More details are emerging behind Adele’s derailed Las Vegas residency.
A day before she was set to kick off her “Weekends With Adele” concerts at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, the “Easy on Me” singer tearfully announced that her show wasn’t ready and would have to be postponed.
There are reports that Adele was unhappy with the production and felt several elements “were not good enough.” Adele and her team supposedly wanted to tear out the sound system in the theater and install a new high-tech video screen. She also allegedly clashed with Caesars management over plans for a 60-member choir to accompany her on “Skyfall.”
According to The Sun, there were “explosive arguments” with set designer Esmeralda Devlin over an onstage water feature.
“When she saw the finished design, she refused to take part,” said a source. “Adele described the pool as a ‘baggy old pond’ and refused, point blank, to stand in the middle of it. 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.”
Sources tell Page Six that Adele was “shouting and sobbing” on the phone to her boyfriend, sports agent Rich Paul, during rehearsals.
“Adele’s been crying and couldn’t get through a single full rehearsal for the past month,” said a source connected to Caesars. “Just constantly on the phone with Rich … loudly shouting and sobbing. She has barely rehearsed because she is constantly in the middle of an emotional shootout.”
Adele promised fans that the shows would be rescheduled, but there is concern that they could be canceled for good. “There are rumblings that there are stresses related to Adele’s relationship,” said Casino.org reporter Scott Roeben. “I’m told that these stresses caused her to be in a place where she was just not confident moving forward. You can’t focus if you’re not where you need to be in your head.”
The three-month residency was set to begin Jan. 21 and run through April 16. Tickets for the 24 shows sold out minutes after they went on sale last month. Adele attributed the postponement to COVID-related issues.
“I’m so sorry, but my show ain’t ready,” she told fans in an emotional video last Thursday. “We’ve tried absolutely everything that 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. It’s been impossible to finish the show.”