Did Adele’s ‘diva’ requests lead to the collapse of Las Vegas shows? Rumours that her team were ‘a total nightmare’ abound over the singer’s postponed Caesars Palace gigs, writes ALISON BOSHOFF
- Sources say Adele’s team were a ‘total nightmare’ to work with in preparations
- Adele’s team reportedly asked for the venue to replace its house equipment
- Demands ‘drove up production costs’ and caused the venue logistical issues
- ‘Friction’ also emerging between Adele and long-serving manager, says source
She left thousands of fans bitterly disappointed after pulling out of a series of concerts in Las Vegas.
Adele even addressed many of them directly on tearful FaceTime calls after the last-minute decision.
But, according to reports, it seems the singer is far from blameless in the collapse of the Caesars Palace shows with just 24 hours’ notice.
Sources in Las Vegas say that her team were a ‘total nightmare’ during preparations for her three-month residency.
And they claim there is now ‘friction’ between the 33-year-old and her management team, which is ‘adding to the stress level’.
Adele’s team were reportedly a ‘total nightmare’ to work with during preparations for the Las Vegas shows, possibly contributing to their last-minute collapse
Extraordinarily, it is said that Adele and her team insisted on replacing the state-of-the art sound system at the venue’s Colosseum theatre with their own and also demanded that they install an entirely new video system.
The existing system was considered good enough by previous acts such as Madonna, Mariah Carey and Celine Dion – none of whom is known for being easy-going.
Vegas journalist Scott Roeben, who broke the story of her residency, said: ‘Apparently, Adele and her team refused to use the house equipment in The Colosseum.
‘The theatre has a massive video screen, very high tech, but Adele’s team insisted upon an entirely new system – a larger screen, essentially built a few inches in front of the existing screen.
‘Such demands not only drive up production costs but, at a time when supplies are disrupted, it’s a recipe for disaster – in this case last-minute delays or cancellations.
‘I also hear from a source that Caesars had to replace the cutting edge Meyer sound system and replace it with a different system for her.’
Roeben, who writes for the news site casino.org, added: ‘It’s being shared from those familiar with the situation that Caesars Palace was ‘100 per cent ready for her’, so there are other forces at work here.
‘Unfortunately, it sounds like one of those factors is a diva.’
Adele and her team are now discussing rescheduling her ‘Weekends with’ residency, although many are mystified as to why she cannot simply delay by a few weeks to resolve the issues – and use the equipment at Caesars Palace to begin with.
The star is known for being a perfectionist who has previously cancelled live performances.
Recurring vocal strains and stage fright are all being cited as background to her emotional statement on Thursday night.
In a tearful video posted on social media, she blamed the last-minute postponement on ‘half her crew’ being off work with Covid and on ‘delivery’ issues.
Disputes between Adele’s production team and Caesars Palace reportedly included demands that the venue’s house equipment be replaced – including the state-of-the-art sound system and a massive video screen
Some believe that, given the venue’s programme of events, it is possible that she won’t perform until 2023.
There is also speculation that, despite tickets selling out and the prospect of riches, it may never happen.
It’s all a headache for her British manager Jonathan Dickins, who snapped her up as an unsigned teenager who appeared on social media and has been at her side throughout.
He put her together with a writer for her debut single Chasing Pavements and has steered her to global superstardom, including during her world tour in 2016 and 2017.
He was paid £10million in 2020.
There has been speculation that Adele might prefer to have her boyfriend Rich Paul, who is a sports agent, in the driving seat.
He was in Vegas with her as she rehearsed for the shows, which were to net her £500,000 a night.
Sources close to the singer previously denied that Dickins was on the way out.
Just to make matters more awkward, his sister Lucy is her agent.
This weekend it was also claimed the star had clashed with her acclaimed set designer Esmeralda Devlin.
Briton Miss Devlin previously worked with Adele on her world tour but a source told The Sun: ‘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.
‘She was already nervous and the falling-out sent her spiralling into a panic because she was desperate that everything should be perfect.’
Another source said: ‘There was no real clarity around what Adele wanted for the show because of the endless changes being made to the production.
It seemed that while she has always preferred a stripped-back performance, she was under some pressure to come up with a huge extravaganza.
‘So there was a constant ricochet between those two versions of what the show should be and it did cause some quite explosive arguments.
‘Most shows have teething problems of one kind or another, but there has been a feeling for some time that these shows were heading for disaster.’
The source added: ‘It is well known Adele suffers badly with anxiety when it comes to performing live, so it’s hard to imagine her going ahead if she wasn’t happy.’
Caesars Palace said last week: ‘Creating a show of this magnitude is incredibly complex.’
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