Anyone watching Adele at the Grammys Monday night can’t have failed to notice the audio issues that plagued the performance, her first at the awards show in four years.
Singing All I Ask from her recently released 25 album, the first sign that all was not well came when the sound dropped out for a few seconds near the start. After that, particular piano notes were delivered with a clanging sound which had many viewers hitting Twitter speculating about the cause of the problem. You can get a flavor of the fiasco below:
Ever the professional, the star ploughed on regardless, though it’s also possible she wasn’t aware of the issue while she was on stage.
Responding to fans disappointed with the ropey sound, a spokesperson for CBS told Billboard there’d been a “five-to-eight second technical issue with the broadcast,” insisting it was out of the network’s control. However, the explanation made no reference to the other weird noises heard throughout the song.
Adele took to Twitter later to explain to fans what’d happened. “The piano mics fell on to the piano strings,” she wrote, adding, “Shit happens.”
The piano mics fell on to the piano strings, that’s what the guitar sound was. It made it sound out of tune. Shit happens. X
— Adele (@Adele) February 16, 2016
Still, the technical mishap clearly wasn’t all bad news for the singer:
Because of it though… I’m treating myself to an in n out. So maybe it was worth it.
— Adele (@Adele) February 16, 2016
London-born Adele is currently enjoying huge success with 25, her first album in five years. On its release in November it became the biggest-selling record of 2015 in the space of just a week, and was also the biggest-selling debut since Billboard/Nielsen Music began tracking album sales back in 1991.
The 27-year-old global sensation is gearing up for a massive U.S. tour set to kick off in July that’ll see her play 56 shows across the country, including at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, LA’s Staples Center, and New York’s Madison Square Garden. Presumably she’ll have the sound sorted out by then.
