Adele bursts into tears, hugs Celine Dion at Las Vegas residency show
Adele just celebrated a full-circle moment with the Queen of Power Ballads.
The “Easy on Me” singer — who is approaching the end of her Las Vegas residency — was mid-show on Saturday night when she spotted one of her musical heroes, Celine Dion, in the crowd.
In fan-captured footage of the emotional moment, Adele couldn’t help but halt her performance of “When We Were Young” to go out into the audience and tearfully embrace the singer.
As the crowd went wild, the Grammy winners shared an emotional hug, exchanging a few words before Dion kissed the British siren’s hand and sent her on her way. Additional footage caught Dion dabbing at her eyes while Adele did the same on her way back to the stage, occasionally getting choked up as she continued the performance.
Adele made sure to spread the love, calling on her audience to celebrate the Canadian icon. “Give it up for Miss Celine Dion!” she exclaimed, still wiping tears away as Dion stood for an ovation.
Once on stage, Adele took another moment to celebrate Dion, whom she called “one of my favorite people of all time.” She then acknowledged the significance of crossing paths with Dion while performing at the Colosseum Theatre at Caesars Palace, the venue originally constructed for Dion’s 2003 debut residency.
Recalling her decision to host her residency in the same venue, Adele told the crowd, “I don’t wanna play in a room where Celine was — I wanna play in the room that was built for her. And it’s only ever been about this room.”
The singer then reiterated her intent to take a long hiatus after her residency comes to a close in November, adding, “I love my life and it’s real. And I’m not saying that we’re not real tonight together, but I have so many things that I want to do.”
She added, “It’s been my ride-or-die, this room. This is just a full-circle moment for me, so it’s amazing.”
Adele’s love of Dion has been well documented. Not only does she own a wad of the singer’s used chewing gum, but in 2018 she visited Dion backstage at the same venue during her Power of Love residency. Afterwards, she wrote on Instagram, “Queen Celine! What a show, an absolute highlight of my life. Thank you so much for the attention to your crowd and insane humor. Happy New Year, lady x.”
In her own post, Dion wrote, “Wasn’t able to do all my shows, but was thrilled that Adele came to one of them… I love her so much!!”
Dion was also the star who presented Adele with her Grammy for Song of the Year, for her track “Hello,” in 2017. Though recent years have seen Dion step back from the spotlight due to her diagnosis with stiff person syndrome, she has been enjoying a comeback since singing at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics in July.