Lionel Richie answers Adele's 'Hello' with spot-on spoof; Ellen gets in on conversation - Los Angeles Times
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Lionel Richie answers Adele’s ‘Hello’ with spot-on spoof; Ellen gets in on conversation

"Hello" singer Lionel Richie gets in on Adele spoofs.

“Hello†singer Lionel Richie gets in on Adele spoofs.

(Astrid Stawiarz / Getty Images for DuJour)

Hello ... it’s Lionel Richie you’re looking for. The original “Hello†crooner has received attention since Adele’s same-named single debuted last week and has responded to the track with a video spoof that we all pretty much knew was coming.

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Hello... it's Lionel Richie you're looking for.

The original "Hello" crooner has received attention since Adele's same-named single debuted last week and has responded to the track with a video spoof that we all pretty much knew was coming.

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Over the weekend, the 66-year-old Commodores alum asked the singer if it was indeed him she was looking for, a la the lyrics of his famous song. Then he shared an Instagram snippet mashing up the music videos for his 1984 single with the British powerhouse's new record-breaking track.

HELLO @adele is it me you're looking for... ¿¿¿¿ #hello

A photo posted by lionelrichie (@lionelrichie) on

The inevitable mash-up surfaced last week on the heels of the the smash hit's release. In it, the abruptly ended phone call that Adele takes -- on a flip phone! -- at the beginning of the video is answered by none other than Richie himself, who finds himself in a back-and-forth with the singer, then on the receiving end of that ominous busy signal.

¿¿¿¿¿¿ #hello @adele

A video posted by lionelrichie (@lionelrichie) on

"I was so amazed, everyone said, 'Lionel, Adele is doing your song 'Hello,''' and I said, 'No, she's not,' and all of a sudden I heard 'Hello,'" the music icon told Dujour magazine (via E! News). "Well, it was the best spoof ever because it gave me an opportunity to go in and play. So when I Instagrammed back and said, 'Hello is it me you're looking for?'"

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"But it's Adele. Even though she didn't cover the song but the word 'Hello,'" he added. "Automatically everyone called me on the phone and said she used 'Hello,' and I said, 'Well, I kind of own "Hello."' But not to the point where it's any kind of problem. I'll loan 'Hello' to Adele."

Meanwhile, talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres posted her own spoof

Incidentally, the 27-year-old has said the lyrics to "Hello" are "not about anything specific" but that hasn't kept people, including DeGeneres, from postulating about its inspiration.

"Adele and I are good friends and a lot of people don't realize her new song is based on a conversation that we had," the comedian said on her show, unveiling a clip about the song's back story.

DeGeneres' Zack Morris-style mobile phone rings in the video (take that, flip phone), and she answers but the talk doesn't go smoothly, with the comedian blaming a poor connection, sound quality and the singer for "talking so slowly" for the drawn out conversation. She then gets two more calls -- one from Drake and another from Richie. Check it out below.

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Follow me on Twitter @NardineSaad.

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