The Someone Like You hitmaker bowed out of the limelight in 2012 and fans have been eagerly waiting for a follow-up to 2011's record breaking album 21.

Record label bosses hoped the album would be ready for release last year (14) before pushing the date back to spring 2015, but U.K. reports now suggest the record will hit stores in September (15).

A source tells Britain's The Sun newspaper, "The album is currently scheduled for release in September. The most recent plan was for it to hit shops before the summer but that's now been scrapped. Adele's taking her time to make sure the album is perfect and doesn't want to compromise."

During her career hiatus the singer gave birth to a son, Angelo, with partner Simon Konecki.