Adele is again suffering the effects of damage to her vocal cords, she announced in a Facebook post Friday night. As a result, she canceled the final two shows of her world tour. The performances were to take place at London's Wembley Stadium on Saturday and Sunday evenings, and would have capped off a four-date run there.
"To say I'm heartbroken would be a complete understatement," the singer wrote in her statement. "To not complete this milestone in my career is something I'm struggling to get my head around and I wish that I wasn't having to write this. ... I'm sorry. I'm devastated."
The decision was based on advice from her throat doctor, Adele wrote. After having to "push a lot harder" than usual during her first two shows at Wembley, the 29-year-old singer visited her doctor and learned she had damaged her vocal cords.
This isn't the first time Adele has canceled performances due to vocal damage. In October 2011, she decided to forego all remaining appearances that year in order to have throat surgery. In a 2012 60 Minutes interview following the surgery, she indicated that the damage could happen again "if I decide to go on a 200-date world tour." This most recent tour included 123 scheduled performances.
Adele wrote that refunds would be available to ticketholders if the Wembley performances could not be rescheduled. However, she had indicated in a handwritten note in the program for her Wednesday evening concert that this week's shows might be her last-ever tour dates.
"I wanted my final shows to be in London because I don't know if I'll ever tour again and so I want my last time to be at home," she wrote.
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