Following the throat microsurgery , she made her live comeback at the 2012 Grammy Awards in February . She won in all six categories for which she was nominated , including Album of the Year , Record of the Year , and Song of the Year , making her the second female artist in Grammy history , after Beyoncé , to win that many categories in a single night . Following that success , '' 21 '' achieved the biggest weekly sales increase following a Grammy win since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking data in 1991 . Adele received the Brit Award for British Female Solo Artist , and British Album of the Year presented to her by George Michael . Following the Brit Awards , '' 21 '' reached number one for the 21st non-consecutive week in the UK . The album has sold over 4.5 million copies in the UK where it is the fourth best-selling album . In October , the album 's sales surpassed 4.5 million in the UK , and in November it surpassed 10 million sales in the US . The best-selling album worldwide of 2011 and 2012 , , the album has sold over 31 million copies . By the end of 2014 , she had sold an estimated 40 million albums and 50 million singles worldwide . Adele is the only artist or band in the last decade in the US to earn an RIAA diamond certification for a one disc album in less than two years
2012 Grammy Awards
54th Annual Grammy Awards
Adele