Event: Hyde Park Concert
Location: Hyde Park, LondonHyde Park, London
People: Adele#Tom Cruise
She may come wreathed in the glamor of Hollywood, but her patter is homegrown – and her vocal artistry With few peers she may be basking in the glamor of Hollywood, but her rhythms are homegrown - and her vocal artistry has few rivals.
Adele's first line, "Hello, it's me, I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet," carries extra weight tonight. It's five years to the day since the singer canceled two Wembley Stadium shows due to damaged vocal cords and retreated from the public eye. This is her first full public concert anywhere in the world since then, so she takes nothing for granted. When 65,000 people sing the chorus to Someone Like You, there is a distinct possibility that she will melt down to a puddle of tears. "You sounded bloody lovely," she says.
Tonight, Adele 's first words - "Hello, it's me and I was wondering if you would like to see me again after all these years." Carrying too much. It's been five years since the singer canceled two Wembley performances and withdrew from the public eye due to damage to her vocal cords. It was her first full public concert anywhere in the world since then, so she took nothing for granted. When 65,000 sing "someone like you," she'll likely melt into a puddle of tears. "You sound absolutely lovely," she said.
Adele remains a unique proposition: a torch singer who specializes in ballads about shredded hearts (“I don't have many uptempo bangers”) yet chats away between them like a beloved family friend who always brings wine. You might imagine that five more years in Los Angeles and a swerve towards old Hollywood glamour had changed her to some extent. At the start of the show everything looks gold, her hair and jewelery chiming with the stage décor and the evening sunlight. But as soon as she starts talking it's as if she never left Tottenham. She natters about Billie Eilish, Stranger Things, sciatica and forgetting lyrics, offers to buy one 18-year-old fan a birthday drink and swears with jolly gusto. "My son's here tonight," she says, " so cover your ears, baby."
Adele remains a unique talking point: a torch singer who excels at singing ballads about heartbreak ("I don't have a lot of up-tempo songs "), but between them But chatted like a beloved family friend, always with wine. You might imagine that five more years in Los Angeles, turning to the glamor of old Hollywood, changed her in some ways. At the beginning of the show, everything looked golden, her hair and jewelry matching the stage decorations and the evening sun. But once she started talking, it was as if she had never left Tottenham. She babbles about Billie Eilish, Stranger Things, sciatica and forgotten lyrics, offers to buy an 18-year-old fan a birthday drink, and gleefully swears ."My son is here tonight," she said, "so cover your ears, baby."
Compared to Adele's last tour, this production has more class than flash. towards the end, the classic troika of confetti, flames and fireworks, but most of the time the primary visual spectacle is Adele's face. Her records give no hint as to how much fun she has on stage. There are moments when she rolls her eyes or sticks out her tongue like a tipsy fan rather than a performer, finding pockets of hilarity in songs that would seem to offer none. She talks about playing “a good old set” and calls Send My Love (To Your New Lover) “a little jig”.
Compared to Adele’s last tour, this production is of a much higher standard. There are simple yet effective visual patterns on the HD screen, culminating in the classic troika of confetti, flames and fireworks, but most of the time the main visual spectacle is Adele's face. Although she doesn't appear to be enjoying herself on stage as much, at times she looks more like a drunken fan than a performer, rolling her eyes or sticking out her tongue or comically rummaging in her pockets while singing as if to find something for the audience. of. She said she wanted to give "a touch of nostalgia" and called Send My Love (To Your New Lover) like "a little clip."
All this informality and self-deprecation means that her vocal artistry sometimes hits like an ambush: the barnstorming roar of Rolling in the Deep, the Bond melodrama of Skyfall, the perfectly controlled tenderness of Make You Feel My Love. One minute she is tucking her microphone into her cleavage and firing T-shirts into the audience; the next she is waist-deep in her divorce on Easy on Me. Fans may be used to this unusual dichotomy by now – imagine if Aretha Franklin had been a regular on EastEnders – but it takes an exceptional combination of charm and talent to pull it off.
Her uninhibited and self-deprecating seems to be telling that her sound art has been hit by an ambush: a barn roar-like Rolling in the Deep, Skyfall is like a Bond plot movie, and Make You Feel My Love is like a perfectly controlled tenderness. One second, she stuffed the microphone into her cleavage (I dare not translate this literally for fear of failing the review) and threw T-shirts to the audience; the next second, she sang "Easy on Me" to express her divorce history affectionately. . Fans may be used to her unusual brilliance by now - imagine if Aretha Franklin had been a regular on EastEnders - but it would take a combination of charisma and talent to achieve .
For two hours a spirit of giddy celebration sweeps across Hyde Park. Somewhere in the crowd, one woman alternates between shuddering with sobs and wielding a wine bottle as if it were a microphone. That right there is the Adele experience. , a dizzying spirit of celebration swept Hyde Park. Somewhere in the crowd, a woman alternately sobbed and shook, waving a bottle as if it were a microphone. That's Adele.
PS: Tom Cruise and Luke Evans also came to the Hyde Park concert
