When Adele emerged from the shadows and said Hello to a new album, expectations were predictably high. Since the release of 25, Adele has been on a mission to trash every record in the industry, starting off with the fastest selling record in history. Case in point, she outsold Coldplay‘s new album by three to one in her third week on the charts, making it Coldplay’s only album not to debut at number one.
When she isn’t one-upping her contemporaries, she is also promoting her new album – not that it needs it. Now, her special Adele: Live in New York City has been made available online (to US audiences only, or those with a VPN). The performance is her first full concert in four years.
She kicks off the performance with her current single Hello, before cycling through some of her old hits such as Rolling in the Deep, Someone Like You and Set Fire to the Rain. She also glided through some of her new material, including her rumoured next single When We Were Young, which evoked a spontaneous standing ovation and tears from Adele. She also debuted All I Ask for the first time live, a Billy Joel-inspired tune co-written by Bruno Mars.
For most of the performance, a considerable orchestra and a host of backup singers bolstered her, although she proved once more that her voice alone is enough to fill a stadium. Yet she confided in the audience that even she still gets nervous.
“I’m so nervous,” she said. “I was trying to find the nearest exit before I came down, trying to leg it down.”
As always, it wouldn’t be an Adele performance without a cackle or two and a few choice swear words.
“It’s fucking hard to sing,” she said of her 25 tracks All I Ask and Hello.
Somehow Adele, I don’t think anyone noticed.