When Adele posts on Instagram (opens in new tab), the world takes notice.

Today, the singer shared a rare post to social media in the form of a photo of herself on stage somewhere, belting out a powerful ballad (oh, if only this photo were a video (opens in new tab) and we could hear her angelic voice, alas) She shared it on social media. In the photo, Adele is looking at the sky (opens in new tab), while behind her is a mist and confetti is falling from above her head.

But Adele didn't say much with this gorgeous photo. She captioned the shot, in which she is wearing a fluffy black dress adorned with hundreds of sequins, with a single emoji: "?"

In the comments section, fans speculated that the glorious photo was a harbinger of something even more glorious, such as the surprise release of Adele's highly anticipated fourth studio album (opens in new tab). One such theory caught Adele's attention personally.

"Teaser?" The fan commented on the new photo. "Is the album out today? Tell us now!!!!"

Unfortunately for all of us, the new-album-surprise-drop-today theory turned out to be a total lie - according to none other than Adele herself (opens in new tab).

"Of course not," Adele replied. 'The corona is not over yet. I am in quarantine. You'll have to wear a mask and be patient. ❤️."

The album had long been expected to drop this fall, but in September, Adele's manager, Jonathan Dickins, recently confirmed that the record has officially been delayed due to the coronavirus - though how long is still unclear.

"It won't be released in September, but when it's ready," Dickins told Music Week (opens in new tab). 'We're all in the same boat, doing different things, and all of a sudden the world stops. We're ready. We can't set that date yet. We have music, but it's still a work in progress."

We strive to be patient - emphasis on "strive."

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