"Hello" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lionel Richie. Taken as the third single from his second solo album, Can't Slow Down (1983), the song was released in 1984 and reached number one on three Billboard music charts: the pop chart (for two weeks), the R&B chart (for three weeks), and the Adult Contemporary chart (for six weeks). The song also went to number one on the UK Singles Chart for six weeks.
The song was subject to a lawsuit by songwriter Marjorie Hoffman White, who accused Richie of plagiarizing her 1978 composition "I'm Not Ready to Go".
Reception Cashbox said that the song "is as melodic and heartwrenching as anything [Richie] has done previously and that’s saying something."
Composition The song is written in the key of A minor. The verses follow the chord progression of Am9—Cmaj7/G—Fmaj7—C6/G—Fmaj7. The chorus features a Neapolitan chord (Bb).
The composition began with the line, "Hello, is it me you're looking for?". After producer James Anthony Carmichael arrived at Richie's house for a songwriting session, Richie jokingly greeted him with the line, to which Carmichael replied, "Finish that song." Richie initially felt the idea was "corny", but ultimately, "by the time I finished the verse, I fell in love with the song again."
Music video The music video for "Hello", directed by Bob Giraldi, features the story of Richie as a theater and acting teacher having a seemingly unrequited love for a blind student (Laura Carrington). He discovers the feeling is mutual after he finds that she is sculpting a likeness of his head in clay.
Several publications have likened the song's theme and video to British singer Adele's later song "Hello".
Notable cover versions A UK garage cover by Jhay Palmer featuring MC Image reached No. 69 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 11 on the UK Dance Singles Chart in 2002.
In September 2015, Richie and Jimmy Fallon covered the song in a humorous duet on The Tonight Show. Within days, the clip had gone viral, garnering over one million views on YouTube.
American singer Demi Lovato sang a rendition of the song as part of a tribute to Richie at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards on February 15, 2016. Her cover version eventually peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard Twitter Top Tracks chart.
Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff covered the song in Glee’s episode "Hell-O” in Glee season 1
Personnel Lionel Richie – vocals, acoustic piano, rhythm and vocal arrangements Reginald "Sonny" Burke – Fender Rhodes Michael Boddicker – synthesizers Darrell Jones – electric guitar Tim May – acoustic guitar Louis Shelton – guitars Joe Chemay – bass guitar Paul Leim – drums James Anthony Carmichael – rhythm and string arrangements Harry Bluestone – string concertmaster Peter Banks – guitar
Charts
Weekly charts + Weekly chart performance for "Hello" Chart (1984) Peakposition Argentina (CAPIF) 9 Australia (Kent Music Report) 1 Brazil (ABPD) 3 Chile (UPI) 1 Europe (European Top 100 Singles) 2 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) 6 Greece (IFPI) 2 Mexico (AMPROFON) 10 Paraguay (UPI) 1 Peru (UPI) 1 Portugal (AFP) 2 South Africa (Springbok Radio) 5 US Cash Box Top 100 Singles 1 US Black Singles (Cash Box) 1
Year-end charts + Year-end chart performance for "Hello" Chart (1984) Position Australia (Kent Music Report) 8 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) 16 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) 9 Canada Top Singles (RPM) 11Chile (UPI)2 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) 12 Netherlands (Single Top 100) 5 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) 5 UK Singles (Gallup) 7 US Billboard Hot 100 7 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard) 2 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) 7 US Cash Box Top 100 Singles 12 US Top 100 Black Contemporary Singles (Cash Box) 10 West Germany (Official German Charts) 27
All-time charts + All-time chart performance for "Hello" Chart (1958–2018) Position US Billboard Hot 100 389
Certifications
See also List of number-one singles of 1984 (Australia) List of Belgian number-one singles of 1984 (Flanders)) List of number-one singles of 1984 (Canada) List of number-one singles of 1984 (Ireland) List of Dutch Top 40 number-one singles of 1984 List of number-one singles in 1984 (New Zealand) List of number-one singles of 1984 (Switzerland) List of UK Singles Chart number ones of 1984 List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1984 List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1984 (U.S.) List of number-one R&B singles of 1984 (U.S.) List of Cash Box Top 100 number-one singles of 1984
References
External links
List of cover versions of "Hello" at SecondHandSongs.com