The power and emotion that came from the lungs of Adele during her 2016 tour was something unmatched by anything that was not of a religious matter. That’s how powerful she is.
You hear of experiences through the eyes of others, and in some cases through the water filling the eyes of others. Rolling my eyes whenever a story was brought up about someone being moved to tears at a concert was a typical first reaction. I will now take back every eye roll I have ever given. While I knew before going into the concert that I did enjoy what Adele sang and was looking forward to seeing her perform, I never knew what kind of sensation her singing would provoke.
At the first “hello” when she rose from below the stage into the middle of the arena, I had to blink back actual tears to make sure I didn't smudge my mascara.
It wasn’t just that she sounded like her song recordings, it was that she sounded better than her recordings. Everything about her voice dripped with a sultry tenor so you could almost feel the emotion in the air. You didn’t want her to stop creating sound whether that was through her singing or her talking; all you wanted was to sit and listen to her. If you've ever listened to a real record player and a good one at that, she was the live equivalent. A knot in my chest grew immediately after her first few words and stayed until well after the concert had finished; I wished it would have lasted forever.
The arena sparkled with camera flashes and sequin-clad patrons, and to say that there wasn’t something magical about the moment would be a lie. And when the entire crowd pulled out their phones to sway to the melody of "Sweetest Devotion," the light was brighter than the auditorium lights. Adele herself was in a glitzy sequin dress that moved and flowed like water. She commanded the stage with every moment that passed, only enforcing the fact that she of all people did not need an opening act; it was all her.
She was grandeur and she was grace -- from the perfectly winged eyeliner to the pointed flats she wore, Adele was just a marvel. But she was humble as well, saying that the Oscar she had won for her original "Skyfall" was specifically placed in her toilet. An English tradition as she said, but she laughs out loud every morning as soon as she sees it. You would never have imagined that a voice that could carry the world would have come from someone who claimed to be as nervous as she said she was.
She was so real and so relatable, you would believe everything thing that came out of her mouth even if it was that the world was ending tomorrow.
There are few performers that can emote the kind of feeling that Adele can effortlessly breathe into a performance hall.
