The Surprise Reunion That Left Adele Overcome With Emotion

Adele recently dropped her long-awaited fourth album, "30," to the amazement of her fans worldwide. In anticipation for the record, she performed at Griffith Observatory, teasing the first live premiere of songs like "I Drink Wine" and "Easy On Me." On the other side of the pond, however, where she started as a performer, Adele also filmed a special concert at the London Palladium for ITV in early November. The televised event recently aired, now that Adele's album is out in the world, giving her global audience a chance to experience it all.

This week, a scene from the ITV special went viral online after fans were amazed by the heartwarming nature of it all — and no, unlike Adele's Los Angeles show, people did not get engaged this time. During Adele's London Palladium concert, actor Emma Thompson appeared in the audience to ask a question, prompting a special, unexpected surprise that drove the singer to tears.

Adele was surprised by her former English teacher

After Emma Thompson started to speak from the audience at Adele's recorded London Palladium concert special this November, she asked the musician if there was anyone who'd had an impact on her life that she missed. Adele immediately named her former teacher, Ms. McDonald, who happened to be in the crowd that night with her children and made a surprise appearance on stage. "I didn't know that you were coming," Adele said, holding back tears.

"That's okay. It was supposed to be a surprise. Thank you for remembering me," McDonald said. "You really did change my life. Now, I've got to get my whole face re-done," Adele joked, while wiping away tears.

After the moment aired, Adele took to Instagram to share a sweet message about their viral encounter. "Home Sweet Home. I've always dreamt of doing An Audience With... There was so much love in the room for eachother, it felt like such a gig! Everyone was raucous and bang up for it! And my teacher Ms McDonald was there, it was just heaven," she wrote. Thanks to those English lessons, it's clear that Adele found the right words to capture how she felt about their emotional reunion.