21 - Adele
  • Band Name: Adele
  • Record Label: XL
  • Release Date: Feb 22, 2011
21 Image
Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 34 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 268 Ratings

  • Summary: The British singer’s sophomore album is full of soul and pop rhythms, comparable to Amy Winehouse and Duffy.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 34
  2. Negative: 0 out of 34
  1. Jan 27, 2011
    100
    21 is simply stunning. After only a handful of plays, it feels like you've always known it.
  2. Mar 31, 2011
    80
    Here's hoping that if Adele ever finds true love, she doesn't lose her ability to so convincingly channel heartbreak.
  3. 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.
  4. Apr 20, 2011
    60
    The Brit School girl undergoes a successful soul-pop makeover. [Feb. 2011, p. 108]

See all 34 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 61 out of 84
  2. Negative: 16 out of 84
  1. 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 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
  2. 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 Expand
  3. It won't surprise you to know that the best songs on '21' are "Rolling In The Deep" and "Someone Like You" - their position at the beginning and end of the album makes the remaining 10 songs feel slightly overshadowed and inadequate. However "Rumour Has It", "Turning Tables" and "Set Fire To The Rain" (surprise, surprise, the other singles from the album) do stand out and help to amend the more repetitive, forgettable tracks. Adele's stunning voice and flawless lyrics creates something so relatable and meaningful that the hype surrounding this arguably overrated album is easily forgiven. If you've ever had your heart broken then you need this album and while that does justify the monotony of the tracks it doesn't rectify it. Expand
  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. Expand

See all 84 User Reviews

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