A full-length version of Adele’s 42-minute NBC special, Adele: Live In New York, is now available for streaming, courtesy of the network.
Shot on November 17 at Radio City Music Hall in New York, the special features hits from the songstress’s monster album, 25, as well as older hits from previous albums, including the tunes Rolling In The Deep and Skyfall.
The performance is powerful and beautifully executed, with Adele in a black and gold sequined dress, surrounded by a live band dressed in black. More of a classical style, the show is stripped down and doesn’t feature colorful light work, pyrotechnics displays, or multiple costume changes — as one might expect from bigger pop stars. Instead, the show has an air of simple beauty that is hard to find in music specials of this cultural magnitude.
Produced by legendary Saturday Night Live show-runner Lorne Michaels, Adele: Live In New York was shot in the same manner as a musical performance would be on the late night variety show. With clean-cut camera angles, and many current and former SNL stars in various VIP shots between songs, the special is well-executed, and fits Adele’s own simple-yet-elegant style.
In fact, the performance probably serves as a good preview for those who plan to purchase tickets to Adele’s recently-announced North American tour when they go on sale this Thurday. With emotive renditions of songs like Hello and When We Were Young, those who do make it to one of the coveted tour dates aren’t likely to be disappointed.
That said, the fact that NBC has made the performance available for streaming in full is somewhat unexpected, in that the singer herself has withheld her current album 25 from all streaming services.
But fans of Adele will no doubt appreciate the live show, and with over five million albums sold since mid-November, they’ve probably already bought the album anyway.
