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Since Adele Said 'Hello,' The Internet Just Can't Quit Her

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

The pop star Adele is back. After three years of radio silence, she has a new song, "Hello," and a third album on the way.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HELLO")

ADELE: (Singing) Hello from the other side. I must have called a thousand times to tell you...

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

The response has been big. Record numbers of people are streaming the song on Spotify and Vevo. There were over a million and a half views of the song's video within an hour of its release.

SIEGEL: There have been think pieces about her use of a flip phone, viral memes and mash ups, and a skit by Ellen DeGeneres.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW")

ELLEN DEGENERES: 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.

SIEGEL: That's from the daytime talk show, "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW")

DEGENERES: Take a look.

(PHONE RINGING)

DEGENERES: Hello.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HELLO")

ADELE: (Singing) Hello, it's me.

DEGENERES: Oh hey, Adele. What's going on with you?

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HELLO")

ADELE: (Singing) I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet.

DEGENERES: I'm - the connection's bad. Did you say you're eating beets?

(LAUGHTER)

MCEVERS: And in what might be the Internet's biggest honor, Adele has gotten the Attenborough treatment.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DAVID ATTENBOROUGH: The year is 2015. The world appears to have a green tint to it. We are about to witness one of the great phenomena of the natural world. The lesser-spotted Adele is about to be everywhere again.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HELLO")

ADELE: (Singing) Hello.

ATTENBOROUGH: Hello.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HELLO")

ADELE: (Singing) It's me.

MCEVERS: That's Sir David Attenborough on BBC Radio 1 addressing the latest biggest thing, Adele's "Hello."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HELLO")

ADELE: (Singing) To go over everything. They say that time's supposed to heal... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.