It’s been tough, but I’ve made an important decision.
It gives me serenity and peace of heart.
Yes, my life’s too short to include any more of Adele Atkins.
Every appearance is accompanied by a torrent of emotions. The drama, the pain, and the suffering.
After all, we’re talking about someone who sings for a living, not a brain surgeon, peace negotiator or diplomat trying to prevent the Russians invading Ukraine.
Adele has made millions from mining the trauma of her ‘journey’ from humble beginnings to millionaire single mum- but I (and many disgruntled fans) have decided to get off the bus after the latest catastrophic episode in her Saga of Sobs.
This week’s Instagram appearance saw the tortured diva make an incredible display, sobbing as she revealed that her 24-hour residency in Las Vegas wasn’t happening.
It was Kaput. Cancelled. It will be put on hold until somebody can resolve it.
Sod your plans, she’s in emotional meltdown.
JANET STEET-PORTER: Adele, the tortured diva made an incredible appearance on Instagram (pictured), sobbing as she revealed that her 24-night Las Vegas residency was not going ahead
I don’t know which was more jaw-dropping; Snivelling Adele’s feeble attempts at an apology to the camera with perfect nails on display, addressing us ordinary folk as if we were queuing for a bag of fish and chips (her actual words ‘My show ain’t ready’) – or the bare-faced cheek of coming to that decision just two days before kick-off.
Adele claims her long-awaited show ‘ain’t ready’ because half the team have covid and there’s been ‘delivery delays’ – meaning what? Her couture frocks aren’t finished? Sound equipment hasn’t arrived? Are stage sets being held up? She claims to be ‘really embarrassed’ and so she should be.
But somehow this carefully stage-managed attempt at sympathy doesn’t seem believable. Anyone might think she’s been studying footage of the Master of Non Apologies Boris Johnson.
Ms Adkins might come from a working-class background (and has carefully retaining her ‘credible’ accent), but has spent the years since finessing her performances, rebranding herself as a glamorous icon and is now a far cry from that cheeky Londoner teenager in jogging pants.
Now she’s Los Angeles-based she has the best people advising every aspect of her career – and they would have been well aware that cancelling her Caesar’s Palace show would be a PR disaster. Industry insiders claim that pre-sales has raised over $50 million.
Buckets of tears won’t repay the hundreds of thousands of dollars fans have already spent on air tickets and hotel bookings, travelling from all over the world for a ‘Weekend with Adele’.
Many Americans only discovered the terrible news after they arrived in the USA. Many have lost their honeymoons, holidays and birthdays. They are now using social media as a way to vent anger and frustration.
Some have wondered why Adele can’t do a simpler show on a basic stage – wearing one of the frocks she’s trotted out at those star-studding gigs promoting her fourth Album last year.
One fan stated that Adele should sing on a park bench.
There is a slim chance that this will happen.
Covid 20 forced Adele’s show to be abruptly canceled. Pictured: As fans went to the Box Office for refunds, signs advertising Adele’s show were plastered throughout Las Vegas.
In Adele’s world, everything has been getting bigger, brasher, more inflated and pompous – a bit like her hair.
On January 5, auditions were held in Las Vegas for backing vocalists. The singer needed 100 people to join her as she started the show. It was a James Bond tribute. They were only 60 and, presumably now, out of work.
Ticket prices for the shows reflected the fact Adele was receiving a huge fee – $685,000 (£500,000) every time she sets foot on stage.
Tickets starting at $85 were the cheapest, while those priced higher went up to $680. Some tickets sold for $30,000. Those fools must be feeling – to quote the Queen of Gush herself – ‘gutted’.
Evidently, both guests and performers will be affected by Covid’s lingering presence. Adele’s audience were asked to provide proof of vaccination and a negative test within 48 hours of a show. Rapid testing sites had been set up around the venue, the Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace.
Clark County has 37% positives, Caesars Palace is 18.95%, and New York is just 37%. However, other artists who are much older have demonstrated far greater resilience to Omicron than Adele.
Elton John (74) is an incredible survivor. He resumed the Yellow Brick Road tour this week in New Orleans after hip surgery in 2021. Covid didn’t stop the Rocket Man. Hugh Jackman, 53 (who tested positive for Covid December 28th), was back in Broadway’s The Music Man on January 6th.
Professionals understand that performing artists and their fans are a special bond.
Somehow this carefully stage-managed attempt at sympathy doesn’t seem believable. Anyone might think she’s been studying footage of the Master of Non Apologies Boris Johnson, writes JANET STREET-PORTER
Adele is plagued with fears and anxiety that some might find threatening. She told the world she was ‘devastated’ by her divorce, even though husband Simon lives on the other side of the street from her in Los Angeles and they have remained friends.
Oprah gave her an interview last November for 30 to promote the album, which explored the horrors of a broken marriage. She gushed her thanks to the host for allowing her to ‘tell my truth lovingly in a safe space’. What is this rubbish about ‘safe spaces’?
She’s been on a journey from wealthy woman to incredibly rich and self-obsessed global star. That doesn’t grant you the right to treat fans so appallingly, hoping that a snivelling apology will soften the blow.
Today, I spoke with Keala, a true survivor, and she co-starred in The Greatest Showman alongside Hugh Jackman.
Keala found out that she’d suffered a stroke just eight days prior to performing at the Oscars in 2018.
After being fitted in the hospital for her gown, she was able to perform an amazing performance.
She had to undergo 10 hours of brain surgery and extensive rehabilitation. Her recovery was excellent. She’s toured with Hugh Jackman and is about to open in the musical ‘& Juliet’ in London’s West End.
Keala’s motto is The Show Must Go On.
Adele, who had to wait four years for two of the 2017 shows that she was cancelling to be rescheduled in 2017, is of poorer material.
She’s got all the staying power of a soggy tissue.