Adele had the most spectacular Vegas residency since Celine: Inside the drama and triumph

I’m a bit of a grudge holder.

So when, on a late January day in 2022, as I stepped up to a then-mandatory COVID-19-testing site at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and received a call from my editor to tell me a tearful Adele had just posted a video saying she'd postponed the opening of her residency, I did not react with sympathy.

Like thousands of others, I had schlepped to Vegas to attend this much-ballyhooed launch. The ticket, procured out of desperation on the secondary market, was nauseatingly pricey. At least my flight from the East Coast was only a few hours; there were many ticket holders who'd flown in from other countries.

Although I'm a habitual visitor to Vegas, this was a work trip, so the “hey, at least you’re in a fun place!” platitude did not mitigate my annoyance.

My editor and I groused about the situation and I vowed that whenever Adele stopped crying long enough to pull this show together, it would have to be the most magnificent fusion of artistry and music for me to forgive this delay that left thousands of fans stranded on the Strip and financially inconvenienced.

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How spectacular was Adele's Las Vegas show?

Ten months later, I was back in Vegas in my originally purchased 400-level seat, both eager to see what splendor Adele had crafted and anxious that she might not even show up.

She showed up. And she was spectacular.

Adele was contrite and authentic (black ankle socks with a figure-hugging gown? Sure, why not?). The Londoner was hilarious and luminous (my review noted her “voice was as impeccable as her sculpted eyebrows and French manicure”).

And her vocal delivery? A cream-coated locomotive.

On Nov. 23, Adele will take the final curtsy of her “Weekends with Adele” residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. She leaves on her 100^th show and with the security and pride that not since Celine Dion, the woman who inspired this casino cathedral, has an artist so commanded a piece of real estate just by being.

You could reliably stomp along to “Rolling in the Deep,” swoon at the breathtaking beauty of “Skyfall” and the dramatic unveiling of a 24-piece string section, or, as one pal put it, “sob your heart out” during “Someone Like You.”

But what made the shows unique despite a static, if stunning, production and 20-song setlist was Adele. Her humor, a serrated counter to her glistening music, always balanced bawdy with ballads. Her grab-a-pint-with-me aura never seemed to contradict the reality that she is richer and comelier than most mortals.

Of course, social media highlights were numerous. Adele turning down a fan’s marriage proposal and thus insinuating her relationship with Rich Paul was signed, sealed and delivered. Adele scolding a security guard for making an enthusiastic fan stay seated. Adele facilitating a marriage proposal, which occurred during the most free-flowing segment of the concert when Adele wanders through the crowd to deliver the wistful “When We Were Young.”

Sometimes the VIP box corralled luminaries of the highest tier. Paul McCartney greeted her in October 2023 and a year later, queen Celine Dion wept, overcome with the trifecta of Adele’s warmth, shimmering vocals and a return to the venue that lives in Dion's heart.

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Adele's post-Vegas vanishing act

Adele’s residency was created, ostensibly, to support her fourth studio album, the Grammy-nominated “30.” But it quickly escalated into a breathless scramble for tickets unseen for any artist not named Taylor Swift or Beyoncé.

But unlike her megastar peers, Adele was playing a 4,100-capacity theater on weekends scattered throughout the year. The demand was staggering, with tickets for her final performance selling for thousands of dollars 48 hours before show time.

For those who missed "Weekends with Adele," well, she seems adamant that her post-Vegas intentions involve nesting and resting. A vanishing act with an undefined return.

Those who have attended during the run, or managed to acquire a coveted ticket for the grand finale, have or will fully understand the depth of the two-hour show as the minutes tick down.

For her closing song, Adele sings “Love is a Game,” an album track from “30.”

As she hits her final note, Adele stands under a cascade of fuchsia glitter and disappears in a pink cloud, a moment of magic in a city built on illusions.

It seems almost too literal, how Adele disappears before our eyes. But how lucky were those of us who witnessed her sonic seduction.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Adele final Las Vegas residency concerts: Inside the drama and triumph