The Real Meaning Behind Adele's 'Hello'

Adele has the apparent ability to turn whatever she touches into gold. The British singer-songwriter only needed to write one album to win her first two Grammy awards after releasing "19" in January 2008, when, at age 19, she won Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance with the single "Chasing Pavements." And that came before she showed us what she came here to do. Three years later, Adele released her second studio album, "21," which went on to become the world's best-selling album of the 21st century and she took home nothing short of six Grammys, including Album of the Year, the BBC noted. In her native United Kingdom, the album holds the title of second best-selling album ever, behind the pioneering "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" by The Beatles, the report detailed.

After skyrocketing to fame, Adele took a step away from the limelight. It would be almost five years before she released any new music, when she finally released "25" in November 2015. A month prior, Adele teased what fans could expect from her third album with the single "Hello." The song's video clip racked up more than 50 million views on YouTube in less than three days after going live, as Business Insider reported. Now, the world is eagerly awaiting Adele's fourth album, "30," set to be released on November 19. But Adele is warning fans not to expect another "Hello," as the song was written at a very specific moment she has left behind. 

The sepia-toned music video for "Hello" suggests the lyrics refer to a woman who moved to California and is reminiscing about an old love and "who [they] used to be." While the lyrics are indeed a love song, Adele told Oprah Winfrey in an interview for the upcoming "Adele One Night Only" concert special on November 14 (via People) that "Hello" is both a farewell and a love letter to her older self. "When I wrote it, it was a real ode to like, little me, older me, all of these things. It's just a song about like, 'I'm still here.' Like, 'Hi, I'm still here, I still exist in every aspect of my life,'" Adele said.

In the song, Adele talks about how, "There's such a difference between us / And a million miles," referring to her move from the U.K. to the U.S and the person she became in the process. Ahead of the release of her third studio album, "25," Adele shared a statement on Facebook, in which she addressed the difference in her mindset between her second and third albums. "My last record was a break-up record and if I had to label this one I would call it a make-up record. I'm making up with myself," she wrote. The album, and specifically the song, was an exercise in embracing what the past created, as she said, "25 is about getting to know who I've become without realising."

Almost four years passed before Adele released new music following the massive success of her second studio album, "21." Speaking with TODAY in December 2015, Adele explained that she suffered from writer's block because she was in a different place. When she wrote "21," Adele was going through heartbreak after a breakup, but after recovering from the experience, she had to learn to find inspirations through other channels. Adele learned that allowing herself to feel sadness was an important part of the healing process, and once she realized this truth, she could start writing again. "Once I sort of started looking at it like that ... I felt like I didn't have to let myself go this time in order to access my creativity," she said.

In addition to her overthinking, Adele was overwhelmed by the thought of leaving her son, Angelo, born in 2012, to work, she told TODAY. After being reclusive for some years, Adele wrote "Hello" as a form of rebirth. "I couldn't get over my guilt of leaving my kid to go and write a record and stuff like that. So [it's] getting over that — getting on the other side of that. It was just, you know, it's in general, just hello to everyone," she said.

Adele also took some time between "25" and the upcoming "30," which is about yet new growing pains, she wrote on Instagram. "I've learned a lot of blistering truths about myself along the way."