WAKE-UP CALL: Adele says her throat problems forced her to realise her vocal limitations.
REUTERS

Adele wowed fans in her first public singing outing since throat surgery in November, putting to rest fears that her distinctive husky voice may have been damaged.

The soulful British singer, 23, is due to make her official performance comeback at the Grammy Awards on Sunday where she is expected to take home an armful of trophies following the worldwide success of her album 21.

But on Friday (Saturday NZT), American TV viewers heard her sing three verses, a cappella, of her hit song Rolling In The Deep in an excerpt of an upcoming 60 Minutes interview on CBS.

“Thank the music gods that she sounds just as perfect as she did before that haemorrhaged vocal chord,” wrote Jarett Wieselman at celebrity website TheInsider.

HollywoodLife.com said Adele “sounds amazing”, while E! Online’s Alexis L Loinaz wrote, “The gal kills it! If there are any lingering doubts that Adele might not be ready to unleash those pipes yet, this footage puts them to rest”.

Adele was forced to cancel part of her US tour last year because of persistent vocal problems. In November, she underwent laser surgery to remove a haemorrhaged polyp on her vocal cords and was ordered to take two months of vocal rest.

Organisers confirmed only 10 days ago that she would be performing at the Grammy Awards show in Los Angeles on Sunday (Monday NZT), where she has six nominations, including the coveted record, album and song of the year.

The full 60 Minutes profile will be shown immediately before the Grammy telecast. Adele told interviewer Anderson Cooper that she first realised there was something wrong with her voice when she was singing live on a French radio station and, “It felt like something popped in my throat.”

She said the surgery was a wake-up call to help her realise her vocal limits.