Adele as Jenny. Picture / BBC
A room full of Adele impersonators were blown away when the real life singer took to the stage disguised by a fake nose and new name.
The genius scheme was instigated by BBC talk show host Graham Norton who waited in the wings as it all unfolded.
Meeting on camera before the prank, the pop star was unrecognisable with her prosthetic nose and chin, catlike eyes, smaller lips and slow, steady accent.
"You look so not like yourself," Norton remarked.
"I know, I had to put gloves on 'cause of my tattoos," she said.
Backstage chit chat turns to talk of new music, as the singer tries to hide her amusement.
"Can't wait for the new album," one impersonator comments.
"She's taking her time," Adele disguised as Jenny adds.
"Try, saying that to her face!" the first impersonator laughs.
Going by the moniker, Jenny the nanny, and feigning nervousness to put the others off guard, she stood arms crossed awaiting her turn.
She told the others she'd been in the Adele impersonation game for four years, and hadn't been able to get a lot of work lately.
A fellow impersonator comforts the incognito star as she speaks of feeling "quite sick" and "a bit dizzy".
Once on stage she even misses her cue to begin singing, and takes a moment to regroup.
But when Adele finally opens her mouth, there's no denying her true identity - with the impersonators getting increasingly excited as they sit in the crowd.
"You are joking me...it's her, that is her," one says.
As the realisation washes over them, her biggest fans begin to cry and sing along.
"Oh my God, it's unreal," one says.
"It was just beautiful, beautiful," another adds with tears in her eyes.
* Adele's new album 25 was released on Friday, and features the hit single Hello.
- nzherald.co.nz
