Ten times we fell in love with Adele

Publish Date
Wednesday, 22 March 2017, 1:20PM
Photo / Instagram

Photo / Instagram

While Adele may be famous for her powerhouse voice and a back catalogue of incredibly popular songs, she's also well-known for her sense of humour.

With a potty mouth and an infectious cackle, the British singer has proven to be fond of elaborate pranks, delivering a few home truths in the middle of a show – and having a laugh at her own expense.

As she gets ready to open her run of Auckland shows tomorrow night, we look back at 10 times Adele made us love her all the more.

1. That time she accidentally flashed a bunch of strangers

Before she became a mum to her son Angelo, Adele admitted to enjoying a drink. Although she wasn't always so keen on the morning after, according to a hilarious story she told Graham Norton on his eponymous show back in 2011.

"I'd had a really embarrassing encounter with someone when I woke up," she told the host and his audience of the incident. "So I left the house to go and get some milk."

However, the singer left in such a hurry, she failed to put anything on underneath the kaftan she was wearing – which was an unfortunate decision when a gust of wind blew the dress up around her neck in front of a bus-stop full of people.

"They didn't know it was me. But they will now," she laughed.

(Adele's story about being buck naked in front of a group of strangers begins at the 4:30 mark in the video below - although the whole interview is a hoot.)

2. That time she ruled Carpool Karaoke

Did you happen to see Adele's Carpool Karaoke segment on The Late Late Show with James Corden?

Of course you did. It was YouTube's top trending video of 2016.

But it wasn't just the songs she effortlessly belted out while Corden drove her around (including a Nicki Minaj rap and a rendition of the Spice Girls' Wannabe) that impressed us. Her easy manner and highly entertaining regaling of stories between songs endeared her even further to fans.

3. That time she pranked her own impersonators

Adele proved herself a good sport once again when she teamed up with Graham Norton to prank a group of Adele impersonators for a BBC special.

Complete with a prosthetic nose, a prosthetic chin (to hide her self-described "bum chin"), long gloves (to hide her tattoos) and an affected British accent (to hide her distinctive voice), she joined a group of singers auditioning to be her impersonator.

Posing as a nanny named Jenny, Adele fooled the singers around her as they each took a turn to sing on stage. Taking to the stage last, 'Jenny' pretended to miss her cue due to nerves and asked to start again.

But when she did start singing, it didn't take too long for the penny to drop amongst the impersonators watching. (Some would argue the true star of this video is the one impersonator who was adamant it wasn’t really Adele.)

4. That time she photobombed a bunch of fans

Adele and Graham Norton are quite the tricksy pair, having also teamed up to play a wee prank on unsuspecting fans during another TV special, this time for BBC America.

Fans were given the opportunity to pose with the Academy Award Adele won for her song in Skyfall, not realising the singer and Norton were photobombing their pictures with a variety of props.

They were soon let in on the gag, as Adele tapped them on the shoulder with a signature "Hello, it’s me."

Cue priceless reactions.

5. That time she teamed up with prankster Ellen DeGeneres

Nobody is safe from a classic Adele prank – not even the employees of a humble Jamba Juice stand.

With talk show host Ellen DeGeneres feeding her instructions via an earpiece, Adele befuddled the stand's very earnest staff with bizarre requests ("I'll take a large size juice. But in a small cup."), cutting and eating a bunch of wheatgrass, and swigging from a liquor bottle. ("I haven’t had a drink in hours," she told the stunned employees.)

How did Adele manage to keep a straight face while acting out DeGeneres' ever-wackier orders? We'll never know.

6. That time she shrugged off a live performance disaster

Even Adele has a bad day at the office sometimes.

Appearing at last year's Grammy Awards soon after the release of her latest album, 25, anticipation was at a fever pitch for her big comeback performance. But it all went a bit wrong.

As she began singing All I Ask, a microphone in the accompanying piano dropped on to its strings, causing audio glitches and an uncharacteristically flat performance.

But Adele was philosophical afterwards, tweeting that "sh*t happens". She also said it was a good excuse for a burger.

Consoling herself with a burger? She's a woman after our own heart!

7. That time she halted her George Michael tribute

Issues plagued Adele's performance again at this year's Grammy Awards – but this time she wasn't having it.

Singing a tribute to the late George Michael, she halted the performance soon after it began.

"I know it's live TV, I'm sorry. I need to start again. I f**ked up," she told the audience.

"I can't do it again like last year. I'm sorry for swearing and sorry for starting again. Can we please start it again? I'm sorry, I can't mess this up for him. I'm sorry."

She did start again. And it was beautiful.

8. That time she flipped the bird at The Brits

Adele also ruffled a few award show feathers back in 2012 when she won the biggest award of the night at The Brits.

Upon being given the award for Best British Album (presented by her idol George Michael, no less) Adele was approximately 20 seconds into her acceptance speech when awards host James Corden interrupted her, so as to introduce the final act of the night.

"Are you about to cut me off?” she asked Corden. "Can I just say then, goodbye and I'll see you next time round."

The statement was accompanied by a good old-fashioned flipping of the bird at the crowd.

Adele later reportedly said the gesture was directed at "the suits" running the Brits.

"I was about to thank the British public for their support. They cut me off, sorry if I offended anyone, but the suits offended me."

9. That time she stood up for new mums

Adele's become famous for the banter she comes out with during her shows, however, she’s also not averse to using her immense platform to discuss issues near and dear to her heart.

During a show last year, she made her thoughts about the pressure put on new mothers loud and clear.

"You know what, the pressure on us is f**king ridiculous," she said.

"Breastfeed if you can," she told the assembled crowd. "But don’t worry, [formula's] just as good. I mean, I loved it, all I wanted to do was breastfeed and then I couldn’t and then I felt like, 'If I was in the jungle now back in the day, my kid would be dead because my milk’s gone.'"

A post shared by Adele (@adele) on

10. That time she defended our right to dance

Don't you just hate those people who ask you to sit down when you're dancing at a concert?

Yeah, so does Adele.

During her last show in Australia over the weekend, the singer took a break from belting out tunes to deal with an overzealous security guard.

"Just before we go to the next song ... Excuse me, sir? Could you stop telling people to sit down?" she said.

"If you don't like dancing, don't come to a f***ing music show."

Preach!

This article was first published on Spy and is republished here with permission.

 

 

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