Adele 'cried for a day' after Grammys fail

Adele performs All I Ask at the 58th annual Grammy Awards, a performance marred by sound issues. Photo / AP

Pop superstar Adele said she cried for a day after her botched performance at the Grammys but acknowledged she often had trouble with pitch.

Adele, who has shattered sales records with her latest album, veered out of tune during her performance at the music industry's leading award ceremony after a microphone fell on the strings of the piano that accompanied her.

"I cried pretty much all day yesterday," the English singer told US talk show host Ellen DeGeneres in a new interview.

Adele, who is known for her tear-jerker ballads, said she likely "would have cried if it went really well as well," but conceded the performance went badly.

"I was embarrassed. I woke up the next morning to people in England being like, 'We still love you, don't worry.'

"And I said, 'I didn't ask if you still loved me, but thanks."'

"I'm always a bit pitchy anyways," she said to laughter. "It's emotion. When I'm flat and I'm sharp, I'm just emotional."

Adele previously made light of the incident on Twitter, saying she had taken solace by having a burger.

The piano mics fell on to the piano strings, that's what the guitar sound was. It made it sound out of tune. Shit happens. X

— Adele (@Adele) February 16, 2016

Because of it though... I'm treating myself to an in n out. So maybe it was worth it.

— Adele (@Adele) February 16, 2016

She also had a beer, she volunteered in the interview.

The organisation behind the Grammys admitted it was at fault over the snafu, which led to the sound going out momentarily.

"If it wasn't live TV I would have busted a joke. But because it was TV, I couldn't make it my own. I couldn't make the disaster my own," Adele said.

When the microphone fell, viewers heard what sounded like an out-of-the-blue guitar lick in Adele's heartbreak ballad All I Ask.

Adele exonerated Justin Bieber after some social media users alleged that the Canadian pop celebrity - who played and smashed a guitar at the Grammys - had been rehearsing.

- AFP