Adele Stands by Decision to Cancel Las Vegas Shows for Not Being 'Good Enough': 'You Can't Buy Me'

Shafiq Najib
·3 min read
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 02: Adele performs on stage as American Express present BST Hyde Park in Hyde Park on July 02, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Adele)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 02: Adele performs on stage as American Express present BST Hyde Park in Hyde Park on July 02, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Adele)

Gareth Cattermole/Getty for Adele

Adele is defending her decision to cancel her Las Vegas shows.

While speaking with BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs on Sunday, the "Hello" singer reflected on her last-minute choice to call off her shows in Sin City earlier this year.

"I definitely felt everyone's disappointment, and I was devastated, and I was frightened about letting them down," she told the BBC host Lauren Laverne. "I thought I could pull it together and make it work, and I couldn't, and I stand by that decision."

RELATED VIDEO: Adele Stopped Her London Concert 4 Times to Check on Audience Members in Attendance

Adele, 34, also explained that money wasn't the issue, it was simply because the show was not "good enough."

"You can't buy me, you can't buy me for nothing," she explained. "I'm not going to just do a show because I have to, or because people are going to be let down, or because we're going to lose loads of money."

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LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 01: Adele performs on stage as American Express present BST Hyde Park in Hyde Park on July 01, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Adele)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 01: Adele performs on stage as American Express present BST Hyde Park in Hyde Park on July 01, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Adele)

Gareth Cattermole/Getty for Adele

RELATED: Adele and Boyfriend Rich Paul Have a Glamorous Date Night at Kevin Love and Kate Bock's Wedding

The "Easy on Me" songstress also revealed that she was mercilessly criticized for her decision after canceling the shows in late January.

"I was a shell of a person for a couple of months," she admitted. "I just had to wait it out and just grieve it, I guess, just grieve the shows and get over the guilt, but it was brutal."

As for the status of the show, the Grammy winner said, "Of course, I could be someone on TikTok or Instagram Live every day being like, 'I'm working on it.'"

"Of course, I'm working on it!" she continued. "I'm not gonna update you if I ain't got nothing to update you with because that just leads to more disappointment."

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The British singer, who released her fourth album in November, previously said in February that her Vegas residency  "is absolutely 100% happening this year" during her appearance on the Graham Norton Show.

"It has to happen this year because I've got plans for next year," she told the host. "Imagine if I have to cancel because I am having a baby!"

On Friday, Adele performed for a public audience for the first time in five years at the British Summer Time Hyde Park concert.

RELATED: Adele Announces Las Vegas Residency Postponement in Tearful Video: 'We've Run Out of Time'

According to The New York Post's Page Six, Adele paused the show four times to check on audience members who appeared to be in need of medical attention. She also sent out some water for fans in the front row, who waited seven hours in the heat to get in, TMZ reported.

"My God, I'm back at home," she told the audience, according to Rolling Stone. "It's so strange to be in front of a crowd again. I get so nervous before each show, but I love being up here."

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