Adele named first BRIT Awards performer

Adele has been named the first live performer for the 2016 BRIT Awards.

The three-time BRIT Award winner will return to London's O2 Arena stage on 24 February (16) for the 35th annual prizegiving.
"You couldn't get a bigger name in music right now," BRIT chairman Max Lousada said in a statement. "Adele is having an exceptional moment and The BRITs are delighted to be a part of her history, her present and future."

Adele last appeared at the ceremony in 2012, when she performed her hit Rolling in the Deep, and won Best British Album (21) and British Female.

However, it was her 2011 performance of her song Someone Like You which cemented her stardom. Accompanied only by a piano, Adele grew emotional towards the end of the song and began to tear up, making it one of the most-talked about performances in BRIT Awards history.

"I was really emotional by the end because I'm quite overwhelmed by everything anyway," Adele explained to IVT2 about the appearance. "And then I had a vision of my ex, of him watching me at home and he's going to be laughing at me because he knows I'm crying because of him, with him thinking, 'Yep, she's still wrapped around my finger.' Then everyone stood up, so I was overwhelmed."

The emotional performance helped sales of her albums 19 and 21 skyrocket, with a sales increase of more than 800 per cent immediately following the ceremony, according to Amazon.