Adele Loved Olympic Breakdancing Sensation Raygun Even More Than You Did: ‘It Has Made Me Very, Very Happy’
Sometimes celebrities really are just like us. Take, for example, the unmitigated joy Adele took over the weekend in watching the debut of the Summer Olympic’s latest sport: breaking. The anticipation for the first-ever breakdancing competition was feverish leading up to Friday’s debut of the women’s qualifying rounds.
And the athletes did not disappoint, with b-girls from around the globe proving that the American-born sport that judges scored on the dancer’s skills at elements such as toprocking, power moves, footwork and freezes was indeed worthy of inclusion. While dancers such as the Netherlands’ nimble India, fleet-footed bronze medal winner 671 and mind-blowing gold medalist Ami of Japan earned love from the judges, there was one b-girl who stood out among all the athletes.
“I’m not saying anything, I think it’s the best thing that’s happened in the Olympics the entire time,” Adele said during a break at one of her massive shows in Munich on Saturday about the thing she and her friends had been talking about non-stop since the night before. “Did anyone see the breakdancing lady?” she asked her audience to the sound of loud laughing.
Adele explained that she wasn’t aware that breaking had been added for the first time at the Paris games — a situation she deemed “f–king fantastic.” She thensurveyed her band to see if any of them had watched, with the singer proclaiming that one of her musicians was “p—ing himself laughing” while thinking about 36-year-old Australian teacher Rachael Gunn, who won hearts and launched a million memes with her unique stylings under nom-de-break Raygun.
“I can’t work out if it was a joke, but either way, it has made me very, very happy and me and my friends have been s–ting ourself laughing for 24 hours,” Adele said of the dancer who scored zero points but who grabbed lots of attention for her floppy, unorthodox moves. “I just wanted to know if you’ve seen it. If you haven’t seen it, please leave the show and Google it because it is LOLZ!!! It is so f–king funny. Anyway, it’s my favorite thing that’s happened in Olympics this whole, whole time,” Adele said.
It wasn’t the first time Adele had stopped one of the shows at her bespoke German stadium to pay attention to the Paris games. Last week, she took a break to watch the anticipated Women’s 100M sprint final, broadcasting the 11-second race on the big screen for her 75,000 fans in the midst of her 10-night residency at custom-built Adele Arena.
While some mocked Raygun’s kangaroo hop moves and PE teacher-worthy outfit, the proud dancer who took up the sport at 20 and won the Oceania Breaking Championship crown last year told reporters after her wash-out that it was no joke.
“I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best, the dynamic and the power moves,” Gunn, who has a Ph.D. in cultural studies and studies breaking and hip-hop culture, told reporters afterwards according to NBC. “So I wanted to move differently, be artistic and creative because how many chances do you get that in a lifetime to do that on an international stage.”
Watch footage of Adele talking Raygun and check out some of the funniest Raygun memes below.
Gil Kaufman
Billboard
