5 Things to Know from Adele's 'One Night Only' TV Special
In preparation for her upcoming album 30, Adele spoke to Oprah about her new music, her divorce, and her weight loss.
Adele's vulnerability has always been what makes her music so successful (as well as her impeccable voice), however, while promoting her forthcoming 30 album, the singer sat down with Oprah Winfrey for Adele: One Night Only to talk about some of the moments behind the music. Similar to Oprah's sit-down with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the television special dove deep into the singer's personal life, everything from the end of her marriage to the death of her father.
While the exchange was emotionally charged, there were still moments of levity. During a performance of one of her new songs, she helped a man propose to his girlfriend. Before bringing in the blindfolded soon-to-be fiancé, she told the other audience members, "If you make a noise, I'm going to kill you."
In case you weren't able to watch for yourself or you just want to relive it all over again, here are a few of the biggest takeaways from the interview.
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Divorce
While Adele's music has always been a window into her personal life for fans, the first time she noted that something was wrong was after she took a personality quiz in the back of a magazine. When asked, "What's something that no one would ever know about you?" she confessed to her friends, "I'm really not happy. I'm not living, I'm just plodding along."
Adele and her ex-husband Simon Konecki separated in 2018 after eight years together. They share their son Angelo James. While she doesn't regret her decision, she did speak candidly about feeling embarrassed by her divorce. "I take marriage very seriously... and it seems like I don't now," said the singer. "Almost like I disrespected it by getting married and then divorced so quickly. I'm embarrassed because it was so quick."
New Music
During the TV special, Adele performed three songs from her next album—"I Drink Wine," "Love Is A Game," and "Hold On." While many of her songs on this record are about her divorce, she said "Hold On"—which she referred to as a "national anthem throughout the world for anybody struggling with anything"—was inspired by her friends telling her to "hold on" after separating from her husband.
She recalled, "It was just exhausting trying to keep going with it. It's a process - the process of a divorce, the process of being a single parent, the process of not seeing your child every single day. [It] wasn't really a plan that I had when I became a mum."
She also touched on her writing process and how she decides what is and isn't appropriate for her music.
"Music helps me in many situations, and I would like to do the same for people... to be reminded that they're not alone," said the singer. "There were moments when I was writing the record, or I would listen back to something and be like, 'That might be a bit too private.' But nothing is as scary as what I've been through over the last two, three years behind closed doors. So I'm not frightened."
Weight Loss
One of the most obvious changes in Adele's life since her 25 album has been her weight loss. It's been a hot topic with fans and the media, which the singer said caused a lot of people to feel "upset" and "abandoned." However, it started as a way to manage her anxiety.
"I had the most terrifying anxiety attacks after I left my marriage," she explained. "They paralyzed me completely, and made me so confused because I wouldn't be able to have any control over my body."
Regarding the critical comments, Adele stood Oprah, "I'm not shocked or even fazed by it because my body has been objectified my entire career. I'm either too big or too small; I'm either hot or I'm not."
She continued, "But it's not my job to validate how people feel about their bodies. I feel bad that it's made anyone feel horrible about themselves - but that's not my job. I'm trying to sort my own life out. I can't add another worry."
Her Father
While Adele has always been honest about her tumultuous love life in her music, one of the most painful moments from the last year was her father's death.
She told Oprah that the "biggest wound" in her life was her father Marc Evans' "absolute lack of presence and effort" while she was growing up. However, after being estranged for many years, the father and daughter reconciled after he fell ill three years ago.
The singer said her father had only ever listened to her song "Hometown Glory." She explained, "He never ever played any of my other music," she said. "He was like, 'It's too painful.'"
Before Evans' death in April, Adele was able to share her entire album with him, including her song "To Be Loved," which discusses the emotional impact of their relationship on her personal life.
"It was amazing for me and him," she said. "I think he could listen to me sing it, but not saying it—we are very similar like that."
Taylor Swift
One of the funniest moments of the interview was Adele's story about her son's love for Taylor Swift. She explained that she brought him to see the "Wildest Dreams" singer on her "Reputation Tour" in 2018. He was shocked by the stadium full of people "because he used to come to my stadium shows for rehearsals and it'd be empty."
However, he recently discovered how famous his mother really is. She said, "The other day, he watched the 'Easy On Me' video countdown... and he was like, 'There was 150,000 people waiting!' Then he read the comments and he was like, 'People really like you!'"
