Ever since Adele abruptly canceled her Las Vegas residency show on the eve of its premiere, a sea of reasons have been reported as to what was really behind the 11th-hour axing.
The Sun claims one of the singer's biggest sticking points centered over a swimming pool set during "Easy On Me."
"When she saw the finished design, she refused to take part," a source told the British outlet. "Adele described the pool as a 'baggy old pond' and refused, point blank, to stand in the middle of it. The intention was to fill it with water on the set as she was lifted up on a crane-type mechanism, creating the illusion she was floating on water."
Adele's months-long residency at Caesars Palace was scheduled to start on Jan. 21, but she pulled the plug on it one day before the curtain was set to rise. At the time, she blamed it on COVID breakouts and delivery delays. Shortly after, multiple reports claimed there was more to it. Over the weekend, Page Six reported that Adele was having arguments with her set designer, Esmeralda Devlin.
"In spite of the set costing millions to put together, Adele was unhappy with the result, and she made her feelings very clear to Es," an insider said. "She [Adele] was already nervous and the falling out sent her spiraling into a panic because she was desperate that everything should be perfect."
The Daily Mail alleged that the Caesars team wanted the singer to perform "Skyfall" with a 60-person choir and claimed that Adele's "stage fright" got the better of her. Adele supposedly wanted things to be more "low-key" and "all about the voice." Naysayers are scoffing at that notion, arguing that she could just sit on a stool and sing if that were the case.
One industry source even cast doubt that Adele would make up the canceled dates.
"Nobody cancels the day before. You have more than 24 hours' notice of COVID problems. I hear that Adele never wanted to do the Vegas shows in the first place," the Daily Mail's source said. "I very much doubt that they will be rescheduled; I don't think she's up to performing at this level for this amount of dates… She is a recording artist and not a performer and she should never have agreed to these shows in the first place."
Adele has acknowledged many times that she suffers from stage fright. "She hates being on the stage. For her to commit to going on stage every weekend for three months is madness," the source said. "The point was always going to come when she would decide she wasn't going to do it."