Claiming serious vocal problems, Adele - the bestselling artist of
2011 - canceled her second run of U.S. dates this year on October 4th.
The soul superstar has yet to announce when she'll return. "If I
continue to pick up everything before I have properly conquered these
problems and nipped them in the bud, I will be totally and utterly
f**ked," she wrote on her website. "Singing is literally my life, it's
my hobby, my love, my freedom and now my job. I have absolutely no
choice but to recuperate properly and fully, or I risk damaging my voice
forever."
The condition she's suffering from, a vocal hemorrhage, generally
doesn't require the extensive break Adele is taking, according to
several top throat surgeons. But because Adele has suffered repeat
injuries, she could need the kind of throat surgery Aerosmith's Steven
Tyler underwent in 2006. (He was singing again within five months.
Graham Nash and Elton John have had similar issues.) "It's very fixable,
basically," says Tyler's doctor, Steven Zeitels, a Harvard professor
and director of the Center for Laryngeal Surgery and Voice
Rehabilitation at Massachusetts General Hospital. "This is not something
that's a deal breaker, even remotely."
Given that Adele's 21
has sold more than 4 million copies this year in the U.S. and she's
barely toured here, promoters say demand for a major tour is enormous.
The good news? Concert-industry sources tell Rolling Stone
Adele is planning to return to the road by next year. "She's holding
arenas," says a source with knowledge of her schedule. Adds another,
"For a while, they were hopeful of arenas this fall, and then it started
moving into next year."
Fans who can't wait will have to make do with the live DVD Adele is
releasing November 29th, shot at a recent Royal Albert Hall performance.
"We felt it was important to capture and document a show in what has
turned out to be a record-breaking year," says manager Jonathan Dickins,
who declined to comment on Adele's vocal issues. "There was no better
place to do this than in London, her hometown."
Related
- Video: Adele on '21': 'The Songs on Here Are the Most Articulate I've Ever Written'
- Video: Adele Discusses Influences for '21'
- Photos: Choice Excerpts from Adele's Rolling Stone Cover Story
- Adele Opens Up About Her Inspirations, Looks and Stage Fright in Rolling Stone Cover Story
This story is from the November 10, 2011 issue of Rolling Stone.
Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage