Claim: Adele was given a recording contract by XL Recordings.

25 is the third studio album by British singer and songwriter Adele . It was released on 20 November 2015 , through XL Recordings . Following the release and international success of her second studio album 21 .   Titled as a reflection of her life and frame of mind at 25 years old , 25 is a `` make-up record '' . The album 's lyrical content features themes of Adele `` yearning for her old self , her nostalgia '' , and `` melancholia about the passage of time '' according to an interview with the singer by Rolling Stone , as well as themes of motherhood and regret . In contrast to Adele 's previous works , the production of 25 incorporated the use of electronic elements and creative rhythmic patterns , with elements of 1980s R&B and organs . Like 21 , Adele worked with producer and songwriter Paul Epworth and Ryan Tedder , along with new collaborations with Max Martin and Shellback , Greg Kurstin , Danger Mouse , the Smeezingtons , Samuel Dixon , and Tobias Jesso Jr. .   25 received generally positive reviews from music critics , who commended Adele 's vocal performance and the album 's production . The album was a massive commercial success , debuting at number one in more than 25 markets and broke first-week sales records in multiple countries , including the United Kingdom and United States ; in the US , the album sold 3.38 million copies in its first week of release , marking the largest single-week sales for an album since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking point-of-sale music purchases in 1991 . 25 eventually became the world 's best-selling album of 2015 with 17.4 million copies sold within the year , and has sold 20 million copies as of June 2016 , making it one of the best selling albums worldwide .   Following 21 , it was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America -LRB- RIAA -RRB- , denoting shipments of ten million copies in the United States , making Adele the only artist of the 2010s to achieve this certification with two albums . Many journalists felt that the album impacted the music industry by encouraging the public to return to buying physical albums , instead of downloading or streaming . 25 received the BRIT Award for British Album of the Year , while the lead single `` Hello '' won British Single of the Year . The album then won the 2017 Grammy Awards for Album of the Year , and Best Pop Vocal Album . `` Hello '' also won Grammys for Record of the Year , Song of the Year , and Best Pop Solo Performance .