Adele said her Las Vegas residency show was “perfect” and “looked just like how I imagined” as she kicked off the first night of her postponed run. The singer became emotional as she thanked fans for “coming back to me” as she opened the show at The Colosseum venue at the Caesars Palace hotel.
She received a standing ovation as she took to the stage, but told fans that she ought to be the one giving them one instead. “Thank you so much for coming back to me,” she told them. “It looks just like I imagined it would, it’s just perfect, thank you.”
In her typically jokey manner, Adele continued: “I don’t get to go off stage for about 50 minutes so I’m going to have (a) s****y face of streaked makeup for the whole first part of the show. I’m so nervous and I’m so scared and I’m so happy.”
She added that the show “started small” before launching into her first song of the evening, a rendition of her 2015 number one single Hello, after which she received another standing ovation. Throughout the evening Adele delivered a selection of powerful and emotional hits which spanned her four studio albums, accompanying most with spectacular visuals.
Songs from her latest Brit award-winning album 30 included Easy On Me, I Drink Wine, Oh My God, and Cry Your Heart Out. Fans were also delighted to a rendition of her Oscar-winning James Bond theme, Skyfall, with visual effects showing the singer set against fiery backgrounds.
Rapper Stormzy was pictured in the audience alongside Adele’s partner Rich Paul. Adele also thanked Caesars Palace for the support she had been shown following the show’s postponement, saying she was “honoured” to be performing at the venue.
“I’d really like to thank Caesars because there has been a lot of s**t written about me since I cancelled my shows,” she said. “I tell you 90% of it is absolutely completely made up, there’s been rumours that I’m moving hotels and I’m moving theatres and all this and never once did they ask (me) any questions.”
“They have been amazing, so thank you so much for having me, Caesars. I’m so honoured to be here.”
Thousands of fans, who had travelled from across the world for the show, said Adele had “exceeded every expectation” with the show. Some had described having “butterflies” and not wanting to set their expectations too high in case of a second disappointment, but said the show was “a dream”.
The singer announced the last-minute postponement on Instagram earlier this year, telling fans in a tearful message that the show was “not ready”. But fans despite the lengthy wait to see her perform, fans said the show was “well thought out” and “the way (Adele) wanted it.”
BeJaxx, 38, a performer from Nashville, Tennessee, told PA: “I was just so happy for her that it finally came together the way she wanted it, she gave us the show she wanted to give. For me I was just happy to see her happy and satisfied…she could have given me sweats and a keyboard, not even a real piano, and I would have been happy.
On Thursday night, Adele shared an Instagram post online, in which she said she had “never been more nervous before a show in my career” but could not sit still with excitement. “It’s safe to say I’ve never been more nervous before a show in my career, but at the same time I wish today was tomorrow! I can’t wait to see you out there x.”
Fans waiting for the show described being “triggered” by another last minute post from the singer, before realising that her message had been a positive one. Amy Jaron, 23, from Los Angeles, California, told PA: “It doesn’t feel real, it’s finally here and it feels like forever ago that we were here.
“We met so many people so it was a great thing to happen out of a sad thing that happened…we’re happy to be reunited.”
Rafael Faci, a 23-year-old medical student from Brazil, who had been in Las Vegas in January when he learned of Adele’s postponement, said he could "die happy" after finally getting to see the star live.
Adele’s run at Caesars Palace had originally been due to begin at the Colosseum on January 21 2022, running until April 16. Adele later declared she had “the best fans in the world” and thanked them after receiving waves of support for her decision to postpone.
Her new run is scheduled to take place from November 18 and run to March 25, with the 24 rescheduled shows as well as eight extra dates.
