After cancelling her Las Vegas residency with just one day’s notice in January, Adele is finally starting her much-anticipated set of concerts this weekend.
Weekends with Adele will stretch over five months at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, a venue that has previously hosted residencies from Celine Dion, Cher, Madonna and Elton John. It boasts a capacity of over 4,000.
The 34-year-old has said that those attending will see “the absolute best” of her after she made the “horrible” decision to cancel the previous residency. Access to tickets was prioritised for those who had previously purchased for the original dates.
“There was just no soul in it,” she said about the canned shows in an interview with Elle magazine. “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. It was the worst moment in my career by far.”
The singer says that the new residency will allow her the chance to tell the story of her career on stage. “I’m not gonna give too much away about it, but the show grows,” she said. “It’s all about the music, and it’s really, really nostalgic. It’s gonna be so beautiful.”
Tickets have sold out via Ticketmaster but on some reseller sites they have been going for as much as $45,000.
Reports suggest that the venue has installed a special system, with an estimated cost of £400,000 that will guarantee the best possible air in order to protect the singer’s voice. Adele has had problems over the years with her vocal cords and in 2011 suffered a vocal cord haemorrhage while performing live on the radio. She later underwent surgery.
The singer, who has reportedly been rehearsing for 12 hours a day in preparation, recently said that after the residency is over in March, she will take a break from music to gain an online degree in English literature. “I definitely think I use my passion for English lit in what I do,” she said. “I wish I’d gone to university and had that experience, but I will do it online with a tutor.”
This week saw Adele receive seven Grammy nominations, including record and album of the year where she will face competition from Beyoncé and Harry Styles. The singer has already won 15 Grammys to date. At last week’s MTV VMAs, Stormzy confirmed that he would be one of Adele’s celebrity friends to be in the audience over the coming months. “I think everyone just knows that the woman they see is as remarkable in real life as when the cameras are rolling,” he said.
The residency kicks off what’s set to be a banner year for major stars performing live, with tours confirmed from Taylor Swift and Beyoncé and rumours also suggesting that Rihanna will follow.
