Adele: 'George Michael's family only wanted me for Grammys tribute'

George Michael's family were adamant that it should be Adele paying tribute to the late singer at the Grammy Awards.

The world was left stunned when George passed away on Christmas Day (25Dec16), aged just 53 and countless stars came forward to pay tribute to the former Wham! star following his tragic death.

George was also remembered at the recent Grammys, with Adele taking to the stage to perform a version of his hit Fast Love.

While the rendition didn't go exactly to plan, with the mother-of-one halting the performance mid-song and restarting as she was unhappy with how it sounded, Adele has now revealed that George's family were insistent that it should be her who paid tribute to him at the ceremony.

"I was devastated, 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," Adele told Britain's Sunday People newspaper of the moment she learned of George's death. "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’.”

During the interview Adele, who is about to start the Australian leg of her world tour, added that George was a massive influence to her in terms of how she thought about life in the public eye.

"I found him one of the truest icons, because when people are that famous there is not fakeness in a bad way but they put on an alter ego to protect themselves, and rightly so," she said. "I understand and appreciate that."

According to reports, George's funeral is set to take place more than three months after his death, due to head coroner Darren Salter being unable to release his body because of a delay with toxicology tests.

The toxicology tests were ordered after the initial postmortem examination proved "inconclusive".