How Adele shattered record after record and dominated music in 2015

After a four-year absence from the music world - except for the release of her Oscar-winning James Bond song, "Skyfall," in 2012 - Adele made a triumphant return in the final months of 2015, crushing records left and right.

The singer took to Twitter in October to announce her first album since 2011's "21." In the announcement, she said "25" was "a make-up record" as opposed to her previous break-up record. "I'm making up with myself. Making up for lost time. Making up for everything I ever did and never did," she wrote.

A day later, she announced a November 20 release date. Early projections estimated that the album would sell 2.5 million in its first week and could reach 4 million by Christmas. Adele took those projections and surpassed them, selling 2.4 million in just four days and ending her debut week with 3.38 million copies sold, the highest in chart history.

Those 4 million by Christmas? She did that in her second week and surpassed 5 million in the third. By the end of Christmas week, she is set to go above 6 million. She didn't just beat records; she eviscerated them.

And she was breaking records even before the album came out. Her video for her first single, "Hello," was released October 23 and broke Vevo's record for most single-day views.

Check out some of Adele's incredible 2015 highlights below: