WATCH: Adele Asks For Do-Over During Emotional George Michael Tribute
Image by Getty
By Thea Glassman February 13, 2017
Adele’s musical homage to George Michael at the Grammys started out rocky, but shaped up to be a stunning tribute to the late artist.
After making it about thirty seconds into her cover of Michael’s 1996 song “Fastlove,” the singer swore, and asked for a do-over.
“I know it’s live TV, I’m sorry. Could we please start it again?” she asked. “I’m sorry, I can’t mess this up for him.”
The crowd cheered and Adele started over again, delivering a pitch-perfect rendition the second time around.
The singer later told reporters she was “devastated” by the way her performance turned out.
“I had a bit of a shaky rehearsal, but I had been working really hard,” she said. “My earliest memory was ‘Fast Love.’ When that video came out, I was blown away by how fucking hot he was. I was young, about ten, and I heard the vulnerability of that song.”
Despite the singer’s misgivings, she received rave reviews from her peers.
“Adele taught us a all a great lesson just now. If it’s not right? START OVER AND NAIL IT! And she did. Love you, girl,” Bette Midler tweeted.
#Adele taught us a all a great lesson just now. If it’s not right? START OVER AND NAIL IT! And she did. Love you, girl.
— Bette Midler (@BetteMidler) February 13, 2017
“Your realness made that moment even more special. That took so much guts, George would have been so proud,” Skrillex wrote.
Your realness made that moment even more special. That took so much guts, George would have been so proud. @Adele ?
— SKRILLEX (@Skrillex) February 13, 2017
Michael died in December, at age 53. The cause of his death remains inconclusive. The singer’s grandmother was Jewish, but hid her roots from her children, who were growing up during World War II.
“She thought if they didn’t know that their mother was Jewish, they wouldn’t be at risk,” Michael told The Los Angeles Times.
Watch the beginning of Adele’s performance below:
Thea Glassman is an Associate Editor at the Forward. Reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter at @theakglassman.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
