The Scotsman

Spotify agrees to take shuffle off Adele work

- By NAOMI CLARKE newsdeskts@scotsman.com

Adele has persuaded Spotify to remove the shuffle button as the default option on album pages, so it automatica­lly plays in the artist’s own order.

The 33-year-old music superstar’s fourth studio album, 30, launched on Friday to widespread critical acclaim.

It came ahead of her concert, filmed at the London Palladium, titled An Audience With Adele, airing on ITV yesterday.

Adele reposted the announceme­nt to Twitter, writing: “This was the only request I had in our everchangi­ng industry!

“We don’ t create albums with so much care and thought into our track listing for no reason.

“Our art tells a story and our stories should be listened to as we intended. Thank you Spotify for listening.”

The streaming giant replied: “Anything for you.”

The artist made her big comeback with Easy On Me, her first new track in six years, which is currently number one in the UK singles charts, according to the Official Charts Company.

Other tracks from the album, including My Little Love, Oh My God, I Drink Wine and Hold On have been praised by fans and critics for their vulnerabil­ity and old-fashioned sound recalling the golden age of Hollywood.

The record details the breakdown of her marriage to charity boss Simon Konecki, with whom she has a son, Angelo.

Adele celebrated the launch of the album by posting an image to her social media on Friday which showed her next to a glass of white wine.

The post was captioned: “It was a ride, so I threw my arms up and screamed! Love you all.”

The album has been heralded by critics as the singer’s best work, as her “ferociousl­y” honest tracks recalled the likes of Judy Garland and Gene Kelly from the golden age of Hollywood.

She said she was “embarrasse­d” by her divorce but the album is an attempt to explain the split to her son, with the third track incorporat­ing some clips of her talking to the nine-year-old about the break-up.

The singer-songwriter’s fourth solo studio album 30 is the latest instalment in her age series, a follow-up to 2015’s 25.

It is among the year’s most highly anticipate­d and significan­t music releases in recent years and includes the UK number one single Easy On Me.

Rolling stone gave the album five stars, with Rob Sheffield writing: “Adele has never sounded more ferocious than she does on 30 – more alive to her own feelings. It’s her toughest, most powerful album yet.”

Ahead of the release, Adele had a sit down with American chat show host Oprah Winfrey which included a pre-recorded live performanc­e at Griffith Observator­y in Los Angeles featuring never-before-heard tracks from 30.

The album 30 is released in the same four-week period as blockbuste­r offerings from Abba, Coldplay and Ed Sheeran, with all arriving in time to compete for the festive top spot.

A primetime special concert filmed at the London Palladium, An Audience With Adele, will be broadcast on ITV on November 21.

 ?? ?? ↑ A shopworker sorts copies of the new album from Adele
↑ A shopworker sorts copies of the new album from Adele

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