Adele, the pop icon who regularly touches the souls of her fans, got emotional herself on Sunday when she surprisingly reunited with her beloved former teacher from school.
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, commonly known as “Adele,” is an English singer and songwriter who hails from London. She is considered one of the best-selling music artists in the world, with sales amounting to more than 120 million records. Adele has been an established name in the industry since her debut album release in 2008. She has many accolades to her name, including 15 Grammy Awards and 9 Brit Awards. In 2013, she was also rewarded with MBE, a British order of chivalry, for her services to the music industry.
Earlier this month, the “Easy On Me” singer returned to her hometown Tottenham to perform at ITV’s ‘An Audience With Adele’ held at Palladium in London. Among the star-studded audience were present Emma Watson, Beyonce, Dua Lipa, Idris Elba, Naomi Campbell, Samuel L. Jackson, and Daniel Kaluuya, to name a few.
During the performance, Dame Emma Thompson asked Adele if she could recall anyone who inspired and encouraged her when she was growing up. The popstar immediately responded with the name of her English teacher Miss McDonald. It was then revealed to the surprise of the singer that Miss McDonald was among the audience, and as she came on-stage, Adele embraced her while crying.
While responding to the question asked by Emma Thompson, Adele shared her thoughts about Miss McDonald, stating, “It was just one year, but she got me really into literature. Like, I’ve always been obsessed with English, and obviously now I write lyrics. But she also did street dance — I was too scared to join — but in the canteen they used to do these dances…She was so bloody cool. So engaging. She really made us care and we knew she cared about us.”
We all have that one teacher who changed our life… such a beautiful reunion! ❤️
*PS, would totally buy Alan Carr’s version of ‘Make You Feel My Love* 🤣@Adele #AnAudienceWithAdele https://t.co/2ZZI2RS0mI pic.twitter.com/hlTOOZKt5j
— ITV (@ITV) November 21, 2021
Thompson then revealed the “relatable and likeable” teacher was present in the audience, which surprised Adele as she burst into tears while welcoming and hugging her on stage.
“I’m so proud of you,” said McDonald as they both embraced.
“I didn’t know that you were coming! How are you? You look just the same.” Adele replied.
To which McDonald responded, “That’s okay. It was supposed to be a surprise. Thank you for remembering me.”
“You really did change my life,” Adele replied, before yelling, “Mum! Mum can you believe it?”
“I’m so happy you’re here,” she expressed as she hugged McDonald goodbye. “I’ve still got all my books from when you were my teacher.”
“Now, I’ve got to get my whole face re-done,” Adele jested while wiping away tears.
At her request, her pal and British comedian Alan Carr came on stage and led the audience in a sing-along of “Make You Feel My Love.” while the singer got her makeup retouched backstage.
The superstar also shared her joy of the reunion on Instagram. She posted the photos from the event with the caption:
“Home Sweet Home. I’ve always dreamt of doing An Audience With… There was so much love in the room for eachother [sic], it felt like such a gig! Everyone was raucous and bang up for it! And my teacher Ms McDonald was there, it was just heaven ♥,”
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Moreover, Adele recently shared her thoughts about her music saying, she isn’t interested in making music for the TikTok generation. The beloved pop star believes that her music is focused on an older population that is ardently working on themselves instead of teenagers who spend their time on the popular video-based social networking app.
Earlier this week, while talking to Zane Lowe from Apple Music about her new record “30,” she expressed, “The 30- and 40-year-olds who are all committing to themselves and doing therapy, that’s my vibe, ’cause that’s what I was doing.” She further commented. “So I’m more concerned with how this record can help them.”
She continued, “I don’t want 12-year-olds listening to this record, It’s a bit too deep.”
The issue of attracting a younger audience repeatedly came up during the production of Adele’s latest album, 30. This album mainly deals with the singer’s separation from her husband Simon Konecki in 2019, with whom she shares a 9-year-old son, Angelo.
She told Lowe, “As we were wrapping it up with the mixing and all that, the conversation of TikTok came up a lot. So I’m like, Tik-a-Tok-a-Who? They’re like, ‘We’ve really gotta make sure that these 14-year-olds know who you are.’ I’m like, ‘But they’ve all got moms. They’ve all got moms and they’ve definitely been growing up listening to my music, these 14-year-olds and stuff like that.’”
On the contrary, Adele hopes to make music for the audience who can vibe with her struggles.
“If everyone’s making music for the TikTok, who’s making music for my generation? Who’s making the music for my peers? I will do that job, gladly,” she clarified. “I’d rather cater to people that are on my level in terms of the amount of time we’ve spent on Earth and all the things we’ve been through.”
