If you want to see a story of an industry team supporting an artist’s refusal to rush, you can’t look much further than Adele.
The British superstar has just announced her first ever run of stadium dates, which will finish with two performances at London’s Wembley.
The news comes in the same week that the singer/songwriter’s huge 107-date world tour – ‘Adele Live 2016’ – draws to a close.
“I bloody smashed it, even if I do say so myself.”
Adele on her 107-date Arena tour
Resisting industry pressure to play to stadiums (not to mention a bumper pay day), Adele and her management team at September agreed to keep these 107 shows – all linked to her record-breaking album 25 – restricted to Arena-level venues.
Vindicating this decision, she won rave reviews across the board for the intimacy and entertainment on offer – as well as that voice and those songs, of course.
(Those rave reviews also greeted her giant Glastonbury headline performance – to a crowd of over 150,000 people – in June.)
After completing her final arena show in Phoenix, Arizona on Tuesday (November 22), Adele said on Instagram: “I just finished my 107 shows in 10 months. 100% every night. I bloody smashed it, even if I do say so myself.”
It was her third major set of concerts since being a signed artist, following ‘Adele Live’ in 2011 and 2008/2009’s ‘An Evening With Adele’ – which were respectively linked to her two previous albums, 21 and 19.
Adele will play a stadium for the first time on February 28 next year – when she also plays her first show in Australia – at the Domain Stadium in Perth.
Eight more stadium shows in Australia and New Zealand will follow in March, culminating in a night at the Smart Stadium, Auckland, NZ.
Adele has hinted on Twitter that these stadium performances will differ to her arena shows.
She says they will be played “in the round” – industry terminology for a concert held in the center of a large venue.
“These shows promise to be one of those epic ‘I was there’ Wembley moments.”
Jim Frayling, Wembley Stadium
She will then play the two Wembley dates on June 29 and July 1 next year.
Wembley’s Head Of Business Development Jim Frayling told MBW: “These shows promise to be one of those epic ‘I was there’ Wembley moments.
“The biggest artist in the world on her home turf at Wembley Stadium. We’ve been working on this for a long time and it’s great for everyone associated with the stadium that these shows are confirmed.”
2016 marks the ten year anniversary of Adele signing both to Jonathan Dickins‘ September Management and Richard Russell’s XL Recordings.
Could have gone worse.Music Business Worldwide
