Her first studio album in six years following 25 (2015), 30 was inspired by Adele's experiences and anxiety following her divorce and its impact on her son's life, along with motherhood and fame.

Adele had begun working on the album in 2018 and collaborated with producers such as Greg Kurstin, Max Martin, Inflo, Tobias Jesso Jr., Ludwig Göransson, Shawn Everett, and Shellback.

[7][6] These inspired Adele's return to the studio, and the album took shape as a body of work that would explain to her son why she left his father.

[17] Adele wanted to create a "safe space" during the album's recording and opted to work with fewer people than on her previous project 25.

"[19] Together Adele and Kurstin worked on six songs; "Easy on Me", "My Little Love", "Cry Your Heart Out", "Oh My God", "I Drink Wine" and "All Night Parking".

Originally a 15-minute song, inspired by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, "I Drink Wine" was written by Adele to express her remorse for not being present for a close friend and was later cut short following label feedback.

[6][22] Heavily inspired by the Judy Garland biopic,[23] Adele was attracted to the new sounds, chords and cadences Göransson introduced to her which led to the song "Strangers by Nature".

[6] "Hold On" was written by Adele regarding the numerous times she lost hope during her divorce and features backing vocals from her friends.

[25] "My Little Love" is a jazz,[37][38] R&B,[37][39] and soul song,[40] which incorporates voice notes of Adele's conversations with her son as she explains the effects of her divorce on his life and apologizes.

[41] The album's fourth track, "Cry Your Heart Out" is an uptempo piano-driven song, contrasting with its lyrics about depression and anxiety, but also the feeling of relief.

[24] "I Drink Wine" is a gospel-oriented power ballad, addressing Adele's divorce and shedding her ego before regaining the ability to love again.

[49] "To Be Loved" is also a piano ballad, on which Adele explains her divorce to her son and hopes to find a path to true happiness.

[51] On the weekend of 1 October, a series of advertising hoardings and projections displaying the number "30" appeared in various locations across the globe, with reports that it could be tied to Adele's forthcoming studio album, 30.

[52] On Monday, 4 October, Adele's social media accounts and website were updated to match the blue colour from the advertisements.

[53] The next day, Adele officially announced a 15 October release for the album's lead single, "Easy On Me", with a clip of its music video on her social media accounts.

A preview of "Hold On" was featured in an Amazon television commercial entitled "Kindness, the Greatest Gift", portraying anxiety among young adults associated with the pandemic and premiered on 8 November 2021.

More than 500,000 vinyl LPs of 30 were manufactured in the months leading up to the release, as Sony Music removed other albums from its overseas pressing plants, which was a factor along with the pandemic.

[61] The Target-exclusive deluxe edition adds two bonus tracks and a duet version of "Easy on Me" with American singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton.

[89][100][101] Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph believed it features "powerhouse" songs, "intense" emotions and "bravura" performances.

[89] Kate Solomon, writing for i, said that 30 was a "reverent and messy, polished and painful" album from a "woman in turmoil, from raging wine-fuelled nights to quiet teary moments".

[88] The Independent critic Annabel Nugent thought it was distinguished because of its inclusion of optimistic love songs, unlike her previous albums.

[91] The Guardian's Alexis Petridis thought 30 was monotonous musically and lyrically in comparison, but its tracks which veer from Adele's usual formula are the best ones.

[102] Adele's vocal performance on 30 also received praise, with Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield describing it as "even more expressive" than her previous releases and "a tank division that can tap dance".

[25] David Cobbald of The Line of Best Fit complimented the theatrical essence of 30 and the use of electronic instruments and synthesisers but was less impressed by its upbeat songs.

[103] Likewise, NME's El Hunt appreciated the incorporation of new sounds but disapproved of "Hold On", "I Drink Wine", and "Can I Get It" as jarring.

"[104] The Ringer's Justin Charity opined that the people's interest in Adele was sustained purely because of her vocal prowess, which set het apart from other artists.

[123] "Easy on Me" won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 65th ceremony, furthering Adele's streak for the most wins in the category, with four.

[124] Three weeks before its release, 30 became the most pre-added album ever on Apple Music and achieved the largest number of pre-adds in a single day.

[146] 30 additionally topped the charts in Austria,[147] Belgium,[148] Denmark,[149] Finland,[150] Greece,[151] Iceland,[152] Lithuania,[153] Norway,[154] Scotland,[155] Spain,[156] Sweden,[157] and Switzerland.

[160] 30 achieved 2021's biggest opening week,[161] debuting atop the Billboard 200 with 839,000 album-equivalent units, including 692,000 pure album sales.