The soul superstar was invited to honour the memory of the late "Faith" hitmaker, and took the stage at the Staples Center in Los Angeles to perform a reworked version of George's 1996 song "Fast Love."
However, Adele was hit with sound problems moments into the performance and halted the music.
"I know it's live TV, I'm sorry, I can't do it again like last year," she said, referring to the audio issues which almost derailed her 2016 Grammys rendition of "All I Ask."
"Can we please start again? I'm sorry, I'm really sorry."
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The singer looked disappointed in herself for the tribute setback, but the star-studded crowd made it clear Adele had their support as they cheered her on to restart the tune.
She managed to pull off the slowed-down version of "Fast Love" at her second attempt, but still appeared downcast, even as the audience gave her a standing ovation at the end of the track.
Dressed in high-heeled, knee-length boots, short shorts and a cropped Metallica T-shirt, the "Poker Face" star returned to her heavy metal roots as she sang with the band's frontman James Hetfield.
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