Entertainment
What does it take for Adele to perform in Las Vegas? Residency headliner shares secrets of Sin City
Adele has faced a storm of criticism for cancelling her Vegas shows (Picture: Cliff Lipson/CBS via Getty Images)
It’s been two weeks since Adele abruptly pulled the plug on her anticipated Las Vegas shows, with fans currently in the dark about if and when the residency will go ahead.
The 33-year-old singer broke down in tears, clearly apologetic, while citing a Covid outbreak among her crew and production delays as the reason for the sudden cancellation just 24 hours before she was due to hit the stage.
It’s been suggested that she simply go ahead and perform with a stripped back show to dissipate the disappointment of her legions of fans, some of who paid as much as $1,000 (£737) for a ticket.
But, isn’t a Vegas residency all about the razzle, dazzle and big lights?
One person who knows all about the amount of work it takes to put on a huge residency in Sin City, is Tenors of Rock frontman Jimmy Denning, whose band has headlined there for over five years.
They say ‘what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas’, but allow Jimmy to spill all the behind-the-scenes tea…
‘We had played Vegas (one nighters) a few times over the years in the hope that one day we’d secure a residency but it’s a tough nut to crack,’ Jimmy told Metro.co.uk of Tenors of Rock’s humble beginnings.
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You might remember their audition on The X Factor in 2013 but since then, they’ve starred in various West End musicals including We Will Rock You, Wicked, Les Miserables and Sister Act.
He added: ‘We were on a tour of Asia when we received a call from Caesars Entertainment asking us if we wanted to bring our show to Harrah’s. After a brief period of negotiations and visa applications, we packed our bags (and our families) and headed to Sin City within six weeks of the call.
‘We’ve been here ever since.’
With a sense of pride, Jimmy revealed: ‘Every insider told us we’d only last three to four months so enjoy it, five years later we’re still here.’
Coincidentally, Caesars Entertainment is the company running Adele’s residency and so Jimmy is well-versed in their process.
Tenors of Rock opened at Harrah’s in January 2017 and performed there for two and a half years before moving onto Planet Hollywood for a year. However, Covid shut Vegas down in 2020 and they’ve been performing road dates around the US while their management works to resume their residency this summer.
Jimmy hails the Vegas audience as one of the best in the world, stating: ‘[It’s] a crazy place, audiences are so much fun, probably the most fun as anywhere we’ve played.
Tenors of Rock have headlined a residency in Vegas since 2017 (Picture: Sam Wasson#ENT/Getty Images)
The rock band’s residency at Planet Hollywood ran for a year before Covid shut everything down (Picture: Planet Hollywood)
Tenors of Rock performed five or six shows a week (Picture: Getty Images)
‘They come to this town to enjoy themselves and it really shows. I love it as we’re still the only X Factor contestants in history to have their own residency in Vegas. Performing is special anywhere but driving into a famous Las Vegas casino every night and seeing a 30ft. Billboard of yourselves is special.’
With Adele citing delays as one of the reasons for the postponement of her residency, many have wondered how far in advance her team began preparing for the shows given it was announced in November.
Tenors of Rock typically rehearse for around six weeks in Los Angeles with their team, and then an additional two weeks of tech rehearsals before they open.
‘While we were rehearsing our PR team and management were constantly in meetings with Caesars regarding publicity, appearances etc,’ Jimmy revealed.
Could Adele have done anything differently?
Jimmy said: ‘FirstIy I think she’s brilliant and it’s really unfortunate that its been cancelled, but I know the Caesars Entertainment directors well and they are very good at what they do. They host the biggest shows on a weekly basis and have a well oiled machine, so I’d say that there was no fault on their side.’
However, there are other challenges in Vegas, especially for a lesser known group like the Tenors of Rock compared to a superstar like Adele.
‘In Vegas on any given night there’s 180 shows performed so you have to work really hard at making an impact,’ Jimmy explained. ‘The town has many unique fluctuations in business, it’s so different to London, where traditionally Friday and Saturdays are the busiest, in Vegas the busy nights for ticketed shows are Tuesday-Thursday as the weekends suit a younger crowd who don’t typically see shows.
‘Knowing these trends is something we had to learn very quickly. Singing in Vegas is also very difficult as there’s no humidity, that took some getting used to,’ he said.
Tenors of Rock may have big voices but they also like to dazzle their audience with the type of extravaganza you’d expect of Vegas.
Reacting to the criticism Adele received for not going ahead with a stripped back show instead, Jimmy said: ‘We could absolutely do that, in fact we recently talked about doing that, but I don’t agree that Adele could. She’s the biggest star in music, the tickets are $600 (£442) (cheapest) and it’s Caesars Palace… people expect a big show and from what I know about it was going to be spectacular.’
Sharing his thoughts on the controversy, Jimmy continued: ‘Someone like Adele doesn’t just have to deal with her show, she’s got a mountain of other contractual responsibilities and in addition she has to be happy to come to the home of entertainment with a show she’s proud of.
More: Adele
‘I would cancel too if I wasn’t happy with the finished product.
‘She’s under incredible scrutiny so has to have 100% from everyone around her because if she doesn’t, it falls at her feet.
‘I hope she returns as she’s a class act but whatever has happened was obviously serious enough to warrant cancellation.’
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