Adele postponed her Las Vegas residency because she was unhappy with the production, according to multiple reports.
Last Thursday – the eve of the launch of Weekends with Adele – the English singer tearfully told fans in a video message she shared on social media that she was “gutted” by the delay.
“I’m so sorry but my show ain’t ready,” said Adele. “We’ve tried absolutely everything we can to put it together in time and for it to be good enough for you but we’ve been absolutely destroyed by delivery delays and COVID. Half my crew, half my team are down with COVID.”
But, TMZ reported Tuesday that the residency was halted because, according to its sources, “Adele was unhappy with various set pieces, a choir, the sound system and other items associated with the show.” The website claimed the singer “felt numerous elements ‘were not good enough.’”
The TMZ story follows one in The Sun on Monday that claimed Adele had “a furious rant over a swimming pool stunt” in the show. It reported that the singer “was supposed to stand in the middle of one while belting out her hits — but likened the final design to an ‘old pond’ and refused.
“The intention was to fill it with water on the set as she was lifted up on a crane-type mechanism, creating the illusion she was floating on water.”
On Saturday, the Daily Mail reported that Adele pulled the plug because “the ‘anxious’ popstar’s ‘stage fright’ got the better of her” and she favoured a “low-key” show focused on her voice instead of an elaborate Vegas production.
The UK newspaper quoted an unnamed source as saying: “Nobody cancels the day before. You have more than 24 hours’ notice of Covid problems. I hear that Adele never wanted to do the Vegas shows in the first place.
“I very much doubt that they will be rescheduled; I don't think she’s up to performing at this level for this amount of dates … She suffers really badly from stage fright, she hates being on the stage. For her to commit to going on stage every weekend for three months is madness.”
Shortly after Adele’s announcement, Showbiz 411 blogger Roger Friedman cast doubt on the singer’s public explanation.
“‘We ain’t ready’ at the last minute doesn’t hold water. This isn’t the Rolling Stones stage show. Adele live is her, an orchestra and some lighting. She’s not sailing across the theater in a hook up, there are no pyrotechnics. so…
“Plus, let’s face it…this is only two shows per weekend. If the show weren’t ready it could be postponed a couple of weeks, and the missed shows could have been rescheduled at the end of the run. But they’ve scrapped the whole thing…so it’s not just a matter of not being ready.”
Neither Adele nor her reps have commented on the reports or responded to inquiries about when the residency might be rescheduled.
In a statement, Caesars Palace said: “Adele is an incredible artist, supremely dedicated to her music and her fans. Creating a show of this magnitude is incredibly complex. We fully support Adele and are confident the show she unveils at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace will be extraordinary.”