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"Hello" is a song recorded by British singer-songwriter
Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (; born 5 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. Regarded as a British cultural icon, icon, she is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. List of awards and nominations received by Adele, ...
, released on 23 October 2015 by XL Recordings as the
lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...
from her third studio album, '' 25'' (2015). Written by Adele and the album's producer, Greg Kurstin, "Hello" is a piano ballad with
soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
influences (including guitar) and lyrics that discuss themes of nostalgia and regret. Upon release, the song garnered critical acclaim, with reviewers comparing it favourably to Adele's previous works and praised its lyrics, production and Adele's vocal performance. It was recorded in Metropolis Studios, London. "Hello" was a massive global success, topping the records charts in a record-setting 36 countries, including in the United Kingdom where it became Adele's second chart topper, following " Someone Like You", and had the largest opening week sales in three years. In the United States, "Hello" debuted atop the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, reigning for ten consecutive weeks while becoming Adele's fourth number-one single on the chart and breaking several records, including becoming the first song to sell over a million digital copies in a week. By the end of 2015, it had sold 12.3 million units globally (combined sales and track-equivalent streams) and was the year's 7th best-selling single while it stands as one of the best-selling digital singles of all-time. The accompanying music video was directed by
Xavier Dolan Xavier Dolan-Tadros (; born 20 March 1989) is a Canadian filmmaker and actor. He began his career as a child actor in commercials before directing several arthouse feature films. He first received international acclaim in 2009 for his feature ...
and co-stars Adele and Tristan Wilds. It broke the
Vevo Vevo LLC ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized in all caps until 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available ...
and YouTube records for achieving over 27.7 million views within a 24-hour span, and the record for the shortest time to reach one billion views (87 days) respectively. "Hello" broke the
iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
records for being number 1 in most countries (102 countries). The music video for the song received seven nominations at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards, including Video of the Year and Best Female Video. At the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, "Hello" won three awards:
Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without re ...
, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance. The song also won the Brit Award for British Single, and
APRA Award The APRA Music Awards in Australia celebrate excellence in contemporary music, honoring songwriters and publishers who have achieved artistic excellence and outstanding success in their fields. Several award ceremonies are run in Australia b ...
for International Work of the Year.


Writing and composition

"Hello" was written by Adele and Greg Kurstin and produced by Kurstin, who also played bass, guitar, drums, piano and keyboards, while Adele played drums. "Hello" was written in
Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district in West London, split between the London Borough of Hounslow, London Boroughs of Hounslow and London Borough of Ealing, Ealing. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist Wi ...
, London, something not normally done by Adele, who said she likes to write her music at home. The writing process for the song was slow, taking six months to complete. Initially Adele and Kurstin started writing the first verse; finishing half of the song, six months later Adele contacted Kurstin to finish the song with her, with Kurstin stating he was not sure "if Adele was ever going to come back and finish it." "Hello" is a
soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
piano ballad, played in the key of F minor at a tempo of 79 beats per minute. The repeated chord progression heard in the verse, played by the piano, follows two progressions and a passage (Bridge) progression (passage or Bridge progression connects two main progressions to each other) of Progression #1: Fm(i)–A(III)–E(VII)–D(VI), Passage progression: Fm(i)–E(VII)-Cm(v)-D(VI)-Fm7(i7)-E(VII)–D(VI), Progression #2:Fm(i)–D/F(VI)–A(III)–E(VII). According to Musicnotes.com, Adele's vocals span from F3 to A5 in the song. During the chorus, Adele is heard singing the lines over layers of backing vocals, piano and drums which were described by ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' as having "a very luscious wall of sound". Lyrically, the song focuses on themes of nostalgia and regret, and was seen as a follow-up to her single "Someone like You" appearing to reflect on a failed relationship. The song's lyrics were also seen as being conversational, revolving around "all the relationships of her past", ranging from friends, family members and ex-partners. Speaking on the song's lyrical content, Adele told
Nick Grimshaw Nicholas Peter Andrew Grimshaw (born 14 August 1984), nicknamed "Grimmy", is an English broadcaster and author. He became known for having hosted a variety of shows on BBC Radio 1. He is also known as a television presenter for his Channel 4 rol ...
on '' The Radio 1 Breakfast Show'': "I felt all of us were moving on, and it's not about an ex-relationship, a love relationship, it's about my relationship with everyone that I love. It's not that we have fallen out, we've all got our lives going on and I needed to write that song so they would all hear it, because I'm not in touch with them." According to Adele, the line "Hello from the other side" signifies "the other side of becoming an adult, making it out alive from your late teens, early twenties."


Release

On 18 October 2015, a 30-second clip of "Hello" was played during a commercial break on ''
The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...
'' in the United Kingdom. The commercial teased what was then new material, with her vocals accompanied by lyrics on a black screen. Josh Duboff of '' Vanity Fair'' wrote that "the Internet collectively lost their minds" after the broadcast of the trailer. On 22 October, Adele announced the upcoming release of ''25'' to her fans on Twitter. She also shared that "Hello" would be released on 23 October as the lead single off of the album. On 23 October, Adele joined
Nick Grimshaw Nicholas Peter Andrew Grimshaw (born 14 August 1984), nicknamed "Grimmy", is an English broadcaster and author. He became known for having hosted a variety of shows on BBC Radio 1. He is also known as a television presenter for his Channel 4 rol ...
's show on
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
for the song's premiere.


Critical reception

"Hello" received universal critical acclaim.
Alexis Petridis Alexis Petridis (born 13 September 1971) is an English journalist. He is the head Rock music, rock and pop music critic for ''The Guardian'', and a regular contributor for ''GQ''. In addition to his music journalism for the paper, he has written ...
of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' described it as "a big ballad, but a superior example of its kind", and opined that the song is "precisely the kind of lovelorn epic ballad that made Adele one of the biggest stars in the world." Writing for ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', Emily Jupp stated in her review of the song that it "might not be groundbreaking, but Adele's return with her familiar, smoky sound is very welcome". She called it an if it ain't broke' ballad" and said: "Adele does what she does best, belting out emotional tales of love and loss much the same as with her last album, '' 21'', but this time, with a little more self-forgiveness."
Greg Kot Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...
of the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' wrote: "Lyrics that work best when they zoom in on personal details match her combination of vocal power and restraint." Neil McCormick from ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' called it "a beautiful song of loss and regret", adding that "it takes a grip on the kind of memory every listener holds somewhere in their heart and merges it with Adele's own drama." ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' ranked "Hello" at number 6 on its year-end list to find the 50 best songs of 2015. Several publications have commented on similarities in the theme of the song and accompanying video with that of "
Hello Hello is a salutation or greeting in the English language. It is first attested in writing from 1826. Early uses ''Hello'', with that spelling, was used in publications in the U.S. as early as the 18 October 1826 edition of the '' Norwich Cou ...
" by American singer
Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of the Motown group Commodores; writing and recor ...
. In 2021, ''
Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...
'' ranked the song number 12 on their list of the 25 greatest Adele songs, and in 2022, ''
American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwri ...
'' ranked the song number three on their list of the 10 greatest Adele songs.


Chart performance


Europe and Oceania

Three days after its release, the
Official Charts Company The Official UK Charts Company Limited (formerly Music Industry Chart Services Limited), trading as the Official Charts Company (OCC) or the Official Charts (formerly the Chart Information Network), is a British inter-professional organisation ...
announced that "Hello" had accumulated 165,000 chart sales in the United Kingdom, of which 156,000 were downloads. "Hello" entered at the top of the UK Singles Chart on 30 October 2015, for the week dated 5 November 2015 with 333,000 combined sales, of which 259,000 were downloads, making it the biggest selling number-one single on the chart in three years. It marked Adele's second UK number-one single, after 2011's "Someone like You". Additionally, "Hello" was streamed 7.32 million times in its first week, breaking the streaming record previously held by
Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...
's " What Do You Mean?". Including streaming sales and excluding ''
The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...
'' and ''
Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and pa ...
'' winners' singles, major charity campaign records and Christmas number ones, "Hello" was the second biggest selling number one of the 21st century in the UK, beaten only by Shaggy's " It Wasn't Me", which sold 345,000 copies in a week in February 2001. The following week, the song remained at number one after selling a further 121,000 downloads and was streamed 5.78 million times, the same week the song was certified Gold by the BPI. On 20 May 2016, it spent its 30th week in the UK Top 100. As of November 2016, the song has sold 918,700 in pure sales. The song also debuted at number one in Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Slovakia, Spain and Switzerland. In Australia, "Hello" entered at the top of the ARIA Singles Chart on 31 October 2015, selling over 59,075 units, which earned the song a gold certification in its first week. The song also became the second fastest-selling single of the year, behind
Wiz Khalifa Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and actor. Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he signed with the local independent label Rostrum Records to re ...
's " See You Again". It marked Adele's second number-one single on the ARIA Singles Chart following 2011's "Someone like You". The single stayed atop the chart for a second week and was certified platinum selling over 70,000 units. On 20 March 2017, Hello re-entered the chart at number 50 and has so far been certified 7× platinum for sales over 490,000 units. In New Zealand, the song debuted at number one on the New Zealand singles chart, holding the position the following week and was certified platinum.


North America

In the United States, "Hello" debuted at the top of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on 2 November 2015, for the chart dated 14 November 2015, becoming only the 24th song to debut at number one. "Hello" started at number 49 on the Radio Songs chart, after three days of release. In its first full week of airplay, it rose from 45 to 9, up 146% to 70 million all format audience impressions. The track started at number one on the On-Demand Songs chart with a record 20.4 million on-demand streams, becoming her first number-one song on the chart. "Hello" entered at the top of the Digital Songs chart with sales of 1,112,000, becoming the first track to sell over one million digital copies in a single week and almost doubling the record for the most downloads sold in a week, previously held by
Flo Rida Tramar Lacel Dillard (born September 16, 1979), known professionally as Flo Rida ( ), is an American rapper and singer. His 2007 debut and breakout single "Low (Flo Rida song), Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the ...
's "
Right Round "Right Round" is a single performed by American rapper Flo Rida featuring guest vocals from American singer Kesha. It was released as the lead Single (music), single from his second studio album, ''R.O.O.T.S.'' (2009). It was released to radio ...
", which sold 636,000 downloads in the week ending 28 February 2009. "Hello" started with 61.6 million US streams, becoming her first number-one song and the second greatest weekly total on the
Streaming Songs The Streaming Songs chart is released weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine and lists each week's top streamed radio songs, on-demand songs and videos on leading online music services in the United States. The chart represents one ...
chart, behind
Baauer Harry Bauer Rodrigues (born April 30, 1989), known professionally as Baauer, is an American record producer and DJ, best known for his double platinum song "Harlem Shake (song), Harlem Shake". He has produced varied dance music from the age of 13 ...
's " Harlem Shake", which registered 103 million streams on week of 3 March 2013. "Hello" is the first song to sell more than a million digital copies in a single week and the third highest weekly sales total since
Nielsen SoundScan Luminate Data, LLC (formerly MRC Data and P-MRC Data) is a provider of music and entertainment data. Established as a joint-venture in 2020, it brought together Nielsen Music, Alpha Data (formerly BuzzAngle Music) and Variety Business Intellige ...
began tracking sales in 1991. Only
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
's "
Candle in the Wind 1997 "Candle in the Wind 1997", also known as "Goodbye England's Rose" and "Candle in the Wind '97", is a threnody by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, a re-written and re-recorded version of their 1973 song " Candle in the ...
/Something About the Way You Look Tonight" has sold more in a single week, selling 3.446 million copies in its opening week and 1.212 million copies in its second week. In its second week, "Hello" stayed at number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, selling another 635,000 digital copies marking the third-best digital sales week and the highest for a non-debut week. "Hello" also held atop Streaming Songs with 47.4 million US streams, down 23 percent from 61.6 million in its first week, the track also stayed atop the On-Demand Songs with 18.1 million streams. On the Radio Songs chart, "Hello" moved from 9 to 6, up by 46% to 106 million all-format audience impressions, thus becoming the top Airplay Gainer on the Hot 100. The track also moved from two to one on the Adult Alternative Songs airplay chart and moved nine to four on the Adult Contemporary format. The following week, the song stayed at the top of the Hot 100 and Digital Songs chart, selling 480,000 downloads and becoming just the third song to sell over 400,000 copies for three straight weeks. "Hello" also rose from 6 to 1 on the Radio Songs chart in just its fourth week (the greatest leap to number one on the chart's 25-year history), marking the quickest climb to number one on the chart in 22 years, since
Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...
's " Dreamlover" reached the top in its fourth frame on 28 August 1993. Additionally, "Hello" became just the third song to top the
Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...
, Digital Songs, Streaming Songs, On-Demand Songs and Radio Songs tallies simultaneously in the nearly three years all five charts had coexisted. "Hello" remained atop the Hot 100 for ten consecutive weeks, becoming only the 31st No. 1 in the Hot 100's history to reign for at least 10 weeks, and only the 4th for a number one debut, following " One Sweet Day" by Mariah Carey and
Boyz II Men Boyz II Men ( ) is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. Formed in 1985, they have been a trio composed of baritone Nathan Morris, tenor Wanya Morris, Wanyá Mo ...
(16 weeks), "Candle in the Wind 1997/Something About the Way You Look Tonight" by Elton John (14 weeks) and I'll Be Missing You by
Puff Daddy Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Diddy, and formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, and record executive. Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, Combs worked as a ...
& Faith Evans featuring 112 (11 weeks). By spending a tenth week at the top of the chart, it became Adele's longest-running number-one single and the longest-leading Hot 100 No. 1 by a solo female since
Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...
's " We Found Love," featuring
Calvin Harris Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris (and sometimes under the stage name Love Regenerator), is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter. His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'' (2007 ...
, which also led for 10 weeks in 2011–2012. As of January 2016, it had sold 3.7 million downloads. The single also benefitted from numerous Dance/EDM remixes as well, thus resulting in "Hello" topping ''Billboard's''
Dance Club Songs The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...
and
Dance/Mix Show Airplay Dance/Mix Show Airplay (formerly Hot Dance Airplay) is a monitored electronic dance music radio chart that is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart came about as a result of the small but influential impact of electronic dance musi ...
charts. On the chart dated 23 April 2016, the song spent a 21st week at the top of the Adult Contemporary Chart, matching the record set by
Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne (born Kelly Brianne Clarkson, April 24, 1982), known professionally as Kelly Clarkson, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Rising to fame after winning the American Idol season 1, first season of ''Ameri ...
's " Breakaway" (2005) and
Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...
's " A New Day Has Come" (2002) for the longest No. 1 run among women since the list launched in 1961. It also equaled the third-longest stay at the summit among all acts. On 20 September 2016, the song was certified as seven-times platinum by
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
. "Hello" debuted at number one on the
Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...
on 3 November 2015, for the chart dated 14 November 2015, selling 140,000 copies and outsold
Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...
's " Sorry", which sold 40,000 units the same week. The song was streamed 4.79 million times in its first week, setting a record for the most streamed track in a single week in Canada.


Accolades

At the 36th Brit Awards, Adele was nominated for five awards, in which she won four including British Single of the Year for "Hello". At the
2016 Billboard Music Awards The 2016 ''Billboard'' Music Awards ceremony was held on May 22, 2016, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, the first nationally televised event to originate from that venue. It aired live on ABC with hosts Ludacris and Ciara. The nom ...
, the singer was nominated for nine categories, winning five, including Top Selling Song for "Hello". At the 2016 Juno Awards, Xavier Dolan won Video of the Year for "Hello". Adele received four
American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions since 1974. Nominees are selected on commercial performance such as sales and airplay. Winners are determined by a poll of the public and ...
nominations, including Favorite Pop/Rock Song for "Hello" at the American Music Awards of 2016 but lost to " Love Yourself" by
Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...
. At the 59th Grammy Awards Adele took home five awards, including Album of the Year for ''25'', while "Hello" won
Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without re ...
, Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance. Adele is the first artist in Grammys history to sweep the Big Three awards – Album, Record and Song of the Year – twice. She also the first woman in Grammy history to win Song of the Year twice. This marks the first time in Grammy history that two different songs with the same title have been nominated in this category after "
Hello Hello is a salutation or greeting in the English language. It is first attested in writing from 1826. Early uses ''Hello'', with that spelling, was used in publications in the U.S. as early as the 18 October 1826 edition of the '' Norwich Cou ...
" by
Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of the Motown group Commodores; writing and recor ...
in
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
. Adele became the third woman to win Record of the Year more than once, after
Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (February 10, 1937 – February 24, 2025) was an American singer and pianist known for her emotive, genre-blending ballads that spanned R&B, jazz, Folk music, folk, and pop and contributed to the birth of the quiet storm ...
and
Norah Jones Norah Jones ( ; born Geethali Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She has won several awards for her music and, , has sold more than 53 million records worldwide. '' Billboard'' named her the top jazz artist of ...
winning for ''
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" is a 1957 folk song written by British political singer-songwriter Ewan MacColl for Peggy Seeger, who later became his third wife. At that time, MacColl was still married to his second wife, Jean Newlove. ...
'' and '' Killing Me Softly with His Song''; and '' Don't Know Why'' and '' Here We Go Again'' (with
Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...
), respectively. Additionally, both Florence LaRue and Marilyn McCoo also receive this accolade twice as part of
The 5th Dimension The 5th Dimension is an American vocal group. Their music encompasses sunshine pop, pop soul, and psychedelic soul. They were an important crossover music act of the 1960s and 1970s, although both praised and derided for their particular music ...
, with " Up, Up and Away" and " Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In".


Music video

The accompanying music video for "Hello" was directed by Canadian actor and filmmaker Xavier Dolan and released on 23 October 2015, despite the fact the song was released as a single a day later. The concept of the video revolves around a recently broken-up young woman calling a younger version of herself. Portions of the video—mostly the finale on the pond and the shot of her opening her eyes in the beginning—were filmed with
IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of High-definition video, high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and movie theater, theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (image), aspect ratio (approximately ei ...
cameras, making it the first music video in IMAX format. The video draws inspiration from Dolan's semi-autobiographical debut '' I Killed My Mother'', which was made when Dolan was barely 20. The video was filmed on a farm in
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
over four days in September 2015. The video stars American actor Tristan Wilds. According to Dolan, Adele called him after an unspecified incident of
police brutality in the United States Police brutality is the use of excessive or unwarranted force by law enforcement, resulting in physical or psychological harm to a person. It includes beatings, killing, intimidation tactics, racist abuse, and/or torture. Police brutality, rac ...
, suggesting that a white male not be cast as her love interest in the video. Dolan elaborated "She was just like, 'I'm concerned with the reality of the tensions between authorities and the black community, and I want to send a message out there. Dolan contacted Wilds via Skype and explained the concept for the video, which Wilds agreed to take part in. During the filming, both Adele and Wilds were asked to improvise and "tap into" their past relationships to convey the correct emotions. Dolan also filmed shots of both Adele and Wilds having conversations and laughing. The
sepia tone In photography, toning is a method of altering the color of black-and-white photographs. In analog photography, it is a chemical process carried out on metal salt-based prints, such as silver prints, iron-based prints ( cyanotype or Van Dyke ...
d video shows Adele performing the song in a small house and outside in a wooded forest, intercut with scenes of her making a tearful phone call and flashbacks to a past relationship with Wilds' character. The flip phone used by Adele in the video was widely commented upon due to being of a retro style. Dolan replied to the remarks by saying: "It makes me uncomfortable filming iPhones because I feel like I'm shooting a commercial. Those things: iPhones, laptops, all those elements, to me, they bring me back to reality: That's not what you want. You want to get out of your own life; you want to enter someone else's; you want to travel somewhere; you want to be told a story. I'm realizing maybe I've been more distracting than anything else with that flip phone, but it wasn't intentional!" The music video for "Hello" broke the previous Vevo Record by achieving over 27.7 million views within its first 24 hours of release. This record was previously held by the music video for
Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...
's " Bad Blood", which had amassed 20.1 million views in its first 24 hours. Later, the video continued to break
Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( , born Destiny Hope Cyrus, November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and director. Regarded as a contemporary pop icon, Cyrus has been recognized for her evolving artistry and image reinventions. She is ...
' "
Wrecking Ball A wrecking ball is a heavy steel ball, usually hung from a Crane (machine), crane, that is used for Demolition, demolishing large buildings. It was most commonly in use during the 1940s and 1950s. Several wrecking companies claim to have inve ...
" Vevo record for the fastest video to reach 100 million views in five days. The phrase "Adele hello" was also the top YouTube search term of Friday and Saturday, and on average the video was getting one million views per hour during the first two days, peaking at 1.6 million in a single hour, beating the peak view rate of the trailer for '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'', which peaked at 1.2 million views per hour. The video was parodied in a
Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...
-themed sketch on ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
''. The video peaked as the 30th most viewed video on YouTube in 2020, having earned over 2.8 billion views, as well as the 26th most liked video on the platform in 2015, with over 17 million likes. The video holds the Guinness world record for the "fastest time for a video to reach 1 billion views" in 87 days.


Live performances

Adele performed "Hello" live for the first time for a
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
one-hour-long special performance, '' Adele at the BBC'', which was recorded on 2 November 2015 and was broadcast on
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
on 20 November 2015. She also performed the song at the 17th NRJ Music Awards on 7 November 2015, at
Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...
in New York City on 17 November 2015 as her opening number ('' Adele Live in New York City''), and on ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' on 21 November 2015. On 23 November 2015, after appearing on ''
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by actor and comedian Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It i ...
'', Adele recorded the song with Fallon and his house band, ''
The Roots The Roots are an American Hip-hop, hip hop band formed in 1987 by singer Black Thought, Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and drummer Questlove, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''T ...
'', playing classroom instruments. The version was broadcast on the show the following night. On 13 December 2015 Adele performed "Hello" on the ''
X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...
'' live final at The SSE Arena, Wembley.


Cover versions

* The American singer
Demi Lovato Demetria Devonne "Demi" Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), she starred in the Disney Channel short series ...
covered "Hello" at the 2015 106.1 KISS FM Fall Ball, which was held in the city of
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
, State of Washington, Washington on 14 November 2015. Their rendition was met with critical acclaim. It eventually received a nomination for "Best Cover Song" at the 2016 iHeartRadio Music Awards, 3rd iHeartRadio Music Awards in 2016. * In December 2015, Washington, D.C.–based go-go band Backyard Band released a cover version of the song, which has become widely popular in the area since its release. *In December 2015, Claudio Sanchez of American progressive metal band Coheed and Cambria, Coheed & Cambria posted an acoustic cover on YouTube. The cover was described by critics as "haunting". * During New Year's Eve 2015, Canadian singer
Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...
put her own spin on "Hello" at her Celine (concert residency), residency show in Las Vegas. *The operatic pop group Il Divo released a Spanish language version of the song in 2018 that its members titled "Hola", and it was included in the group's album ''Timeless (Il Divo album), Timeless'' while a related music video also came out. *On June 24, 2022, Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne released a cover of the song for her Spotify Singles release. *On 24 July 2021, Sarah Jezebel Deva#Career, Torn Between Two Worlds, a Swedish-British symphonic metal band, released their version as a download and later on 3 June 2022 on the EP "As If We Never Existed". *In July 2024, "Weird Al" Yankovic included the song in his polka medley "List of "Weird Al" Yankovic polka medleys#"Polkamania!", Polkamania!".


Credits and personnel

Personnel * Lead vocals, backing vocals, drums –
Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (; born 5 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. Regarded as a British cultural icon, icon, she is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. List of awards and nominations received by Adele, ...
* Songwriting, bass, drums, guitar, piano, and keyboards – Greg Kurstin * Audio mixing (recorded music), Mixing – Tom Elmhirst * Audio engineering, Engineering – Julian Burg * Audio mastering, Mastering – Randy Merrill * Additional instruments – Emile Haynie


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Decade-end charts


Certifications and sales


Radio and release history


See also

* List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 2015, List of ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number-one singles of 2015 * List of most streamed songs on Spotify * List of most-viewed YouTube videos


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hello (Adele song) 2010s ballads 2015 singles 2015 songs Adele songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Black-and-white music videos Brit Award for British Single Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles Columbia Records singles Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Grammy Award for Record of the Year Grammy Award for Song of the Year Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Juno Award for Video of the Year videos Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Austria Number-one singles in Denmark Number-one singles in Finland Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in Greece Number-one singles in Hungary Number-one singles in Israel Number-one singles in Italy Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Poland Number-one singles in Scotland Number-one singles in Spain Number-one singles in Sweden Number-one singles in Switzerland Pop ballads Song recordings produced by Greg Kurstin Song recordings with Wall of Sound arrangements Songs about loneliness Songs about telephone calls Songs written by Adele Songs written by Greg Kurstin Soul ballads South African Airplay Chart number-one singles SNEP Top Singles number-one singles Torch songs UK singles chart number-one singles UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles Ultratop 50 Singles (Wallonia) number-one singles XL Recordings singles IMAX short films Breakup songs