Adele stepped out with a stunning new look in her birthday post

The tan, the hair, the body – it's fair to say that Adele is almost unrecognisable in her birthday snap.

Birthdays in lockdowns are relatively sad affairs, unless you are a global superstar and can afford to construct a big at-home celebration of course. That appears to be the case for Adele, who yesterday celebrated her 32nd birthday. To mark the occasion, the singer posted a photo from the day on her Instagram account. In it, she stands outside her LA home framed by a giant gold hoop decorated with bouquets of cream and blush roses. She's wearing a body-skimming black silk dress with voluminous sleeves that stops mid-thigh. And her hair is long and golden, styled without the extra volume that has for so long been her trademark. Without wanting to make a fuss of a sister's weight, there's no skirting around the fact that the most striking aspect of the photo is the singer's dramatic weight loss. Adele has slimmed down considerably over the course of the past year – to the point that you could be forgiven for not recognising her from a casual glance at the photo. Adele sent her love to her fans, as well as sending a message of thank to frontline workers dealing with the Covid-19 crisis in the post underneath the photo:

"Thank you for the birthday love. I hope you're all staying safe and sane during this crazy time. I'd like to thank all of our first responders and essential workers who are keeping us safe while risking their lives! You are truly our angels. 2020 okay bye thanks x"

The internet has, predictably, been set alight by the photo, with commentators speculating about the exact amount of weight Adele has lost, what her diet and exercise regimen was and what motivated the mum-of-one to so dramatically change her look. A woman's weight is her own business, so we're not going to get into all of that, other than to say that in this photo we see a see a talented singer on top of her game who looks healthy and comfortable in herself – and we applaud that. But bring back the beehive please!