Adele Stuns Impersonators With Performance; Follows Up With Awesome ‘SNL’ Performance

Singer-songwriter Adele has been busy promoting her new album 25 over the last few weeks, and a recent video of Adele auditioning to be an Adele impersonator has exploded online. The 27-year-old artist joined forces with BBC host Graham Norton for her own special, and effectively, it was a stroke of genius. Following up the special may have been difficult, but Adele swiftly followed her BBC performance with an appearance on Saturday Night Live that left the audience clamoring for more.

While on the BBC, Adele channeled her inner Cyrano de Bergerac and slid in among other Adele impersonators to audition for the privilege of impersonating herself. With a fake nose and chin and gloves to cover the tattoos on her wrist that would have been a dead giveaway, Adele clearly embraced the role, even softening her speaking voice as she fell into the role of “Jenny.”

Adele kibitzed with the other impersonators, agreeing with one by saying if her feet began to get sore, her shoes would come off during the performance, and when she was summoned to the stage for her “audition,” she missed her musical cue, telling the producer that she was just nervous. It was enough to have the other impersonators buy into the belief that Adele was really another impersonator. Until she opened her mouth to sing, the assembled impersonators believed she was, indeed, Jenny.

Adele admitted later that she was worried the impersonators would feel as though they were the “butt of the joke and be insulted. After the reveal you could tell it really made their day; they were so pleased. That made me kind of happy. That one girl knew like right away, that’s impressive. The other girls couldn’t believe it.”

According to Unilad, another impersonator, Katie Markham, knew right away the real deal was on the stage. “The others [down the line] they didn’t clip straightaway and then Lisa started roaring her eyes out,” she said. “Because none of them realized I thought, stuff this, and started singing with her.”

Adele spoke with the impersonators later and sang with them, as well, an experience which Markham described as being “ACE.”

According to The Telegraph, Adele was brilliant in her BBC appearance, and the sheer power of her voice evoked memories of “Dolly, Dusty, Barbra and Aretha.” She also spoke with host Graham Norton about topics like dating and weight loss.

“I don’t want to eat a Caesar salad with no dressing; why would I do that? I ain’t got time for this, just be happy and don’t be stupid,” she said during the interview.

Of the focus on her appearance, she said, “I like having my hair and face done, but I’m not going to lose weight because someone tells me to. I make music to be a musician not to be on the cover of Playboy.”

During her Saturday Night Live appearance, Adele remained her usual down-to-earth self, letting her vocals remain the focus of her performances. According to Hollywood Life, the only feature that Adele added to her Saturday Night Live stage was a rug. Hollywood Life said the decision for the simple stage, in addition to Adele’s decision to keep her wardrobe simple, made it seem as though Adele was “giving us all a personal concert in our very own living rooms.”

Her Saturday Night Live performance once again proved that Adele was truly a powerhouse, regardless of whether she was live or pre-recorded. With her expressive, open features and incredible voice that connects with audiences across all generations, it’s pretty clear that Adele’s latest album, 25, — the first single of which, “Hello,” practically broke the Internet at 25 million views in the first 24 hours — is sure to improve on the success of her previous album, 21.

[Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Sony Music]