Adele has been forced to cancel her last two performances at Wembley, which would have completed her 123 world tour. The cancellation comes after pushing her voice to its limits across her entire tour, especially during her last few shows.
The concerts held at Wembley were the biggest in the stadium’s history with 98,000 fans attending each night. Adele said 150,000 fans will be refunded after she was forced to cancel world tour. The singer was forced to cancel her world tour on Friday after vocal issues.
In the lead up to these final shows, Adele suffered from bronchitis, which can have a significant impact on vocal capacity. In Adele’s case, it looked to have been so. If voice rest is not taken during this time, vocal strain and damage can happen much more easily. On Thursday night she told the Wembley crowd: “It feels like I’ve got a dead rat in my throat.”
However this is not the first time the singer has struggled with voice problems. “The Tottenham-born diva has previously battled to overcome vocal issues after she suffered a throat haemorrhage in 2011. The injury forced her to cancel a US tour to undergo surgery.”
In the aftermath of the operation, she had to teach herself how to sing again — and luckily for her millions of fans, she succeeded. This is quite common for many singers that push their voices beyond its limits and one of the key points advocated for in speech pathology practice. After the op, she was warned that more damage could be done if she placed her voice under a similar amount of stress again.
Speaking after her vocal op in 2012, Adele said: My voice has its limits. If I go on a 200-date world tour, it would happen again. I’ve struggled vocally both nights.
Adele broke the news about the cancellations in a heartfelt letter on twitter apologising to her fans which read “I’ve struggled vocally both nights.” “I went to see my throat doctor this evening because my voice didn’t open up at all today and it turns out I have damaged my vocal cords.” “And on medical advice I simply am unable to perform.”
The singer reported that she was “maxed out on steroids” for her voice and confessed that she even considered miming on stage to avoid cancelling her last shows , however she went on to say: “I have never done that, and I cannot in a million years do that to you. It would not be the real me. I’m sorry. Those who had purchased tickets have been promised a full reimbursement however, “last night, Adele’s team feared she may have paid a far more serious price for her epic world tour than she realised.” The star reportedly fears that she has suffered permanent damage to her vocal cords
Sources reported that “Adele was desperate to do the tour for her fans and her team did everything they could to protect her voice” with the dates for her concerts spaced out to allow Adele enough time to rest her voice and recover between performances. She has apparently followed this strict regime put forward by her vocal coaches precisely however it looks to have not been enough following her bout of poor health with bronchitis.
While fans are devastated, Adele has made the right choice to place her vocal health above her tour and hopefully with enough support from her Ear nose and throat specialists, speech pathologists and vocal coaches she will make a full and speedy recovery.
If you are a professional voice user or you would like more information about how to protect your voice, read our blog on everyday voice care strategies.
Reference
www.thesun.co.uk/devastated-adele-fears-vocal-cord-damage-wembley-stadium-tour
