The Rock Loved Surprising Adele at the Grammys

While the 2023 Grammy Awards had plenty of headline-making surprises (or upsets, if you're part of the Beyhive), like appearances from Madonna and Lizzo's gospel choir, one of the biggest moments of the night came at the top of the show, when host Trevor Noah surprised nominee (and winner) Adele with some facetime with one of her Hollywood favorites: The Rock. In fact, as fans learned that night, even though the superstar singer has been vocal about her love and admiration for Dwayne Johnson, the two had never actually met. That all changed, of course, and Johnson assured fans and viewers that the admiration is mutual. He also explained that he's a huge fan of Adele's music and her attitude, saying that he loves that she speaks her mind.

“We wanted to do something special for Adele,” Johnson told Variety. “I know that she is a very big fan of mine and has made that clear publicly many times. But I’ve got to tell you, I am a huge fan of hers, as well — her music, her journey, her openness and directness in how she speaks. I’ve always admired that about her.”

“We were trying to figure out something to do that was going to be fun and surprise her, and we had kicked around ideas all week,” Johnson said of the work that went into creating the special moment. “The key to a surprise like that is to actually keep it a surprise. Myself and the Grammys went to great lengths to make sure that Adele was authentically surprised in the moment, and she was.”

In addition to that meeting, Johnson went on to present Adele with an award when she took home the gramophone for Best Pop Solo Performance.

“It was just a great surprise and I was able to chat with her a little bit and her boyfriend, Rich Paul,” Johnson finished. “And talk about the universe meeting our friendship halfway: I get up on stage and I open that Grammy envelope and it said ‘Adele.’ So that’s why I was able to say, ‘Get up here best friend, Adele!’ It was such a special night. And she’s such a special iconic, brilliant inspiring artist who has inspired a generation and who will continue to inspire generations to come. I love that woman. We had a really great time tonight. I think probably the best part about it is she’s just cool — and I had never met her before.”

Prior to Grammy night, Adele mentioned that was "the biggest wrestling fan when I was younger" during a sit-down with YouTube star NikkieTutorials.

“Someone that I’ve never met that I think I would actually cry is The Rock," she said during the 2021 chat. She also casually mentioned that Johnson sent her flowers after a show once. “I nearly fell off my chair,” she revealed.