“Every night since Amy Winehouse died, I’ve been singing this song for her because I know that she loved it,” is what Adele said before singing “Make You Feel My Love” at the Royal Albert Hall. The English star gave the most heartrending rendition of the ballad, with just a sparse piano part for accompaniment for most of the song. Adele really poured her heart out on stage on this Bob Dylan classic. Seeing the emotion on her face and the sadness in her voice makes this an unforgettable performance.
Before starting the song, Adele told the crowd, “I was so inspired by [Amy]. She was such a joker, and such a lovely girl. It’s just devastating really.” Then she had the crowd use their phones to light up the Royal Albert Hall, and told them, “She can see us now.” The Music Man has to say the fact that someone of the stature of Adele was such a massive fan of Amy as a singer-songwriter tells you all you need to know about what kind of talent Amy was.
Adele’s take on “Make You Feel My Love” hit 9.7 million views across multiple uploads on YouTube. Fans felt Adele hit the spot with the cover and added comments such as “Every time I listen to this interpretation of this Bob Dylan song from Adele, I have to cry” and “So many great artists have covered this song. But no one has ever come close to this. Adele is in a class all by herself.” Note that there are other versions on YouTube that show Adele’s speech, but the clip above has the best audio of the song.
Adele’s live performances of “Make You Feel My Love” can always be relied upon to pull on the heartstrings. The English soul icon gave a particularly romantic rendition of the Dylan classic in Munich, Germany, in 2024. This time around she dedicated the song “to the couple in the front row who just got engaged.” Can you imagine being that couple? Talk about a memorable engagement.
Bob Dylan issued “Make You Feel My Love” as the ninth track on his 1997 album Time Out of Mind. The Music Man readers might be surprised to hear that The Bard neglected to release this timeless song as one of the album’s two singles. Nonetheless, “Make You Feel My Love” has landed on many critics’ lists of the greatest Dylan songs, including the Guardian, Ultimate Classic Rock, and Spectrum Culture.