21 (Adele album) music inflections. Instruments such as the saxophone, harp, banjo and the accordion contributed to its exploration of blues and soul. The singer drew from the music of Mary J. Blige, Kanye West, Elbow, Mos Def, Alanis Morissette, Tom Waits, and Sinéad O'Connor in the cultivation of the album's sound, and credited Yvonne Fair, Andrew Bird, Neko Case, and The Steel Drivers with its musical direction. Adele's style on "21" is generally characterised by critics as soul, although some suggest that the album eschews any distinct stylistic epithet. John Murphy of musicOMH characterises the album as British soul. Jon Caramanica of
21 (Adele album) quarter album sales of 2012 in the United States. Without "21", the first quarter of 2012 would have been down 3.4% compared to the first quarter of 2011. "21" sold more copies in the first quarter of 2012 than any album since 2005 and is the oldest album to be the best-selling album in the first quarter of the year since No Doubt's "Tragic Kingdom" in 1997. On 28 November 2012, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it Diamond after having sold more than 10 million copies in the United States alone; it is the first album released