Adele released her long-awaited album, “30,” on Nov. 19, 2021, her first album in six years. “30” follows the famous album “25,” which won both “Album of the Year” and “Best Pop Vocal Album” at the 2017 Grammy Awards. “Hello,” the album’s widely recognizable single, won the awards for “Record of the Year,” “Song of the Year” and “Best Pop Solo Performance.”

Following the vivid success of “25,” Adele did not disappoint with “30.” In a tweet about the album, Adele voiced her epiphany with finding herself, creating music unlike anything listeners have ever heard before.

Adele tweeted: “I’ve learned a lot of blistering truths about myself along the way. I’ve shed many layers, but also wrapped myself in new ones…”

“30” mainly centers around Adele’s divorce, motherhood and fame. Themes such as heartache, acceptance and the importance of staying positive create an environment where listeners can empathize with Adele’s songs while making connections to their own lives. With Adele’s emotive voice and the originality of her music, “30” certainly had me going back and forth between tears and laughter.

The first song in the album, “Strangers by Nature,” reminds me of the holiday spirit, with its powerful harmonies and welcoming chords. In my eyes, I could vividly imagine this song being used as an introductory tune to a family movie as all the characters are being introduced. “Strangers by Nature” was not only a great song to start off a wonderful album, but also set the mood for all 12 songs in “30” to be everything I ever wanted to hear.

One of my all-time favorite songs from this album is, without a doubt, “Easy on Me.” The song’s calming tone, powerful lyrics and astounding vocal rhythms make me wonder if I will ever get tired of listening to it on repeat. I would be lying if I said that this song has not been on my monthly Spotify playlist ever since it came out.

Another powerful song from the album is “My Little Love,” where Adele’s riffs and vocals certainly speak for themselves. Even though at first the song may sound like a sweet love letter to her only child, as Adele sings, “My little love, I see your eyes widen like an ocean,” I came to realize that the piece was so much more than that. As it progressed, I recognized that Adele is addressing the challenges of explaining divorce to someone so young as her nine-year-old son, Angelo. This is especially echoed in the lyrics, “I’m finding it hard to be here sincerely. I know you feel lost, it’s my fault completely.”

An astounding component of this song is the use of her child’s voice in the background, which symbolizes a deeply personal exchange regarding her divorce from her ex-husband Simon Konecki. The painfully honest lyrics and melodies made me fall in love with the song and its soothing rhythm.

However, not all songs in the album were top-notch. “To Be Loved” was a prime example of this. Although the song carries a powerful message exploring Adele’s relationship with Konecki from beginning to end, I think it was just too slow. The song follows Adele’s realization that her marriage had come to an end. Throughout the heartfelt emotion, the general delivery of these lyrics came at a much slower pace than I would have enjoyed. In this particular song, I wished that Adele would get to the point a lot quicker than she does.

Overall, I’d give this album a five out of five and nothing less. Even though “To Be Loved” was not my favorite, Adele’s impressive use of emotion throughout all of the songs in “30,” especially “Easy on Me” and “My Little Love” pulled at all of my heartstrings in ways I never thought were possible.

The world could use a lot more music like this: songs that create feelings of excitement, grief and sadness all together to make us feel human in the end.