Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Adele ‘stands by’ decision to postpone Las Vegas residency as she shares first update since cancellation

Singer described reaction to cancelling shows 24 hours before they were due to began as “brutal”

Isobel Lewis
Sunday 03 July 2022 08:14 BST
Comments
Adele breaks down in tears as she announces tour cancellation

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Adele has said that she was a “shell of a person” after the “brutal” reaction to postponing her Las Vegas residency.

The British singer was due to perform weekend shows from January to April at Caesar’s Palace.

However, less than 24 hours before the first shows were due to begin, Adele shared a video to social media tearfully explaining that the show was not going to be ready on time.

No further updates have been given since then, much to the chagrin of Adele’s fans. In May, they bombarded the comments section of her Instagram to ask for “updates on Vegas”.

Appearing on Desert Island Discs on Sunday (3 July), Adele said that she was “devastated” the news, adding that she had “definitely felt everyone’s disappointment”.

“I was frightened about letting them down and I thought I could pull it together and make it work, and I couldn’t,” she told Lauren Laverne.

“I stand by that decision. I don’t think any other artist would have done what I did, and I think that is why it was such a massive, massive story.

“It was like, ‘I don’t care’ and things like that. You can’t buy me. You can’t buy me for nothing. I’m not going to just do a show because I have to or because people are going to be let down or because we are going to lose loads of money. I’m like, ‘The show is not good enough.’”

Adele said that plenty of work was happening behind the scenes to bring the show to the stage, but that she felt like constantly updating fans would only lead to further disappointment.

“Maybe my silence has been deadly. I don’t know,” she said. “But it was horrible and the reaction was brutal. I was a shell of a person for a couple of months.”

Amazon Music logo

Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music

Sign up now for a 4 month free trial (3 months for non-Prime members)

Sign up
Amazon Music logo

Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music

Sign up now for a 4 month free trial (3 months for non-Prime members)

Sign up

Elsewhere in the interview, Adele discussed her musical roots and writing her first single “Hometown Glory” after a “profound” experience at a protest against the Iraq War.

On Friday (1 July), Adele played her first public show in five years as part of BST Hyde Park’s summer series.

You can read The Independent’s four-star review of the gig here.

Desert Island Discs airs Sunday 3 July at 11.15am on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in