Adele at the BBC

Adele at the BBC
Presented by	Graham Norton
Starring	Adele
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
Production
Executive producer	Guy Freeman
Producers	Anouk Fontaine, Lawrie Jordan, Daniel Brookes
Production locations	London, United Kingdom
Running time	65 minutes
Original release
Network	BBC One
Release	20 November 2015 (2015-11-20)

Adele at the BBC (also known as Adele Live in London to some international markets)^[1][2] is a television special featuring British singer and songwriter Adele, hosted by Graham Norton for BBC One, and which was recorded at The London Studios, London, United Kingdom^[3] on 2 November 2015. The programme featured Adele and her live band performing songs from her repertoire and third studio album 25 (2015), as well as other songs from her other two albums, 19 (2008) and 21 (2011), alongside Adele being interviewed by Norton.

The show featured the first public performance of her single "Hello" and two other tracks from 25,^[4] and her first television appearance since the 85th Academy Awards (2013).^[5] It also featured sketch sections, where Adele interacted with her fans, including a group of Adele impersonators.^[6] The show was broadcast on Friday 20 November on BBC One from 20:30 – 21:35 GMT, the same day that her new album 25 was released.^[7]

Since this was broadcast, numerous other artists have had "at the BBC" specials too: Michael Bublé, Harry Styles, Sam Smith, U2 and Ariana Grande.

Background

Following the release of 21 (2011), Adele was considering quitting the music industry altogether, stating she thought it was better to "go out on a high". However, in early 2012 she announced she was simply taking a hiatus from music in order to "take time and live a little bit".^[8] Her hiatus from music came to an end after the birth of her first child in October 2012, with Adele stating her son inspired her to start recording music again in order for him to "know what I do".^[9][10] In early October, Adele released a letter to her fans through social media addressing the album, in which she confirmed that the album would be titled 25.^[11]

Adele confirmed that 25 would be released on 20 November 2015, and revealed its cover simultaneously on Facebook and Twitter.^[12] On October 2, 2015 numerous music journalists began reporting that it was suspected that Adele had been offered a one-hour TV special on the BBC, however these reports were not confirmed.^[13] On 27 October, following the reports BBC One announced plans for Adele at the BBC, a one-hour special presented by Graham Norton in which he will talk to Adele about her new album.^[14] The show was recorded before a live audience on 2 November and was transmitted on BBC One on 20 November 2015.^[7][14] Tickets for the live show, which were free, were made available through a lottery style system and were requested by the public.^[15]

The show marks the first live performances by Adele of three songs from the album 25: "Hello", "When We Were Young", and "Million Years Ago".^[16]

Songs performed

1. "Rolling in the Deep"^[16]
2. "Hello"^[16]
3. "Rumour Has It"^[16]
4. "Skyfall"^[16][17]
5. "Million Years Ago"^[6]
6. "Hometown Glory"^[6]
7. "When We Were Young"^[16]
8. "Someone like You"^[16]

• "Make You Feel My Love" is also featured, as part of a sketch in which Adele is seen auditioning for a television special alongside a roomful of impersonators, posing as a nanny named "Jenny", before appearing on stage to surprise them.^[18]

Broadcasting

The programme was broadcast on 20 November 2015 on BBC One, the same day that her new album 25 was released.^[7] BBC One aired an extended version of the programme on New Year's Day 2016, including further footage of the sketch in which Adele posed as Jenny. By 4 December 2015, footage of the scenes had been viewed 37 million times on the BBC's YouTube site, making it the most watched programme on there.^[19][20]

Prior to the show's announcement BBC Worldwide had secured numerous pre-sales for the one-off event, with broadcasters in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain and 4 other countries. The BBC secured deals with VRT, CTV, NPO 3 and Canal Plus respectively for hour-long BBC One show, BBC Worldwide offered international broadcasters the choice of buying the original 60-minute version of the show, hosted by Graham Norton and with his interview with Adele, or a 45-minute performance-only edit.^[21][22]

In Ireland the programme was simulcast on RTÉ2, where it aired as Adele Live in London.^[2]

Reception

The programme received a five-star review from The Daily Telegraph, which described it as 'a stroke of genius' and 'old-fashioned, generous, fun and moving.'.^[6] Overnight viewing figures indicated that the one-off special was viewed by 4.54 million viewers, giving the programme a 19.8% audience share in that evening's 8.30pm timeslot.^[23] Consolidated figures show that the special was watched by a total of 6.36 million viewers and was the 11th most watched programme on BBC one during its week of broadcast.

See also

• 2015 in British television
• Adele Live in New York City
• Adele One Night Only

References

1. Strecker, Erin (28 January 2016). "BBC America Will Air 'Adele: Live in London' Special". Retrieved 30 March 2016.
2. "On the Box – Weekly TV Preview". RTÉ Ten. RTÉ. 11 November 2015. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
3. "The London Studios on Twitter: "We are so excited for ADELE AT THE BBC which was filmed in our studios earlier this week."". Twitter.com. 6 November 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
4. "Bob Shennan, BBC Director of Music, Discusses Adele's Beeb-Exclusive TV Comeback". Billboard. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
5. "BBC Music presents 'Adele at the BBC'". BBC. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
6. Bernadette McNulty (20 November 2015). "Adele at the BBC, with Graham Norton". The Telegraph. Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
7. "Adele at the BBC". BBC Media Centre. BBC. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
8. Kaufman, Gil (3 April 2012) "Adele To Release New Single This Year". MTV. Retrieved 19 October 2012
9. "Adele Admits Almost Quitting Music After '21'". 23 October 2015. Archived from the original on 27 March 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
10. "Adele Gives Birth to Baby Boy". Billboard. 21 October 2012.
11. "Adele Finally Shares Update on New Album '25': 'I'm Sorry It Took So Long'". Billboard. 24 February 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
12. Feeney, Nolan (22 October 2015). "Adele Just Shared the Release Date for New Album 25". Time. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
13. Mark Yapching (2 October 2015). "Adele new album release date: one-hour BBC special to show off new album". Vinereport.com. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
14. "Adele to film BBC One special with Graham Norton". BBC News. BBC. 27 October 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
15. "Adele BBC Special: Taping and Ticket Info for 'Adele Live in London'". Mic. 28 October 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
16. "Adele at the BBC review: honest, funny and spectacular – Celebrity News News". Reveal. 18 November 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
17. "BBC iPlayer – Adele at the BBC". Bbc.co.uk. 1 January 1970. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
18. Reid, Joe (21 December 2015). "Adele Surprised a Room Full of Adele Impersonators, Leading to Tears". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
19. Fletcher, Harry (4 December 2015). "Adele just keeps breaking records, as her lookalike sketch racks up record 37 million views for BBC YouTube". Digital Spy. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
20. Doran, Sarah (4 December 2015). "Adele tickets: new tour dates announced for London's 02 Arena". Radio Times. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
21. Hannah Gannagé-Stewart. "BBCW scores Adele pre-sales | News | Broadcast". Broadcastnow.co.uk. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
22. Mark Sweney (19 November 2015). "BBC sells Adele show to global audience". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
23. Hegarty, Tasha (21 November 2015). "UK TV Ratings: I'm a Celebrity attracts 7 million viewers on Friday night". Digital Spy. Retrieved 4 March 2016.

External links

• Adele at the BBC at BBC Online