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Adele says her original Las Vegas show had ‘no soul’

The singer cancelled her first run of dates in Vegas earlier this year

By Nick Reilly

Adele poses for Rolling Stone UK (Picture: Lawrence Jones/First Light Media/Rolling Stone UK)
(Photo: Lawrence Jones/First Light Media/Rolling Stone UK)

Adele has discussed the problems that infamously dogged her initial plans for a Las Vegas residency show, explaining she postponed it because it had “no soul”.

The music icon was set to begin a run of dates at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in January this year, with the shows taking place through to April. She postponed the gigs only a day before the opening night, telling fans in an emotional video that the show wasn’t ready.

Speaking to ELLE in a new interview, Adele said of the problems: “It was the worst moment in my career, by far. By far. I was so excited about those shows. It was devastating.”

The dates have since been rescheduled, while eight additional dates have been added to an initial run of 24.

Opening up on the problems with the show, she added: “There was just no soul in it. The stage setup wasn’t right. It was very disconnected from me and my band, and it lacked intimacy. And maybe I tried too hard to give it those things in such a controlled environment.”

She went on to describe the cancellation as “the worst moment of my career so far” and discussed the public fall out of it in the months after the announcement.

“The first couple of months was really, really hard. I was embarrassed. But it actually made my confidence in myself grow, because it was a very brave thing to do. And I don’t think many people would have done what I did. I’m very proud of myself for standing by my artistic needs,” she said.

Announcing the rescheduled gigs, which take place across the end of 2023 and into early 2023, Adele said last month: “Words can’t explain how ecstatic I am to finally be able to announce these rescheduled shows. I truly was heartbroken to have to cancel them.

“But after what feels like an eternity of figuring out logistics for the show that I really want to deliver, and knowing it can happen, I’m more excited than ever! Now I know for some of you it was a horrible decision on my part, and I will always be sorry for that, but I promise you it was the right one.

“To be with you in such an intimate space every week has been what I’ve most been looking forward to and I’m going to give you the absolute best of me. Thank you for your patience, I love you, Adele.”