caption-width-right:300:''[[TheFirstCutIsTheDeepest Sometimes it lasts in love\\
But sometimes it hurts instead]]'']]

-->'''Tris [=McCall=]''', Newark Star-Ledger

Battling writer's block in her attempt to follow up the surprise success of ''19'', Adele recorded ten songs influenced by the country and bluegrass sounds her North American tour had exposed her to. Only one of the ten, the ballad "Take It All", proved up to her standards, but the bitter relationship song triggered a fight with her older boyfriend, and ended their relationship. Thus inspired -- [[INeedAFreakingDrink and driven to drink again]] -- Adele put together the eventual lead single "Rolling in the Deep" the very next day with producer Paul Epworth. With her writer's block obliterated, Adele got back to business. Over the course of the next few months, she finished the modern era's answer to ''Music/{{Rumours}}''.

''21'' sold 203,000 copies in its first week. It also debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart, selling 352,000 copies in its first week in the United States. It was certified Diamond in the US, and 17-times Platinum in the UK, selling over 30 million copies in total. It topped the year-end Billboard 200 in both 2011 and 2012, ultimately becoming the decade-end number-one album on the Billboard 200 for [[TheNewTens the 2010s]].

The release of the ConcertFilm[=/=]LiveAlbum ''Adele: Live at the Royal Albert Hall'' on 29 November made her the first artist to ever hold a year's top-selling DVD, album, and single all at once. Her performance of "Set Fire to the Rain" at that concert won the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance, giving her consecutive awards in the category. The concert film went ten-times Platinum on its own in the United States.[[note]]The RIAA does not have a Diamond certification for video albums. Yet.[[/note]]

* CoverVersion: A Latin-influenced take on Music/TheCure's "[[Music/{{Disintegration|Album}} Lovesong]]" appears toward the end.

* CoverVersion: A Latin-influenced take on Music/TheCure's "[[Music/{{Disintegration}} Lovesong]]" appears toward the end.

As such, ''21'' is the best-known example of a modern music blockbuster.

''21'' was placed at #137 on the 2020 iteration of ''Magazine/RollingStone'' magazine's [[UsefulNotes/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime2020 500 Greatest Albums of All Time]] list.

''21'' made such an impact, that it was placed at #137 on the 2020 iteration of ''Magazine/RollingStone'' magazine's [[UsefulNotes/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime2020 500 Greatest Albums of All Time]] list.

[[caption-width-right:300:''[[TheFirstCutIsTheDeepest Sometimes it lasts in love]]\\
[[TheFirstCutIsTheDeepest But sometimes it hurts instead]]'']]

->''I let it fall, my heart''\\
''And as it fell, you rose to claim it''\\
''It was dark and I was over''\\
''Until you kissed my lips and you saved me''\\
\\
''My hands, they were strong''\\
''But my knees were far too weak''\\
''To stand in your arms''\\
''Without falling to your feet''\\
\\
''But there's a side to you that I never knew, never knew''\\
''All the things you'd say, they were never true, never true''\\
''And the games you'd play, you would always win, always win''
-->--'''"Set Fire to the Rain"'''

->"Adele’s {{soul}}-inflected pop [[GenreThrowback appealed to Baby Boomers nostalgic for Etta James, Carole King and 'Dusty in Memphis'.]] It also appealed to teens struggling with the first sting of heartbreak, {{hipster}}s who missed Music/AmyWinehouse, [[ThreeChordsAndTheTruth traditionalists weary of synthesizers and vocal effects and non-pop fans who simply found it refreshing to hear a singer belt out her blues with conviction.]] [[BreakupSong By singing almost exclusively about a relationship gone wrong,]] [[MultipleDemographicAppeal Adele made songs that anyone could identify with.]] Conventional wisdom says that in the fragmented post-modern era, an artist must target her demographic carefully, but '21' wasn’t niche-marketed. It was made for everyone and — surprise! — everyone listened."

'''''21''''' is the second studio album recorded by British singer-songwriter [[Music/{{Adele}} Adele Adkins]]. It was released through XL Recordings on 24 January 2011 in the United Kingdom, and through Creator/ColumbiaRecords on 22 February 2011 in the United States.

Battling writer's block in her attempt to follow up the surprise success of ''19'', Adele recorded ten songs influenced by the country and bluegrass sounds her North American tour had exposed her to.

Only one of the ten, the ballad "Take It All", proved up to her standards. But the bitter relationship song triggered a fight with her older boyfriend. It ended their relationship.

Thus inspired--[[INeedAFreakingDrink and driven to drink again]]--Adele put together the eventual lead single "Rolling In The Deep" the very next day with producer Paul Epworth. With her writer's block obliterated, Adele got back to business. Over the course of the next few months, she finished the modern era's answer to ''Music/{{Rumours}}''.

Upon the release of the ConcertFilm[=/=]LiveAlbum ''Film/AdeleLiveAtTheRoyalAlbertHall'', made her the first artist to ever hold a year's top-selling DVD, album, and single all at once. Her performance of "Set Fire to the Rain" at that concert won the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance, giving her consecutive awards in the category. The concert film went ten-times Platinum on its own in the United States.[[note]]The RIAA does not have a Diamond certification for video albums. Yet.[[/note]]

As such, ''21'' is the best-known example of a modern blockbuster.

[[caption-width-right:300:''[[TheFirstCutIsTheDeepest Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead]]'']]

''21'' sold 203,000 copies in its first week. It also debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart, selling 352,000 copies in its first week in the United States. It was certified Diamond in the US, and 17-times Platinum in the UK, selling over 30 million copies in total. It topped the year-end Billboard Top 200 in both 2011 and 2012, ultimately becoming the decade-end number-one album on the Billboard Top 200 for [[TheNewTens the 2010s]].

'''''21''''' is the second studio album recorded by British singer-songwriter [[Music/{{Adele}} Adele Adkins]]. It was released by XL Recordings on 24 January 2011 in the United Kingdom, and by Creator/ColumbiaRecords on 22 February 2011 in the United States.