Fans show support to Adele after she stops, resumes tribute to George Michael
Adele delivered a tribute to George Michael, but not before stopping and restarting, saying she had to make sure she got it right
Adele delivered a tribute to George Michael, but not before stopping and restarting, saying she had to make sure she got it right
Adele, who had trouble with her live performance at last year's Grammy Awards, asked to restart her tribute to George Michael on Sunday at the Grammys, telling the audience: "I can't mess this up for him."
She stopped and used an expletive after singing some of a new arrangement of Michael's "Fastlove," as videos and photos of Michael played in the background. She re-sang the song and earned applause and support from the crowd at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, though Adele was teary eyed.
The crowd cheered as she started to sing again, accompanied by an orchestra as images of the late British singer-songwriter were projected on large screens.
"I'm sorry. I can't mess this up for him," she said to the audience. "Can we start again?"
Her expletive was bleeped on the CBS broadcast.
Fans quickly came to her support. Bette Midler wrote, "Adele taught us all a great lesson just now. If it's not right? START OVER AND NAIL IT! And she did. Love you, girl."
(Adele is doing what Mariah should have done, but that's all I'll say about that.)
— Blue Ivy's Afro (@alexia_maree)
I feel like I am rooting for Adele like I do the Olympics
— Chris Klemens (@ChrisKlemens)
wow. good for adele for wanting to give him a proper tribute.
— stephen (@pilotsmemes)
She finished to a thunderous standing ovation with many in the audience appearing near tears.
Adele herself had tears in her eyes as she mouthed a thank-you.
"I really do apologize for swearing," she said. "George Michael, I love him. He means a lot to me. I'm sorry if I offended anyone."
Michael died on Christmas Day. A tribute for Prince by Bruno Mars and The Time will happen later in the show.
But she suffered from poor sound when she performed her song "All I Ask" at last year's Grammy ceremony. A microphone had fallen inside the piano used onstage, which made it sound out of tune. A Grammy spokeswoman said, however, there were no technical issues with Adele's performances on Sunday, though.