The televised event included new music, a candid Oprah interview, and an unforgettable surprise proposal.
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Adele: One Night Only marked a new beginning for one of the music industry’s most revered stars. The televised event, one part live concert, one part riveting Oprah Winfrey interview, gave fans of the 15-time Grammy Award winner a rare glimpse into where the singer is at — personally and professionally — ahead of the release of her upcoming studio album, 30.
The singer didn’t hold back during the two-hour long special, whether it was wowing her audience with stunning live renditions of hits like “Rolling in the Deep” or “Someone Like You”, or discussing subjects ranging from love, divorce, body image, and motherhood during a candid conversation with media icon, Oprah Winfrey.
Below, we recapped the top 5 moments from tonight’s special.
Hearing Adele Perform Again
The Grammy winner opened up her televised special with her 2016 hit “Hello” and it was impossible to not instantly get chills from her first note. The special moment marked the singer’s first public performance in over 6 years and her first since divorcing her ex-husband, Simon Konecki. The singer told Winfrey during their conversation how singing “Hello” specifically feels differently looking back at where she was when she originally wrote the song and where she is personally now. Adele also performed new tracks off of her upcoming studio album, 30, including songs “I Drink Wine” and “Hold On”.
The Fashion
Adele opted to wear two stunning ensembles courtesy of two of the fashion industry’s most buzzy designers for her return to the stage and the public eye. For her performance at Los Angeles’s Griffith Observatory, she wore a black, sculptural gown by Schiaparelli paired with pearl embellished “Saturn Return” statement earrings. For her chat with Oprah Winfrey, the singer switched into a sophisticated cream hued suit courtesy of recent CFDA Award winner, Christopher John Rogers.
The Star-Studded Audience
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It’s safe to say that snagging a seat for Adele’s secret Los Angeles show was nearly impossible. The audience was filled with every A-List celebrity imaginable from the likes of Lizzo, Selena Gomez, Gabrielle Union, Melissa McCarthy, Donald Glover, Seth Rogan, and more. Adele’s son, Angelo Atkins, was also in attendance, and the singer shared during the show that the concert marked the first time he had seen his mother perform live, in person.
Her Honesty
Adele opened up about a number of topics during her sit-down conversation with Winfrey, including going through her divorce, her recent weight loss, her strained relationship with her father, and finding love again with her new boyfriend, sports agent Rich Paul.
“I’ve been obsessed with the nuclear family my whole life because I never came from one. In all these movies and all these books, when you grow up reading them, that’s what it should be. I just, from a very young age, promised myself that when I had kids, that we’d stay together. We would be that united family. And I tried for a really, really long time,” said Adele about her initial hopes for a traditional, unified family and her eventual decision to file for divorce. “I was just so disappointed for my son. I was so disappointed for myself, and I thought I was gonna be the one that stopped doing those bloody patterns all the time.”
That Proposal!
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Midway through the special, Adele paused the music to help conduct a surprise proposal for a local couple — Quinton and Ashley. The couple made their way up the steps of the Griffith Observatory stage (with his soon-to-be fiancee blindfolded and wearing noise-cancelling headphones) to eventually pop the question in front of an audience of high profile celebrities and Adele herself. The singer then performed “Make You Feel My Love” for the newly engaged couple as they sat front row and enjoyed the remainder of the show.
