Send my love to your new endeavors: Adele says she’s taking a “big break” from music after playing shows in Las Vegas and Munich this summer.
The Grammy-winning superstar told German broadcaster ZDF that her “tank is quite empty” and that she doesn’t have plans for new music “at all.” The remarks come as she readies for the launch of a 10-show gig in Munich on Aug. 2 and as she winds down her “Weekends With Adele” residency in Sin City.
“I want a big break after all this and I think I want to do other creative things just for a little while,” the 36-year-old hitmaker said. “You know, I don’t even sing at home at all. How strange is that?”
The British balladeer, who broke through with the 2008 hit “Chasing Pavements,” added that she misses everything about life before fame.
“I think probably being anonymous the most,” she added (via BBC). “I like that I get to make music all the time, whenever I want to, and people are receptive to it and like it. That’s pretty unimaginable. But the fame side of it, I absolutely hate.
“The fact that people are even interested in my songs and my voice is pretty wild. I don’t think it ever gets normal. So it’s worth it, the balance.”
A representative for the singer did not immediately respond Wednesday to The Times’ request for comment.
Adele released her fourth and most recent studio album, “30,” in 2021 and took up residence at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace instead of touring. While she was expected to launch the residency in January 2022, she unexpectedly shut it down a day before it was meant to open. She blamed the COVID-19 pandemic and issues with the supply chain at the time, then explained later that the postponement was because her “artistic needs” were not being met. She said the show had “no soul in it” and that it “lacked intimacy” inside the 4,000-person Colosseum theater.
The “Hello” and “Rolling in the Deep” singer ultimately launched “Weekends With Adele” in November 2022 and extended the run twice. She has played 45 weekends and 90 shows thus far. The curtain is set to close on the residency in November.
“Even though it’s a very manageable size of crowd, it’s really been an emotional exchange,” she told ZDF. “I’m sure I’ll feel even more like [that] every night after the shows in Munich. But it’s a positive thing. It’s just such an exchange of energy.”
The powerhouse singer frequently made headlines during the run and, in February, had to cancel a few shows due to illness. More recently, she got into it with an audience member who yelled “Pride sucks” at one of her June shows. The singer, who had called out the heckler for being “ridiculous,” told ZDF that everything makes her angry now.
“Absolutely everything,” she said. “I’m 36 years old. I’m old and grumpy now.”
In Munich, the audience size could increase by 18-fold for each show, with the superstar potentially singing at the bespoke Munich Messe to a 74,000-person crowd each night. In January, she announced the outing with only a quartet of shows, then added six additional dates due to “unprecedented demand.”
Before her Las Vegas residency began — and long before she extended it — the British superstar said she planned to take a break from music and perhaps pursue a degree in English literature or an acting career. Since then, she has repeatedly expressed interest in expanding her family with boyfriend Rich Paul, whom she has occasionally called her “husband.” She has also said she wants to give her son Angelo, whom she shares with ex-husband Simon Konecki, a sibling.
However, during a January show, she said she might be open to touring again after completing a follow-up to “30.” But, as she told a fan in the audience, she wasn’t in any rush to start on that either.
