Hello (Adele song)

"Hello" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Adele. It is from her third studio album, 25. It was released on 23 October 2015. The song was Adele's first since the Bond theme "Skyfall" in 2012. The song reached number one in several countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and the United States. In the US, it first appeared at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Adele's fourth chart-topper there and spending ten weeks on top of the chart. It sold over 1,112,000 copies in its first week. This is the most copies of a song sold in a single week in the U.S. since the release of Elton John's "Candle in the Wind 1997". "Hello" was certified 4x Platinum in the U.S. faster than any other song in history. On September 20, 2016, the Recording Industry Association of America certified the song 7x Platinum for sales and streams equal to 7 million copies in the United States.
The song finished at number 35 on the Year-End Billboard Hot 100 of 2015 and at #7 on the 2016 chart. Similarly, the song ranked at number 25 on the Canadian 2015 year-end chart and at number 9 at the end of 2016.
"Hello" won three awards at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards in 2017: Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance.
Background
The song was first featured in a 30-second TV commercial for The X Factor in the UK. She has stated that the lyrics of the song can be applied to anyone with whom one has a history -- romantically or otherwise. In an interview with i-D, she explains:
Music video
The music video was shot in Canada. It was shot in sepia. It shows Adele having a conversation on a flip phone when she suddenly loses reception. Her feelings towards a man are throughout the video. It broke the Vevo record for most views in a single day, with over 27.7 million views. This record was later broken in 2017 with Taylor Swift's music video for "Look What You Made Me Do". In January 2016, the music video for the song reached over one billion views on YouTube. It did this in less time (88 days) than other videos. That was faster than the music video for Psy's 2012 single "Gangnam Style".
Live performances
Adele performed "Hello" live for the first time for a BBC one-hour-long special, Adele at the BBC, which was recorded on 2 November and was broadcast on BBC One on 20 November. She also performed the song at the 17th NRJ Music Awards on 7 November 2015, at Radio City Music Hall in New York on 17 November 2015 as her opening number (Adele Live In New York City), and on Saturday Night Live on 21 November 2015. On 23 November 2015, after appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Adele recorded the song with Fallon and his house band The Roots, playing classroom instruments. The version was broadcast on the show the following night. In December 2015, Adele performed "Hello" on the live final episode of The X Factor at Wembley Arena.
Awards
2017 -- 59th Annual Grammy Awards
Song of the Year -- Won
Record of the Year -- Won
Best Pop Solo Performance -- Won
Credits and personnel
Recording
Recorded at: Metropolis Studios in London, United Kingdom; mixed at Capitol Studio Los Angeles California and Electric Lady Studios, New York, New York.
Personnel
Vocals, drums - Adele Adkins
Songwriting - Adele Adkins, Greg Kurstin
Production, piano, keyboard, bass, drums, guitar, engineering, electronic keyboard - Greg Kurstin
Mixing - Tom Elmhirst
Engineering - Alex Pasco, Greg Kurstin, Julian Burg, Liam Nolan
Mastering - Randy Merrill, Tom Coyme
All instruments played by - Greg Kurstin, Adele Adkins
Additional Instruments - Emile Haynie
Source:
References
2015 songs
2010s ballads
Adele songs
Soul ballads