BY KATHY WILLIAMS, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
A two-hour CBS special titled “Adele: One Night Only” gave fans a new way to experience riveting concerts from superstar performers. British singer-songwriter and Grammy award winning Adele performed in a primetime live concert on CBS on Nov. 14, providing fans and concert lovers alike an alternative way to go to a concert during a COViD-19 world.
People were able to catch the performance live during its CBS broadcast time this past Sunday and on the streaming service Paramount Plus. People can purchase the basic tier of the streaming service for $5 or $50 annually to watch the concert on demand.
“Adele: Live in New York City” aired in 2015 as her first primetime concert and her last one until now. Adele is known for her emotional songs and powerful vocals that leave audiences awestruck through the stories she tells, and this standard was met for “Adele: One Night Only.” However, it was not just riveting vocals that left audiences filled with emotion. The show included interview segments done by Oprah Winfrey where Adele opened up about the inspiration for her music and situations she has encountered such as weight loss and divorce.
The concert itself was held at Los Angeles’ Griffith Observatory and was pre-taped for Sunday’s premiere. The picturesque location paired with Adele’s beautiful melodies worked together to give the live audience a show to remember. Many superstar celebrities filled the crowd such as Grammy award winning singer-rapper Lizzo, James Corden, host of “The Late Late Show with James Corden,” actor Leonardo DiCaprio and actress-comedian Melissa McCarthy.
Ten songs were performed for the concert including four from her new album titled “30,” which is set to be released on Nov. 19. “Easy on Me” was one of the four songs from “30” performed and is already a hit since its single release on Oct. 15. It climbed the charts to the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and became her fifth song to accomplish such a feat, so fans were excited to hear the hit in a live performance. Other songs done by Adele for the night were the James Bond theme song “Skyfall,” “Someone Like You” and “Rolling in the Deep” from her 2011 album “21” and “Hello” from her 2015 album “25.”
The interview segments kept viewers engaged as much as the songs. Winfrey was able to really capture how Adele actually felt about her 100-pound weight loss journey, the divorce in March from charity entrepreneur Simon Konecki and motherhood to her nine-year-old son Angelo who is also the son of Konecki.
Sunday’s ratings from the special reinforce the quality of the show. “The Hollywood Reporter” said, “The show drew the biggest Sunday night audience for any network entertainment program so far this season.” “Adele One Night Only” averaged 10.33 million viewers which was just behind CBS’s Oscars of about 10.4 million. Other than the NFL, this performance outdrew all other primetime shows.
