Adele's long-time make-up artist Michael Ashton has hinted the pop star is set to make a big announcement.

The beauty guru - who has worked with the 'Hello' hitmaker for more than a decade - took to his Instagram Stories to share a stunning black and white snap of the 'Chasing Pavements' singer putting on make-up in the mirror this week, and his accompanying caption has sent fans into overdrive as they believe Adele could be set to announce her music comeback.

Michael captioned the image: ''''BTW..... EXCITING NEWS COMING SOON!!

''GET READY TO GET ON BOARD (sic)''

This will be music to fans' ears as it was recently claimed that Adele is unlikely to put out a new album this year.

The Grammy-winning star previously suggested she was looking to release her fourth album towards the end of 2020 - but it seemed her plans were derailed amid the coronavirus pandemic.

During an Instagram Live between producers Babyface and Teddy Riley, she wrote: ''Come on, it's 2020 - we ain't meant to get what we want. (sic)''

The 31-year-old star was expected to release a comeback single over the summer, but like a number of other high-profile artists - including Lady Gaga, Sam Smith and Alanis Morissette - she seemingly decided to delay the release of her next record.

At present, the London-born singer would be unable to properly promote her next album due to various nationwide lockdowns and social distancing measures.

Meanwhile, a source previously claimed Adele feels ''alive'' following her split from Simon Konecki and she is ready to release new music.

The singer was married to Simon between 2016 and 2019 - but she's now focused on her new record, according to an insider.

A source said: ''She is definitely getting ready both mentally and physically to promote new music. It seems it will happen later this year.

''She talks about last year as a very difficult year, and she's said in the past that creating new music is almost like therapy. You can tell that she is ready to share with her fans.

''She is so busy, but her life is better-rounded than it was before. She is very fulfilled being an artist. New music is still a big deal for her, and she feels alive and happy.''

Adele has been on hiatus since June 2017 and her last album was 2015's '25'.