The biggest moments from Adele's concert special and exclusive interview with Oprah
CBC
Looking every bit the classic Hollywood superstar, British singer Adele's two-hour CBS special called Adele: One Night Only premiered on Sunday night.
The prerecorded event featured an exclusive interview with Oprah Winfrey and an intimate concert performance of old hits and new songs from the singer's upcoming album, 30, set to be released on Nov. 19.
Here is everything you need to know about Adele's glamorous performance, her first album in six years, her weight loss and her recent divorce.
Performing at the iconic Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, Adele sang 10 songs, including four new tracks from 30, her upcoming album: Hold On; Love Is A Game; and the lead singles Easy On Me and I Drink Wine. It was an intimate but star-studded affair, with attendees such as Drake, Leonardo DiCaprio, Seth Rogen, Melissa McCarthy, Ellen DeGeneres and Lizzo spotted in the audience.
About midway through the special, the singer hushed her audience so that a fan could surprise his girlfriend onstage with a marriage proposal. To the delight of her audience, she serenaded the engaged couple with her cover of the Bob Dylan-written Make You Feel My Love.
During the singer's exclusive sit-down interview with Oprah, she admitted that she "kept the alcohol industry alive" in the wake of her split from ex-husband Simon Konecki — but eventually stopped drinking completely.
The former couple were married in 2018 and separated a year later, which Adele said was "embarrassing," as it felt like she couldn't make her marriage work.
"I've been obsessed with a nuclear family my whole life because I never came from one," the singer said, in reference to her father's absence. She added that she'd always been "fascinated" by alcohol as her dad struggled with substance abuse.
Explaining why she divorced her husband, the singer said that she wanted to be the "happy version" of herself in front of their nine-year-old son. She noted that while many tend to stay in difficult marriages for a child's sake, leaving one can be an equal act of love.
"I was really ignoring myself for a long time, which was wild to me when I realized it."
She added that she sometimes feels "selfish" for "dismantling" her son's life for her own happiness, but believes he would be "furious" with her if she stayed in an unhappy relationship. Her album 30 is partially a way of explaining her divorce to her child; the record is dedicated to him, but the songs are about her life.
The singer's dramatic weight loss was the subject of intense public scrutiny. She shared that she lost roughly 100 pounds in two years — but the change wasn't planned.
"It wasn't even really about the weight," she told Winfrey. "It was about my anxiety."
After a stretch of issues with deep, "terrifying" anxiety, the singer realized that her feelings subsided during workouts and she began exercising on a daily basis. She said that she is an athlete who loves boxing and lifting weights.
