--- title: Grammys 2016: Adele Sound Issues - What Went Wrong description: Fans noticed the singer was battling sound issues canonical: https://time.com/4225527/grammys-2016-adele-sound-issues-what-went-wrong/ author: Nolan Feeney article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-16T16:13:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T15:06:23.110Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: What Went Wrong With Adele's Grammy Performance og:description: Fans noticed the singer was battling sound issues og:url: https://time.com/4225527/grammys-2016-adele-sound-issues-what-went-wrong/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc0d3933eb2f4181c/69887db8ab6d77a9786a8702/adele-grammys-2016-sound-issues-performance-all-i-ask.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Adele Grammys 2016 Sound Issues Performance All I Ask og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What Went Wrong With Adele's Grammy Performance twitter:description: Fans noticed the singer was battling sound issues twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc0d3933eb2f4181c/69887db8ab6d77a9786a8702/adele-grammys-2016-sound-issues-performance-all-i-ask.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's What Went Wrong With Adele's Grammys Performance > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account.  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Feb 16, 2016 4:13 PM UTC  Adele performs onstage during the 58th Annual Grammy music Awards in Los Angeles February 15, 2016. Adele performs onstage during the 58th Annual Grammy music Awards in Los Angeles February 15, 2016.ROBYN BECK—AFP/Getty Images  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Feb 16, 2016 4:13 PM UTC [Adele](http://time.com/4155795/adele-time-cover-story-interview-motherhood-25/)‘s live performances are typically memorable affairs, but during the [Grammys](http://time.com/4224932/grammys-2016-winners-list-nominees/) on Monday night, her performance of “All I Ask” from her record-breaking album _25_ was memorable for the wrong reasons. Viewers tweeting along with the broadcast [could tell something was off](http://time.com/4225052/grammys-2016-adele-all-i-ask/) about the performance: why did the sound cut out for a few seconds? Why did one of pop music’s most talented singers sound a little flat at times? And what was that weird guitar sound? A CBS spokesperson told TIME in an email that there was a five-to-eight second technical issue with the broadcast that was outside the network’s control. Adele herself offered an explanation on Twitter after the show, saying that a microphone accident threw her off: “The piano mics fell on to the piano strings, that’s what the guitar sound was,” she wrote. “It made it sound out of tune. Sh-t happens.” Neil Portnow, the president of the Recording Academy, said after the show that the Grammys sound team tried to cover up the mic error by switching to a backup system but that [the transition was “not seamless.”](http://music.blog.ajc.com/2016/02/16/grammy-president-explains-adele-glitch-rihanna-and-lauryn-hill-absences/) “We have backup systems and it order to get to the backup system, you have to cut off the initial system,” he explained. “Usually, it is seamless … it was fixed in a matter of seconds, but we’re never happy when something like that happens.” Some fans on Twitter suspected there might have been something wrong with Adele’s earpiece, a device that helps singers hear themselves during live performances and stay in tune, though _Billboard_ reports that Adele [appeared to be performing without one](http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/grammys/6875382/adele-grammy-performance-technical-issues). On the bright side, as many Twitter users remarked, an off Adele performance is still better than many artists’ good performance. The mishap also prompted Adele to treat herself to some In-n-Out Burger, so who _really_ won big Sunday night? “Maybe it was worth it,” Adele said of her fast-food feast. > [](https://twitter.com/Adele/status/699457178717958145) > [](https://twitter.com/Adele/status/699457767896002561) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4225527/grammys-2016-adele-sound-issues-what-went-wrong/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4225527/grammys-2016-adele-sound-issues-what-went-wrong/"},"headline":"Here's What Went Wrong With Adele's Grammys Performance","datePublished":"2016-02-16T16:13:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:06:23.110Z","description":"Fans noticed the singer was battling sound issues","url":"https://time.com/4225527/grammys-2016-adele-sound-issues-what-went-wrong/","keywords":["Music","Adele"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc0d3933eb2f4181c/69887db8ab6d77a9786a8702/adele-grammys-2016-sound-issues-performance-all-i-ask.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc0d3933eb2f4181c/69887db8ab6d77a9786a8702/adele-grammys-2016-sound-issues-performance-all-i-ask.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Adele Grammys 2016 Sound Issues Performance All I Ask","caption":"Adele Grammys 2016 Sound Issues Performance All I Ask","creditText":"ROBYN BECK—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4225527/grammys-2016-adele-sound-issues-what-went-wrong/","name":"Here's What Went Wrong With Adele's Grammys Performance"}}]}] ```