Adele reveals the ‘worst moment’ of her career and reflects on singer Sia slamming her ‘lazy’ lyrics

Adele has admitted that canceling her Las Vegas residency was the “worst moment” of her career, before sharing another defining moment featuring fellow musical superstar, Sia. 

The 34-year-old spoke candidly about the controversial postponement of her concert series last spring in a new interview with Elle magazine, calling the experience of disappointing her fans at the last minute ‘devastating’. 

‘Weekends with Adele’ was scrapped 24 hours before opening night was due to kick off at the Colosseum in Caesars Palace Hotel on January 21, much to the outrage of the event’s ticketholders. Adele took to Twitter at the time to tearfully break the news, confessing that her highly-anticipated show wasn’t ready because of delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The concerts have since been rescheduled, with the new dates slated to take place at the same venue between November 18 and March 25. Eight new shows have also been added to Adele’s Vegas residency, bringing the total number of performances to an impressive 32. 

Despite apologizing profusely for the inconvenience, the Easy on Me singer has received heavy backlash from the public for the cancellation. Many ticketholders have complained that they’ve been unable to secure refunds for their Las Vegas flights and accommodations, with some even claiming that Adele’s axed shows have left them thousands of dollars out-of-pocket. 

“It was the worst moment in my career by far,” Adele told Elle. “I was so excited about those shows. It was devastating.” 

The Grammy-winner went on to share the real reason behind the cancellation of Weekends with Adele, which would have marked her return to live performances after a six-year-long hiatus. 

“There was just no soul in it,” she said. “The stage setup wasn’t right. It was very disconnected from me and my band, and it lacked intimacy. And maybe I tried too hard to give it those things in such a controlled environment.” The reflection comes a few months after it was reported that Adele couldn't do a 'stripped back' show for her Las Vegas residency because of her status as a global superstar. 

Despite feeling ‘embarrassed’ by the ordeal, Adele stands by her decision to push back the residency. 

“The first couple of months were really, really hard," she said. "But it actually made my self-confidence grow, because it was a very brave thing to do. And I don’t think many people would have done what I did." 

Adele also spoke about being criticized by Sia in the recording studio during the creation of 19, her first album. The Australian musician wasn't too happy with the Tottenham native's preference for short, linking words – and she wasn't afraid to let her know. 

"One time, I was in the studio with Sia, and I kept being, like, ’cuz’ or ‘but’ and ‘and,’ and she was like, ‘We don’t do those words. We don’t do those words, we don’t use words like that. It’s just, like, lazy,'" she recalled, "But clearly I’m lazy."