A hilarious account of one fan's three gloriously failed attempts to see Adele in concert

@elenisabracos on TikTok
Look, it’s a sad situation for anyone to hear that Adele will not be gracing the stage any time soon. The beloved singer woefully announced on Instagram last Friday (Jan 21) that her planned residency in Las Vegas “wasn’t ready” due to coronavirus. Half of her crew had been infected, making it “impossible to finish the show.”
But for one fan in particular, who has tried—and failed miserably—to catch Adele live on three separate occasions, the news hit particularly hard. Luckily, her sense of humor proves that any tragedy can turn into comedy gold.
This story, with all its hilarious twists and turns, is quite the delightful saga. And though it doesn’t erase all the gutting disappointments left from pandemic cancellations, it does serve as wholesome entertainment.
Eleni Sabracos (@elenisabracos) shared her doomed journey on TikTok, which began in 2016.
@elenisabracos IM NOT MAD AT #ADELE I JUST WANT TO GIVE HER THESE SHIRTS AND DRINK WHISPERING ANGEL TOGETHER #storytime #ellenshow ♬ original sound - Eleni
Sabracos purchased tickets to see Adele at Madison Square Garden. Fake tickets, it turns out.
“Nobody felt bad for me because I bought them off Craigslist so that was my own doing,” Sabracos declared sarcastically.
Attempt #2: Sabracos bought tickets (legitimately this time) to see Adele in concert at Wembley Stadium in London the next summer. Got a confirmation number and everything.
Deciding to raise the stakes, she even upgraded to the very VIP “golden circle” seat, which would, theoretically, have Sabracos so up close and personal with Adele she’d probably know what perfume she was wearing.
The impassioned “I WAS IN THE GOLDEN CIRCLE!” gets me every time.
That should make up for the previous blunder, right? Wrong.
Just one day before the concert, Adele canceled the show “on medical advice” after damaging her vocal cords. To be fair, Adele did not take this lightly either, and was “devastated” to let her fans down.
Unfortunately, Sabracos had already crossed the pond to see her.
“Mind you I risked my life to be there,” Sabracos exclaimed, “on this cardboard airplane called WOW airlines.” She then pointed to a headline showing that the carrier company had since been discontinued. Yikes.
“The only thing wow about it was that it was surprising the airplane could fly!” This girl is a natural comedienne.
One last twist of the proverbial knife: Deciding to give herself a comfort meal, Sabracos requested an uber driver to take her to a nearby restaurant. That driver’s name, eerily enough, was Adeel. Will this pain never end?!
At this point, Sabracos had become a viral sensation, even making a guest appearance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."
She had T-shirts printed, which read “I love Adele like Adele loves Beyonce," and everything.
Cut to 2021, when Sabracos’ brother gave her tickets to Adele’s Vegas show. Third time was certainly not the charm in this case.
@elenisabracos's custom-made (and seemingly cursed) t-shirts
Already in her hotel room in Las Vegas, Sabracos yells at the top of her lungs “WHYYYYY?” like a thwarted cartoon villain on hearing the news. And then she whispers in a tiny voice, ”I still brought the shirts.”
“Adele is part of the most elaborate April Fools prank ever,” one person commented. And hey, he might be onto something.
This story does have a happy ending though.
@elenisabracos THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING LADIES AND GENTS
♬ original sound - Eleni
In a follow-up video, Sabracos did in fact get to FaceTime with the British pop queen. And it sounds like there will be a meet-and-greet in the future, complete with wine and shirt giving.
Beware, well-deserved shrieks of excitement ensue.
Though Sabracos has yet to be successful in her original mission to see Adele live, this series of unfortunate events led to having one truly unique fan experience.
You know what they say, it’s about the journey, not the destination.
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.