There's a hell of a lot to live up to: The album has been born alongside undoubted pressure, with predecessor 21 breaking records left, right and centre. It's sold well over 30 million copies worldwide, and has gone 16x Platinum in the UK and 11x Platinum in the US.

She's not about to relinquish control: Adele warned her fans from the start that they would have to wait a few years for another album. In an interview with NRJ Radio in 2012 she claimed: "If I didn't write my own songs, I'd be out next week with a new album. I have to take time and live a little bit. There were a good two years between my first and second albums, so it'll be the same this time." Try double that.

The LP is going to feature Paul Epworth: Although nothing has been officially confirmed, there are definitive signs from both sides pointing to the collaborators working together again. Back in 2013 when asked about the progress of the new album by Billboard, she said, "I'm definitely going to visit Paul Epworth and stuff like that again." The producer remained shady on the topic, explaining, "The album will come when it's ready."

It's going to be called 25. Amazon Italy accidentally uploaded pre-order details of a new Adele album, which showed temporary album art which was entitled 25 (above) which was screen-grabbed by DIY Magazine. With the singer's previous albums being titled with the corresponding age at which it was written, the rumoured title makes sense. Another flurry of speculation on the title emerged when Adele posted a photo of herself on Twitter with the caption: "Bye bye 25! See you again later this year x" on her 26th birthday.

The lead single is expected to be entitled 'Devil On My Shoulder': Or one of its singles at least. Fans captured a screenshot of the title on the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) website. This was later removed.

She has been collaborating with a variation of established artists: A series of reports, some confirmed, others still speculation, have linked Adele to Danger Mouse, Tobias Jessor Jr, Ryan Tedder, Phil Collins, Damon Albarn and more. Speaking to the Herald Sun, Ryan Tedder of One Republic said "Adele sounds even better than before. I love where she's at. She's still my favourite artist in the world". Not all the collaborations worked out though. Damon Albarn said he doubted the pair's work would end up being used, while Phil Collins called Adele "a slippery little fish" when he didn't hear back from her.