It's been three excruciatingly long years since we last heard new music from Adele.

Oh, perhaps you've already heard of her?

She's the British singer-songwriter armed with the powerhouse pipes responsible for GRAMMY Award-winning songs like "Rolling In The Deep," "Someone Like You" and "Set Fire To The Rain" off her GRAMMY Award-winning record 21, the fourth best-selling album in UK history — which just so happens to double as the unofficial soundtrack to millions of break-ups worldwide over the past four years.

Adele's done a lot of growing up ever since. She's a mom now! And after months of writing and recording and endless rumo(u)red returns, she's finally, officially ready to poke her head out of the studio once again today (October 23) with the first offering from her forthcoming 21 follow-up, 25. (She's 27 now, but hey, life happens.)

But, think about it: The biggest selling album two years in a row? How does one even begin to follow up that kind of nearly unfathomable success? Why, with just a casual "Hello."

Kidding, there ain't anything casual about this: "Hello" is an utterly massive return-to-form — as if we were expecting anything less.

In an agonizing attempt to reach out to the love that tore her heart up all those years ago, the singer finds herself entirely out of sorts with the bitter reality: He's just not that receptive anymore. (Needless to say, this doesn't sit well.)

"Hello, it's me..." she begins over the phone, effectively channeling Billie Myers' "Kiss The Rain." (Can ya hear me?)

And then, she goes in:

“Hello from the other side / I must have called a thousand times / To tell you I'm sorry for everything that I've done / But when I call, you never seen to be home / Hello from the outside / At least I can say that I tried to tell you I’m sorry for breaking your heart / But it don’t matter, it clearly doesn’t tear you apart anymore..."

Each bone-chilling belt makes the hurt hit harder: "I must have called a thousand times!"

The gorgeous piano-led production is chilling and appropriately dramatic, especially as the backing vocals fill out the song toward its crashing finale. But at its core, "Hello" is Adele delivering what Adele has always done best: Raw emotion, thunderous vocals and an ability to cut deep, making the most common, otherwise friendly salutation send a tear or two rolling down the cheek.

Here's to a thrilling new chapter in her audio autobiography — and one hell of a hello.

25
1. "Hello"
2. "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)"
3. "I Miss You"
4. "When We Were Young"
5. "Remedy"
6. "Water Under The Bridge"
7. "River Lea"
8. "Love In The Dark"
9. "Million Years Ago"
10. "All I Ask"
11. "Sweetest Devotion"

Adele: From The First Album to Now

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