British superstar Adele was due to open her highly anticipated month-long Las Vegas residency tonight, but a tearful appearance on her Instagram last night saw her postpone the concerts less than 24 hours before the first show.
In what is a disaster of epic proportions for the Londoner, she told her near-50m followers: “I’m so sorry, but my show ain’t ready. 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.
“Half my team have Covid,” she continued, adding that “it’s been impossible to finish the show. I can’t give you what you want right now and I’m gutted.”
The first show out of 24 at the Caesars Palace’s Colosseum was scheduled for this evening, with fans reportedly paying between $85 (£60) and $5000 (£3684) for platinum package tickets. Adele was estimated to pocket more than $685,000 (£500,000) per performance before merchandising – what would have been a Vegas record.
The Weekends With Adele series would have had her perform two shows every weekend until April in what would have been her first live performance in five years. The singer from Tottenham had to cancel the final two shows of her previous tour at Wembley Stadium in 2017 after damaging her vocal cords.
“I’m sorry, it’s last minute,” she said, holding back the tears. “I’m so upset and I’m really embarrassed and I’m so sorry to everyone that’s travelled again.
“We’re going to reschedule all the dates, we’re on it right now. And I’m going to finish my show. I want to get it to where it’s supposed to be but we’ve been up against so much and it just ain’t ready.”
Some fellow artists and fans have praised her message in the comments section and empathised with what must have been a very difficult decision.
BBC Radio 1 DJ Greg James said: “‘Trust the process, go with your gut, it’s also Friday, so it’s the weekend! Cheer up! Wayyy ayyyy!’ – Adele’s own advice when she was on the radio with me a few months ago.”
But others have expressed their frustration over the timing of the announcement, with many already in transit on their way to Vegas, spending hundreds of dollars on flights and hotels.
One person tweeted: “cancellations are written into her setlist… Wembley, now Vegas. What about Hyde Park? Putting a show like this on in a pandemic and without a plan B wasn’t strategic.”
A British fan named David said: “Christmas gift gone pear-shaped as my wife and daughter are on the way to meet me in Vegas and unfortunately Adele has had to cancel.”
It comes as a huge blow to the singer-songwriter who was riding a wave of success after the release of her critically acclaimed fourth studio album 30. The residency is now expected to happen some time in April.
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