(Scroll down for video.)
Jamie Grace is a well-regarded performer in her own right.
But on Tuesday night, the Atlanta Christian singer-songwriter received a prominent spotlight when she was invited on stage at the Staples Center in Los Angeles to sing with Adele.
“I can’t process life right now. I’m so tired, but I’m so hyper,” a giddy Grace said in a call from L.A. Wednesday afternoon.
In a video posted on her Facebook page (scroll down to watch), Grace sings Adele’s “Remedy” – charmingly blanking on the lyrics for a second until Adele prompts her – and a snippet of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love with You.”
Adele, who had no idea that Grace is a Grammy-nominated artist , appears genuinely impressed with the 24-year-old Point University graduate.
Grace, who still lives in Atlanta, flew cross-country to see the British superstar because it was the only Adele concert for which she could procure tickets.
"My birthday is in November and I'll be 25 - which is big year for me - on Nov. 25. Adele's new album is called '25' and I'm shooting a documentary called 'Waiting for 25,' so I'm very emotional about the number 25 right now. With that, I wanted to buy tickets to see her for my 25th birthday and this was the only show I could get tickets for and I spent three hours online trying to get them. So I said, let's celebrate my birthday three months early."
Grace and a small group, including her singing sister Morgan, were able to get close to the “B” stage in the arena, where Adele visits during the show.
“She’s squatting down so people can take selfies and she’s talking the whole time and then she got to us and I look at her and said, ‘Do you want to sing with me?’” Grace said, laughing at her brazenness. “I am my mother’s child - she’s very bold! Adele said, ‘Well then, come up here.’ It was the quickest exchange. Her security guard came up and got me. My sister and I had done a You Tube cover of (Adele’s) ‘Remedy,’ so I started singing it. I’m kinda glad I forgot the lyrics because I got to hear Adele sing that close. She said, ‘You don’t have to sing one of mine,’ so then I did ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love,’ which is my parents’ song. It was really special because my parents weren’t there and that moment is such a big part of my life now.”
While some members of the audience recognized Grace, especially after Adele said her name, others didn't know she was an award-winning singer with two albums on her resume and approached her afterward to suggest that her moment of fame might now enable her to make a record.
“It was sweet,” Grace said.
Although she didn’t hear anything from Adele’s camp after the show, the team at the Staples Center requested Morgan’s video to share on social media and Grace was slated to appear on “Inside Edition” on Wednesday.
“(Tuesday) was the most overwhelming day in the best possible way,” Grace said. “It was a classic Los Angeles kind of day.”
About the Author
