When it comes to the biggest A-listers in the world, the lines between fan and celebrity blur. Such was the case last weekend at the Grammys, when superstar Adele was surprised by none other than Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. This blog post will take you behind the scenes of how The Rock pulled off this amazing moment, and why it was so special for both of them.
Adele has made no secret of her admiration for Johnson, revealing in a December 2021 appearance with YouTuber NikkieTutorials, “Someone that I’ve never met that I think I would actually cry is The Rock.” The singer said she was “the biggest wrestling fan when I was younger,” and shared that Johnson had sent her flowers when he couldn’t make one of her shows. “I nearly fell off my chair,” she raved.
At the Grammys, Johnson was the surprise guest of host Trevor Noah, and stunned Adele with a giant hug at her front row table in the audience. Later during the show, Johnson was the presenter of the category that Adele won, and handed over her award for best pop solo performance.
Now, Johnson himself tells Variety how he pulled off the surprise. “We wanted to do something special for Adele,” Johnson says. “I know that she is a very big fan of mine and has made that clear publicly many times. But I’ve got to tell you, I am a huge fan of hers, as well — her music, her journey, her openness and directness in how she speaks. I’ve always admired that about her.”
Johnson had been in production on his upcoming film, “Red One,” and was hoping to wrap in time to attend the Grammys, since he and his wife, singer-songwriter Lauren Hashian, wanted to attend the ceremony together. Once Johnson confirmed his attendance to the Grammys, the telecast’s executive producer, Ben Winston of Fulwell 73, pitched him the idea of surprising Adele at the top of the show.
The key to a surprise like that is to actually keep it a surprise. Johnson and the Grammys went to great lengths to make sure that Adele was authentically surprised in the moment, and she was. “It was just a great surprise and I was able to chat with her a little bit and her boyfriend, Rich Paul,” Johnson says. “And talk about the universe meeting our friendship halfway: I get up onstage and I open that Grammy envelope and it said ‘Adele.’ So that’s why I was able to say, ‘Get up here best friend, Adele!’ It was such a special night. And she’s such a special iconic brilliant inspiring artist who has inspired a generation and who will continue to inspire generations to come. I love that woman. We had a really great time tonight.”
This moment between Adele and The Rock was truly special, and this blog post will take you behind the scenes of how it all came together. From Johnson’s production schedule to the lengths they both went to keep it a surprise, this is a story of two of the biggest stars in the world coming together in an amazing way.
Source: variety.com