“I want a big break after this and I think I want to do other creative things just for a little while”: Adele announces her own indefinite hiatus

Adele at the Euro 2024 final
Adele at the Euro 2024 final in Berlin (Image credit: Getty Images/ANP)

Those sitting expectantly anticipating new music from Adele should prepare themselves for a long wait. The Tottenham-born singer has announced that after her current commitments are over she intends to have a ‘big break’ from music.

In an interview with German broadcaster ZDF, the singer said: “My tank is quite empty from being on stage every weekend in Las Vegas. I don’t have any plans for new music, at all.”

“I want a big break after this and I think I want to do other creative things just for a little while.”

Adele has been performing a weekly Las Vegas residency since November 2022. This runs until November this year, but prior to the last dates there she has a run of 10 shows in Munich spread over five weeks in a purpose-built stadium.

Adele - Easy On Me (Official Video) - YouTube Adele - Easy On Me (Official Video) - YouTube
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As befitting a singer who has broken all sorts of records since she emerged in the late Noughties, the German shows are on a grand scale. The stadium has a capacity of 80,000 and includes a 13,000 seater ‘Adele World’ food hall, with an English-style pub, separate stage for covers bands and specially designed cocktails. In the main area, the screens alone are apparently the largest ever put in place for an outdoor concert, at a whopping 220 by 30 metres.

The German press trip coincided with the Euros and the singer attended England’s Semi Final and last Sunday’s Final against Spain. During the semi she inadvertently created a viral moment when she was seen to tell the Dutch fans to “shut up” before Harry Kane’s first-half penalty. These things tend to happen when you’re that famous...

In the ZDF interview she talked nostalgically about the time before she became a mega-celebrity: “I miss everything about before I was famous, I think probably being anonymous the most,” she said.

“I like that I get to make music all the time, whenever I want to, and people are receptive to it and like it. That’s pretty unimaginable. But the fame side of it I absolutely hate.”

She continued: “The fact that people are even interested in my songs and my voice is pretty wild. I don’t think it ever gets normal. So it’s worth it, the balance.”

Adele’s last album, 30, came out in 2021 and even that was six years on from her previous album. So the message would seem to be: don’t expect any more music until the latter years of this decade. At least.

Will Simpson
News and features writer

Will Simpson is a freelance music expert whose work has appeared in Classic Rock, Classic Pop, Guitarist and Total Guitar magazine. He is the author of 'Freedom Through Football: Inside Britain's Most Intrepid Sports Club' and his second book 'An American Cricket Odyssey' is due out in 2025