Adele Reveals Who Inspired ‘Hello,’ And More About New Album ’25’

Adele, in her first interview in three years, opened up about the inspiration for “Hello,” and what her new album 25 is all about.

Who Is Adele’s “Hello” About?

Adele’s hit album 21 chronicled her heartbreak after splitting from a longtime boyfriend. With “Hello” seeming to be about an erstwhile relationship, it begged the question of whether or not it too was about the ex.

“Oh, god no. That’s over and done with, thank f–k,” Adele, 27, told i-D when asked if there was any connection. “That’s been over and done with for f–king years. No, it’s not about anyone specifically. It’s about friends, ex-boyfriends, it’s about myself, it’s about my family. It’s also about my fans as well. I feel like everyone thinks I’m so far away and I’m not. Everyone thinks I live in f–king America, I don’t.”

Adele continued, “The song is about hurting someone’s feelings but it’s also about trying to stay in touch with myself, which sometimes can be a little bit hard to do. It’s about a yearning for the other side of me. When I’m away, I really, really miss my life at home. The way that I feel when I’m not in England, is desperation. I can’t breathe anywhere else.”

“‘Hello’ is about wanting to be at home and wanting to reach out to everyone I’ve ever hurt – including myself – and apologize for it.”

Since 2011, Adele has been in a relationship with Simon Konecki, with whom she has 3-year-old son Angelo. When sitting down to write 25, she was mindful of setting it apart from 21 for various reasons.

“I definitely wasn’t going to write a heartbreak record ’cause I’m not heartbroken, but I probably won’t be able to better the one I did, so what’s the point? Bit cliché, innit?” Adele said. “Also, how I felt when I wrote 21, it ain’t worth feeling like that again. I was very sad and very lonely. Regardless of being a mom or a girlfriend, I didn’t want to feel like that again,”

“I think the album is about trying to clear out the past,” Adele added. “Becoming a parent and moving past my mid-twenties, I simply don’t have the capacity to worry about as many things that I used to really enjoy worrying about.”

Adele plans to tour on 25 and, when she’s ready, make another album. She hopes to keep releasing records, to stand the test of time.

“I’d like to be able to stand the test of time and the speed that the world is moving,” Adele told i-D. “I’d like to make records forever with the time I’ve been given for this one. If I can do that I’ll be really f–king happy.”