“In an age of artifice, media management and manufactured pop stars she’s come through as a breath of fresh air": Inside the making of Adele's seminal second album, 21

Adele album launch 2011.

In 2009, just over a year after releasing her debut album, 19, Adele embarked on a follow up - that 'difficult second album' so many artists are faced with, especially if they are lucky enough to have scored so big with their first. And Adele had certainly done that. 19, released in January 2008, went on to shift some 8.5 million copies, plucking Adele from MySpace obscurity to worldwide fame and fortune in a very short space of time.

Her all-new and huge fanbase were hungry for more. With 21, she not only followed it but surpassed it, as the sophomore would go on to sell over 30 million copies and become the biggest selling album of the century. That's quite the rebuttal to the 'difficult second album' myth