Adele says the “brutal” reaction to her decision to postpone her shows in Las Vegas made her a “one-person carcass” for months.
The singer was scheduled to perform a series of concerts from January to April this year at Caesars Palace, but they were ruled out just 24 hours before the premiere night.
The 34-year-old shared a tearful video message apologizing on social media at the time, saying her team had been “absolutely destroyed by delivery delays and COVID.”
But some fans complained that they had spent thousands to travel to Las Vegas for the shows, and the new dates for Adele’s residence have yet to be confirmed.
Appearing on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, Adele said she “definitely felt the disappointment of everyone” after her decision and that she had been “devastated”.
She told host Lauren Laverne, “I was scared to disappoint them and I thought I could put it together and make it work, and I couldn’t.
“I stick with that decision. I don’t think any other artist would have done what I did, and I think that’s why it was such a massive, massive story.
“I’m not just going to do a show because I have to do it or because people will be disappointed or because we’re going to lose a lot of money. I tell myself, ‘The show isn’t good enough.'”
He added: “But it was horrible and the reaction was brutal. I was a person’s shell for a couple of months.”
When asked how she coped with the fall of the ad, Adele said, “I just had to wait and do it. Just regret the shows and overcome the guilt. But it was brutal.”
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0:56 “I spent $ 4,000 to see Adele in Las Vegas, then canceled it”
Adele appeared on Desert Island Discs the same weekend she played two sold-out concerts as part of the British Summer Time festival in London’s Hyde Park.
She addressed her relationship with her alcoholic father, Mark Evans, from whom she was estranged but with whom she reconciled shortly before her death from cancer in 2021.
She said: “When I found out I was sick a few years ago, I got the call and went straight there. It was hard, but it was definitely one of the biggest moments of my life in a good way, when I went there to go see him.
“I made peace with him when I found out he was sick. And we really got along, which was amazing, but also sad because it was so much fun.
“It’s a lot of fun and I don’t remember it when I was little. But it was really nice. We laughed, gossiped and cried. It was great for both of us.”
The singer, who has a son Angelo with her ex-husband Simon Konecki, said she wants more children with her boyfriend, American sports agent Rich Paul.
She said, “I would definitely like a couple more kids. It would be wonderful if we could. If not, I have Angelo. I just want to be happy.”
Adele’s musical options on Desert Island Discs include Dreams by Gabrielle, He Needs Me by Nina Simone and Bills, Bills, Bills by Destiny’s Child.