Adele confirms release date for her album #25 along with a flawless cover art

It's been nearly five years since the release of her last studio album.

And on Thursday, Adele teased more details about the release of her upcoming third album 25 with her new single Hello set to be played for the first time on BBC Radio 1 on Friday.

In posts on her Facebook and new Instagram pages, the London-born singer, 27, confirmed her long-awaited album would be released on November 20 along with the cover art.

She captioned the image: '25 out November 20th.' 

In comparison to her previous album covers which features the star with her eyes closed, this time the 27-year-old is starring directly into the camera in the black and white shot.

Her make-up is immaculately done with smoky black eyeliner and long lashes as she gazes wistfully at the camera. 

The moody atmospheric shot is typical of Adele's previous album and single artwork. 

Perhaps her confident striking pose on the cover reflects the album's content, which is said to be a 'make-up record' and more 'adult' than her previous offerings.

Her first single from the album, entitled Hello, will be played at 8am on Friday on Nick Grimshaw's breakfast show.

Adele's last album 21 came out in January 2011 - before the singer met her now-partner Simon Konecki -  14 years her senior - and went on to become a mother to son Angelo, who was born in October 2012.

She briefly came out of hiatus in late 2012 to record the theme song for Bond movie Skyfall and went on to win an Oscar, Golden Globe and Brit Award.

In a letter posted on her Facebook page on Wednesday, Adele explained to fans the process behind her new material. 

It began: 'When I was 7, I wanted to be 8. When I was 8, I wanted to be 12. When I turned 12 I just wanted to be 18. Then after that I stopped wanting to be older. Now I'm ticking 16-24 boxes just to see if I can blag it! I feel like I've spent my whole life so far wishing it away.'

'Always wishing I was older, wishing I was somewhere else, wishing I could remember and wishing I could forget too. Wishing I hadn't ruined so many good things because I was scared or bored.'

'Wishing I wasn't so matter of fact all the time. Wishing I'd gotten to know my great grandmother more, and wishing I didn't know myself so well, because it means I always know what's going to happen. Wishing I hadn't cut my hair off, wishing I was 5ft 7in. Wishing I'd waited and wishing I'd hurried up as well.