Update:
Don’t blame Justin Bieber! Adele explained to fans after the Grammys why the beginning of her performance sounded off to viewers.
“The piano mics fell on the piano strings, that’s what the guitar sound was. It made it sound out of tune. S–t happens,” the songstress tweeted. “Because of it though… I’m treating myself to an in n out. So maybe it was worth it.”
Original story continues below:
Wait … what just happened? When Adele took the stage at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards on Monday, February 15, everyone assumed it would be magical, but her rendition of “All I Ask” hit immediate hiccups.
Clad in a sparkly scarlet gown, Adele, 27, tried to give a simple-yet-touching performance of the tune from chart-shattering album 25, standing in front of a piano and belting out the challenging song. But for those watching on TV, there were strange twangs and noises throughout the beginning of the ballad.
An insider tells Us Weekly that the noises were only heard by TV viewers, and to those in the audience at the Staples Center, the Grammy winner sounded flawless. Some viewers noted they thought a microphone had fallen into the piano at the beginning of the performance. But there was another theory out there.
The twangs sounded similar to an acoustic guitar, so when Justin Bieber immediately followed Gaga’s performance by strumming his acoustic guitar to “Love Yourself,” fans began to speculate that his guitar was accidentally plugged in during Adele’s moment.
Naturally, fans on Twitter quickly reacted to the less-than-stellar live moment.
“Did @justinbieber guitar tuning mess up @Adele ‘s performance?? #GRAMMYs #SomeonesGettingFired,” @kjs_nyc tweeted. And @marylanehaskell added, “Did @justinbieber throw his guitar just to be cool or because it ruined queen @Adele’s performance and he was #sorry? #Grammys2016 #GRAMMYs.”
Musician Preston Wait wrote, “I think the mystery person playing acoustic guitar behind Adele was Bieber.”
New York Times film critic James Poniewozik tweeted, “I think we all owe it to Adele to undergo hypnosis to overwrite the memory of that performance with the one she should have given.”
Reporter Ronan Farrow added, “With that kind of track record, you’d think Adele’s sound guy was running for President.”
The ballad, about spending one final night with a lover, is just one of many heartbreak anthems from her record-breaking album 25. While the latest effort from the British songstress was not eligible for this year’s awards, it’s sure to top next year’s list of nominees.
Adele has previously won 10 Grammys, one Oscar and one Golden Globe.
After a sold-out show in Los Angeles on February 12, the British superstar will officially start her North American tour on July 5 in St. Paul, Minnesota. All of her 56 dates are currently sold out.
