You may love Adele’s tearjerker “Hello,” but it seems like this time she might be saying goodbye. Fans at her London concert Wednesday night found a handwritten note in their programs in which Adele explained that her days of live performances might be numbered. Devastating, I know.
In her note, Adele wrote, “[Touring] doesn’t suit me particularly well. I’m a real homebody and I get so much joy in the small things. Plus I’m dramatic and have a terrible history of touring. Until now that is! I’ve done 119 shows and these last 4 will take me up to 123. It has been hard but an absolute thrill and pleasure to have done. I only ever did this tour for you and to hopefully have an impact on you the way that some of my favorite artists have had on me live. And I wanted my final shows to be in London because I don’t know if I’ll ever tour again and so I want my last time to be at home. Thank you for coming, for all of your ridiculous love and kindness. I will remember all of this for the rest of my life. Love you. Goodnight for now.”
After a record-setting world tour, Adele came back to her hometown of London for a finale leg of four concerts at UK Wembley Stadium. Her concert Wednesday night, which shattered attendance records, seemed to be a goodbye itself, featuring a set list with songs from all her albums, not just her latest record 25.
Fans worldwide have been taking to Twitter to mourn the announcement and express their gratitude for her music.
The fact that Adele said she may never tour again breaks my heart I never got a chance to see her in concert
— ♔Javii♔ (@javiouslyme) June 29, 2017
So Adele may never tour again. So glad i got to hear her magical voice live
— Sophie (@sophievip) June 29, 2017
Adele’s never gonna tour again :( seeing her live was on my list of things to do before I died :/ GUTTED
— Bucky Kentucky (@khuBaibStation) June 29, 2017
Adele’s reluctance to tour again isn’t completely unexpected since she’s spoken before about the stress and anxiety she gets while performing. Earlier this year, she told audiences in Auckland, “The only reason I’ve toured is you.” Hopefully this will still apply once she’s recovered from this tour.
Despite this announcement, there’s still a glimmer of hope for another tour, so I’ll keep my fingers crossed that after some well-deserved R&R, Adele will decide to hit the road again. In the meantime, I’ll be listening to all her live performances on YouTube—just in case.