Arguably the biggest artist of 2011, Adele is heading in a new direction as she begins work on the follow-up to her record-breaking sophomore effort, 21.

Having toured the U.S. extensively in promotion of the album, Adele has found herself drawn to the sounds of country and bluegrass from time spent in the South.

“I was exposed to a lot of country, rockabilly and bluegrass because I was touring for such a long time,” she tells The Sun newspaper. “The melodies and to-the-point lyrics I have found in a lot of American styles of music is definitely something I’m going be pursuing heavily from now on. I want to spend some time in Austin in Texas and Nashville, Tennessee, and learn about it.”

Whichever approach Adele decides to take with her new music is almost guaranteed to be received warmly, considering the household name she’s become. 21, which has more of a blues and soul feel, is now ten times platinum and in the UK, is the joint longest-running number one album in 40 years (with the Bee Gees‘ Saturday Night Fever soundtrack from 1977).

Recently recovered from laryngitis, Adele begins her upcoming run of shows next week in Oregon (visit SongKick for tour information).

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