Adele Live 2016 (titled as Adele Live 2017 for the shows in 2017) was the third
concert tour
A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...
by English singer-songwriter
Adele
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a reco ...
in support of her third studio album, ''
25''. It began on 29 February 2016, in
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
at the
SSE Arena, continued throughout Western Europe, North America and Oceania. It was originally scheduled to conclude on 2 July 2017, in London, England, at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
, however on 30 June Adele announced via social media that she had regretfully cancelled her final two performances upon medical advice due to vocal injuries.
Background and commercial reception
Adele announced the Western European headlining dates on 26 November 2015. After tickets went on sale on 4 December, many venues reported sell-outs, resulting in extra dates being added in multiple cities on the itinerary. Tickets sold out nearly instantaneously, with promoters for
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
's
SSE Hydro reporting that tickets for the 13,000 venue sold out within two minutes. Due to the high demand, online queues were set up, which resulted in queues of over 50,000 people for venues only seating a quarter of that.
On 14 December 2015, Adele announced the North American leg of the tour, which included six nights at
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
and eight nights at
Staples Center
Crypto.com Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. The arena opened on October 17, 1999; it was ...
. Adele broke
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
's five-show record for most consecutive sold-out shows at Staples Center. Ten million people tried to buy tickets to the North American leg of Adele's world tour; only 750,000 tickets were available.
On 18 March 2016, Adele confirmed rumours that she would be headlining
Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...
2016, on 25 June. She was the fourth solo female to perform a headline set at the festival, and the first on a Saturday. Adele confirmed the news live on stage at
The O2 Arena, in London.
In July 2016,
Pollstar
''Pollstar'' is a trade publication for the concert and live music industry. The publication was purchased by Oak View Group, a venue consultancy founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff, in July 2017.
History and profile
Founded in 1981 in Fre ...
released its 2016 Mid Year Special featuring the top-grossing tours of the year so far. Adele was announced as the sixth highest-grossing worldwide act of 2016 so far, with ticket sales of $75.9 million and 709,498 tickets sold from the 49 shows of the European leg of her tour. Billboard reported that overall based on tickets sold through the first week of October 2016 the tour had sold in the $150 million range and that the total gross from the first 15 venues of the North American leg of tour was $67,599,098 with 601,195 tickets sold from 5 July to 7 October 2016.
The tour's Australian dates were announced on 15 November 2016; Adele would perform a series of special stadium concerts in market's five big cities in February and March 2017. A New Zealand show was announced on 18 November 2016. Her first two shows in New Zealand sold out in record-breaking 23 minutes, and a third show was announced, with all tickets sold in under 30 minutes. As of January 2017, over 600,000 tickets have been sold for the tour's Australian concerts.
According to
StubHub
StubHub is an American ticket exchange and resale company. It provides services for buyers and sellers of tickets for sports, concerts, theater, and other live entertainment events. It is the world's largest ticket marketplace. While the compa ...
, a ticket resale site, the tour ranked the most popular concert tour of 2016. Her show in 2016 ranked at #5 on Pollstar's annual Year-End Top Worldwide Tours chart with $167.7 million, and her show in 2017 ranked at #30 on Pollstar's annual Year-End Top Worldwide Tours chart with $59 million grossed and 600,000 tickets sold.
Adele performed to her largest audience on tour, both in terms of the amount in a single shows, as well as overall for one city, with her two concerts at
Sydney's ANZ Stadium
ANZ may refer to:
People
* Anz (musician), a British DJ and electronic musician
Banks
* ANZ (bank), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, the fourth-largest bank in Australia
** ANZ Bank New Zealand, the largest bank in New Zealand
...
, which attracted 95,544 people per concert. This is also the largest audience the venue has seen since the
2000 Sydney Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
, breaking Taylor Swift's 2015 record of 75,980 audience members. The show was so packed that it caused huge public transport delays all around the city and both shows were delayed by up to 45 minutes to allow attendees more time to arrive at the concert.
Critical reception
The UK tour received rave reviews from music critics. Bernadette McNulty of ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'' gave the opening show at
The SSE Arena Belfast five stars. She referenced the expensive secondary market ticket prices for the tour, saying that "Adele is worth every penny". McNulty states that "Adele undoubtedly has the popularity to fill endless arenas, but maintaining the attention of thousands of people used to the hi-tech extravaganzas laid on by the likes of
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
and
Beyoncé
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
can demand more flashing lights, dance routines and hydraulics than any natural talent. Her entrance was certainly theatrical, emerging from the centre of the arena underneath a main stage flanked by an Orwellian projection of her giant eyes blinking. But between that and some virtual, or possibly in Belfast real, rain, Adele kept it remarkably and effectively simple, letting nothing get in the way of what was almost a religious communion with her fans." ''
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
'' music reporter Mark Savage said that "Adele enjoyed a rapturous reception as she opened her world tour with an intimate arena show in
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
." Continuing his positive review, he said "even the steeliest of hearts would have been forced to concede she had brought the goods." Amanda Ferguson from the ''
Belfast Telegraph
The ''Belfast Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by Independent News & Media. Its editor is Eoin Brannigan. Reflecting its unionist tradition, the paper has historically been "favoured by the Protestant po ...
'' said that "Adele is fun, charismatic and exceptionally talented" in her four star review. Alexis Petridis of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' opened his review by saying that Adele "delivers a solid - if unsurprising - show on the first night of her tour". In his four star review, Petridis noted Adele saying "I know some of you have been dragged along here tonight but I'm going to win you over", before concluding that "judging by the reaction as she finally disappears - on the same platform on which she appeared - she has managed it." Nick Hasted of ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' gave the show three stars, saying that "she tries soul moves over gospel piano, but owes more to
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalists ...
than
Aretha". Giving a mostly positive review, Hasted concluded the review by saying "Adele needs the nerve to make a defining leap, to become the bawdy, ballsy person she is on stage when she writes. Pop is dying for it."
![Adele Live 2016 - LONDON's O2 Arena - B-stage](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Adele_Live_2016_-_LONDON%27s_O2_Arena_-_B-stage.jpg)
The critical response was overwhelmingly positive when Adele performed six shows at
The O2 Arena in her hometown, London. ''
The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
''s Ashley Percival gave one of the shows five stars: "By her own admission, most of her back catalogue is "fucking miserable", and I questioned quite how the
Tottenham
Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Waltham ...
-born songstress would hold the attention of the packed O
2 Arena without being able to rely on exhaustive dance routines or belting out some pop bangers to boost the energy. But the second she emerged through the floor of a small B-stage uttering those immortal words "Hello, it's me", any concerns just evaporated — every single person in the room was in complete awe, and would stay that way for the entirety of the 18-song set." David Smyth from the ''
London Evening Standard
The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format.
In October 2009, after be ...
'' said that "Adele shifted constantly from being a lightning rod for emotion to a light entertainer" in his four star review. He also complimented the show's opening performance of "
Hello
''Hello'' is a salutation or greeting in the English language. It is first attested in writing from 1826. Early uses
''Hello'', with that spelling, was used in publications in the U.S. as early as the 18 October 1826 edition of the ''Norwich C ...
", saying that "isolated, with her large band hidden behind the screen,
dele
The ''Diplomas de Español como Lengua Extranjera'' ( en, Diplomas of Spanish as a Foreign Language), or DELE, are official diplomas issued by the Spanish Instituto Cervantes on behalf of the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science to participa ...
held the room without trickery — just one of the great singing voices." Ludovic Hunter-Tilney from the ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
'' stated in his four star review that the show "had an old-school air of professionalism, sumptuously mounted and impeccably rehearsed." Hunter-Tilney also said that "Flashy special effects were kept to a minimum, such as the downfall of water that surrounded her for "
Set Fire to the Rain
"Set Fire to the Rain" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Adele for her second studio album, '' 21'' (2011). The song was written by Adele and Fraser T. Smith while the production was handled by the latter. It became Adele's third ...
" towards the end. The absence of high-tech arena spectacle helped the show. It allowed Adele's personality to gain the upper hand over her professionalism." Adele performed in the
Genting Arena
The Resorts World Arena is a multipurpose indoor arena located at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Solihull, England. It has a capacity of 15,685 seats. The venue was built as the seventh hall of the NEC complex. After 18 months of const ...
, Birmingham on 29, 30 March and 1, 2 April 2016 in a performance described as "mesmerizing", "jaw-dropping" and "breath-taking".
''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
s Chris Willman took aim at previous reviewers of the tour who had criticised Adele for speaking too much during the concert in his positive review of the opening night of her stint at Los Angeles'
Staples Center
Crypto.com Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. The arena opened on October 17, 1999; it was ...
. He said "A few critics at the earliest stops on her first U.S. arena tour have made "shut up and sing"-type suggestions… a would-be corrective measure that's unlikely to be wished for by almost any of her actual fans, who surely recognize that they're in the presence of not just one of the great singers in pop history, but one of the great ''broads''."
Adele's first performance in Australia at the
Domain Stadium in
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
was met with universally positive reviews. Heather McNeill of ''
The Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...
'' said Adele "was noticeably humbled by the massive crowd
he largest in West Australian concert history
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
admitting in her first many witty and warm chats with fans that she was a bit nervous." She named "I'll Be Waiting", "
Rumour Has It" and "
Water Under the Bridge
"Water Under the Bridge" is a song by English singer Adele from her third studio album '' 25'' (2015). Adele wrote the song with its producer, Greg Kurstin. Columbia Records released the track as the album's fourth single on 14 November 2016. ...
" as highlights calling them "flawless" and "soulful", as well as "Sweetest Devotion" and "Take It All". McNeill gave the concert five stars. Simon Collins of ''
The West Australian
''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...
'' gave the concert four stars, claiming that "for many people, Adele's first ever Australian show and first ever stadium concert will be the best they have ever seen." He said that whilst "for many people, this was a five-star concert", for him "not so much...but like all that confetti after the show, I've been swept up in Adele fever." He concluded that "the once-in-a-generation artist and unique, yet down-to-earth, personality had left Perth fans both starstruck and with a brand new bestie." In a review for ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', Bob Gordon claims that "Perth was entranced and besotted by Adele a full 48 hours before her show" so that "by showtime, gridlock or not, Perth was fit to pop."
Setlist
2016
![Adele Live 2016 - LONDON's O2 Arena - Main Stage](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Adele_Live_2016_-_LONDON%27s_O2_Arena_-_Main_Stage.jpg)
This setlist is representative of the 29 February 2016 concert, in Belfast. It may not represent all concerts for the duration of the 2016 tour.
# "
Hello
''Hello'' is a salutation or greeting in the English language. It is first attested in writing from 1826. Early uses
''Hello'', with that spelling, was used in publications in the U.S. as early as the 18 October 1826 edition of the ''Norwich C ...
"
# "
Hometown Glory
"Hometown Glory" is the debut single by English singer-songwriter Adele, released on 22 October 2007 in the United Kingdom. The song appears on her debut studio album '' 19'' (2008). In 2008, the song was re-released as her fourth single. Adele ...
"
# "One and Only"
# "
Rumour Has It"
# "
Water Under the Bridge
"Water Under the Bridge" is a song by English singer Adele from her third studio album '' 25'' (2015). Adele wrote the song with its producer, Greg Kurstin. Columbia Records released the track as the album's fourth single on 14 November 2016. ...
"
# "I Miss You"
# "
Skyfall
''Skyfall'' is a 2012 spy film and the twenty-third in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. The film is the third to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond and features Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, the villai ...
"
# "
Million Years Ago
The abbreviation Myr, "million years", is a unit of a quantity of (i.e. ) years, or 31.556926 teraseconds.
Usage
Myr (million years) is in common use in fields such as Earth science and cosmology. Myr is also used with Mya (million years ago). ...
"
# "Don't You Remember"
# "
Send My Love (To Your New Lover)
"Send My Love (To Your New Lover)" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Adele for her third studio album, ''25''. It was written by Adele, Max Martin and Shellback, with the latter two also handling its production. The song was fir ...
"
# "
Make You Feel My Love
"Make You Feel My Love", also known as "To Make You Feel My Love" is a song written by Bob Dylan for his album '' Time Out of Mind'', released in September 1997. It was first released commercially in August 1997 by Billy Joel for his compilation ...
"
# "
Sweetest Devotion"
# "
Chasing Pavements
"Chasing Pavements" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Adele for her debut studio album, ''19 (Adele album), 19'' (2008). Written by Adele with its producer Eg White, the song was released as the second Single (music), single from ...
"
# "
Someone like You"
# "
Set Fire to the Rain
"Set Fire to the Rain" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Adele for her second studio album, '' 21'' (2011). The song was written by Adele and Fraser T. Smith while the production was handled by the latter. It became Adele's third ...
"
Encore
#
" All I Ask"
# " When We Were Young"
# "Rolling in the Deep
"Rolling in the Deep" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Adele for her second studio album, '' 21'' (2011). It is the lead single and opening track on the album. The song was written by Adele and Paul Epworth. The singer herself des ...
"
Glastonbury Festival
Her performance at Glastonbury included:
# "Hello"
# "Rumour Has It"
# " I'll Be Waiting"
# "One and Only"
# "Water Under the Bridge"
# "Skyfall"
# "Hometown Glory"
# "Don't You Remember"
# "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)"
# "River Lea
The River Lea ( ) is in South East England. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Creek. It is one of t ...
"
# "Rolling in the Deep"
# "Make You Feel My Love"
# "Set Fire to the Rain"
Encore:
# "When We Were Young"
# "Someone like You"
2017
# "Hello"
# "Hometown Glory"
# "One and Only"
# "I'll Be Waiting"
# "Rumour Has It"
# "Water Under the Bridge"
# "I Miss You"
# "Skyfall"
# "Don't You Remember"
# "Make You Feel My Love"
# "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)"
# "Sweetest Devotion"
# "Chasing Pavements"
# " Take It All"
# "Set Fire to the Rain"
Encore
# "When We Were Young"
#"Rolling in the Deep"
#"Someone like You"
Shows
Cancelled shows
Personnel
* Adele – vocals
* Tim Van Der Kuil – guitars & musical director
* Amanda Brown – backing vocals
* Martine Celisca – backing vocals
* Katie Holmes-Smith – backing vocals
* Ben Thomas – guitars
* Aaron Draper – percussion
* Peter Randall – bass guitars
* Eric Wortham II – piano & keyboards
* Derrick Wright – drums
* Rosie Danvers – cello, leader of the Wired Strings & horns
* Wired Strings – strings
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Adele
2016 concert tours
2017 concert tours
Adele concert tours
Concert tours of Europe
Concert tours of the United Kingdom
Concert tours of France
Concert tours of Germany
Concert tours of Ireland
Concert tours of North America
Concert tours of the United States
Concert tours of Canada
Concert tours of Mexico
Concert tours of Oceania
Concert tours of Australia
Concert tours of New Zealand