Adele hints that new album, 25, will be released later this year

Adele has celebrated her birthday by posting a tweet that seems to hint her new album will be released later this year, and will be called 25.

The singer turns 26 today (5 May) and took to Twitter last night to post a picture of herself with the caption "Bye bye 25... See you again later in the year x". Unless she's let slip a secret ability to time travel, this seems to suggest a new album is on its way. 

Bye bye 25... See you again later in the year x pic.twitter.com/HEmY14El5s

Adele's previous two albums, 19 and 21, were named after the age she was when they were written - so it seems likely that her third offering will be named 25.

The singer rose to fame in the UK six years ago, when she was awarded both the Brit Awards Critics' Choice award and the BBC Sound of 2008.

It was with her second album though that Adele achieved international acclaim. 21, which includes singles 'Rolling in the Deep', 'Someone Like You' and 'Set Fire to the Rain', went 16x Platinum in the UK, and Diamond in the US - a certification we're pretty sure was created just for Adele - where it sold over 10 million copies.

The singer was also given an Academy Award for Best Original Song for 'Skyfall', the theme song of the 2012 James Bond film of the same name.