Adele reacts to her first TV appearance aged 19: "You can see fear behind my eyes"

22 May 2025, 16:06

Adele was an unsigned 19-year-old fresh out of high school when she was spotted by a producer and invited to perfom live on TV.

Adele may be one of the most famous – if not the most famous – female solo star in the world.

From Oscars and Grammys to platinum selling albums and a famed Vegas residency, the British star has made a mark on the music world that will be remembered for generations to come.

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But where did it all begin for the Tottenham-born star?

Back in 2007, 19-year-old Adele Laurie Blue Adkins was just a teenager with a dream.

Influenced by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald and Etta James, the youngster had aspirations of becoming a singer, writing her first song 'Hometown Glory', aged just 16, inspired by South London.

While at the BRIT School for Performing Arts & Technology in Croydon – notable past pupils include Amy Winehouse, Leona Lewis, and Jessie J – a friend uploaded a demo of Adele singing onto MySpace and it was spotted by a TV executive.

Alison Howe was the series producer of the BBC TV show Later... with Jools Holland, a show known for showcasing both established and emerging artists.

In a surprising move, the producer made the decision to invite the completely unknown Adele to perform on the show.

The 19-year-old was unsigned and had not even released a single, yet Howe saw something special in her voice and performing presence.

Adele's first-ever television appearance took place on June 8, 2007, when she performed her song "Daydreamer" on BBC Two.

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Introduced by Jools Holland as 'Adele from Brixton', the teen went on to give a heart-stopping solo performance to a rapt live studio audience.

Her appearance was a huge success, leading to Adele being signed by XL Recordings and the release of her breakout album 19 in 2008.

The footage of her first TV performnace shows the raw talent the teeanger possesed at such a young age as she dominated the stage, but in later interviews Adele has admitted she was terrified during the performance.

Adele - Daydreamer (Later... Jools Holland in June 2007)

“You can see the fear behind my eyes," she said in an interview with Vogue in 2012.

"The first TV show I ever did was Later . . . With Jools Holland ... and I was sandwiched between Björk and Paul McCartney," she recalled.

"And the fear in my eyes is exactly the same fear that’s in my eyes when I come on singing now. The more records I sell and the bigger this all gets, the bigger the shows get. It’s like a vicious cycle."

Despite her fear of performing, TV producer Howe has since spoken about what makes Adele so unique.

“She flips between being a regular girl and Adele..." she tells The Guardian.

"She’s like every other girl from London, she’s just got more money. But she’s also a woman who knows exactly what she wants her music to do and how she wants it to make [listeners] feel.

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Adding: "She completely knows – that’s what makes her special."

Howe was also among the first to hear tracks from Adele's second album, 21.

She recalled being particularly struck by 'Someone Like You': "She played me some of the second record and I thought it was more of the same – I mean, more of these beautiful songs, but bigger and bolder.

"They sounded great, but I never really forgot this one song, 'Someone Like You'. She did it on the last [Later] show of 2010, and then the same song at the [2011] Brits, and the rest was history."

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