Adele sought permission from George Michael's family for emotional Grammy tribute

Adele has revealed the conversation she had with George Michael’s family prior to performing a tribute to the star at the Grammy Awards.

In 2012, George flew over from Australia to present the fellow north-London born singer with her Best Album Brit Award.

Five years later, Adele took home five gongs and made music history, and shed a fair few tears for George during the 2017 Grammys.

She performed a slowed-down cover of his bold 1996 hit ‘Fastlove’ at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles and was given a riotous standing ovation.

And speaking after Sunday’s ceremony, Adele said it was the song that made her realise she was a fan.

She said: “My earliest memory of me being a fan was Fastlove. When the video came out, I was blown away by how hot he was. I was young, I was about 10 and I heard the vulnerability in that song.”

A tribute was something which the family had initially turned down. However, they gave their approval once Adele told them she would perform.

She told the Sunday People: “I was devastated [when he died], I had to go for a walk on my own and on Boxing Day I said to Simon, my partner, I have to do that tribute.

“They didn’t want a tribute at first – his family and camp – and they came back and were very specific that it be me. I said, ‘Great, I have got something in the pipeline. If you want me to do it, I will do it.'”

Adele was visibly upset by her memories of George as she took to the Grammys stage to perform the tribute.

There were technical issues at the start of her performance and Adele quickly stopped the track and asked to start again as she didn’t want to “mess this up for him”.

She told the crowd and the millions of viewers who had tuned in: “I’m sorry for swearing and I’m sorry for starting again. I can’t mess this up for him. I’m sorry, I can’t.”