Washington: Despite multiple assurances that she would focus on acting during her appearance as host on ‘Saturday Night Live,’ English singer-songwriter Adele burst into song several times during a spoof on reality dating series ‘The Bachelor’ about half an hour into the show.
According to Variety, the skit found the 32-year-old songstress, who was introduced as her superstar self, interrupting every bachelor-dating scenario by bursting into solo-with-pianist versions of one of her hits — ‘Hello,’ ‘Set Fire to the Rain,’ and others – to the annoyance of the other women.
The skit concludes with her breaking up a final scenario by breaking into a brief but full-voiced finale of ‘Someone Like You,’ walking out into the studio the small, audience as they whooped and cheered. “Catch me next week on ‘Love Island’!” she shouted with a smile at the end.
Adele said in an Instagram post announcing her hosting spot, “I am beside myself that H.E.R will be the musical guest!! I love her SO much I can’t wait to melt into a flaming hot mess when she performs, then confuses myself while I laugh my arse off in between it all.” (The fast-rising R&B singer H.E.R. was indeed excellent during her two performances.)
During her opening monologue, Adele had even said that she wouldn’t sing on the show, explaining that her long-awaited follow-up to her blockbuster 2015 album ’25’ isn’t finished, “and I’d rather put on some wigs, have a glass of wine or six and just see what happens!”
As reported by Variety, about her songs, Adele had said casually late last year that a new album would arrive in September. Her manager Jonathan Dickins told Music Week in June, “We’re all in the same boat, you’re doing stuff and then all of a sudden, the world stops. It’ll come when it’s ready. I can’t put a date on that yet. We have music, but we’re still working.”
The ‘When We Were Young’ songstress is reported to have been working with Raphael Saadiq and John Legend on new material, and longtime collaborator Paul Epworth, who co-wrote her 2011 hit ‘Rolling in the Deep’ and the Oscar-winning James Bond song ‘Skyfall’ with Adele, told The Times of the challenges in trying to top their earlier work.
Epworth said, “Every time there’s a little bit more pressure. It comes from the fact the first f***ing thing we did was ‘Rolling in the Deep.’ There’s more expectation from her and from me. And maybe I put pressure on myself to try and recreate it? It’s very difficult. We’d pick up the guitar and go, ‘Can’t do it.’ It feels like we’re trying to retread old ground.”