Adele Claims Delays Made Postponed Vegas Residency Look ‘Really Half-Assed’

Adele didn’t exactly go easy on her fans when she postponed her Las Vegas residency last month, but the chart-topping singer is sharing more information behind the abrupt cancellation — and she’s even offered ticket holders a bit of hope, saying the shows will still take place “this year.”

In an appearance on The Graham Norton Show Friday, Adele explained “lots of delays” and limited “manpower” led to the difficult decision to postpone her hotly anticipated run of shows at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, explaining that she did not want to deliver a subpar performance to fans.

I tried my hardest,” she said. “It just would have been a really half-assed show, and I can’t do that. People will see straight through me, up on stage being like, ‘She doesn’t want to be doing this.’ And, I’ve never done anything like that in my life. I’m not going to start now, you know? I’m obviously gutted.”

Adele announced the postponement of the shows in an emotional video posted to social media on Jan. 20 — just one day before opening night. The residency, titled “Weekends With Adele,” was scheduled to run through April.

“Listen, 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,” she said in the video. “Half my crew, half my team are down with Covid — they still are, and it’s been impossible to finish the show, and I can’t give you what I have right now and I’m gutted.”

Fans, many of whom had traveled from out of town for the event, took to social media to share their disappointment in the news — prompting the “Easy On Me” singer to personally contact several lucky super stans for FaceTime conversations that quickly went viral.

When asked by Norton why she couldn’t simply downsize her expectations for the Vegas residency, Adele playfully pushed back. “I’m not going to try do a stadium show in a theatre — but it’s Vegas,” she said. “It can’t just be me on my fucking guitar.”

Still, the singer said isn’t planning on keep fans on the hook for long, insisting that the residency is “100% happening.”

“I’m not going to announce a new set of dates until I know that everything will definitely be ready,” she said, before confirming that the shows are still scheduled for “this year” — before possibly dropping a hint about what the future has in store for Adele post-30.

“I have plans next year!” she laughed. “Imagine if I have to cancel shows because I’m having a baby?”