I return with a seemingly shameful confession that I will justify throughout this writing: I don't like Adele's "Hello." Specifically, I don't like the structure of the song and the melody of the verse. The build of the arrangement is quite dramatic, and I turn to the side of fan by the end of the song. The opening verse is so slow, lifeless, and sparse that I can't get behind it. Adele has a unique voice I appreciate, but even that's not strong enough to carry a song with two sung syllables every three seconds. Imagine how much more powerful the song could be if there were more layers to the underscoring that rose up and soared as the song kicked into the chorus.
That chorus is excellent. There's no denying that. It's pure power pop anthem made resplendent by a brilliant young voice in music. It's rare for a 25 year old coming from the pop world to interpret songs with such a strong sense of theatricality. There's an element of storytelling that comes across from sound alone, a style that's fallen to the wayside in recent decades.
My mind starts to turn on "Hello" at the hook. The fluidity of the melody better matches Adele's skills than the calculated rubato effect of the verses. Further, the arrangement that explodes out of this near-silent void of the verse and bridge is rock solid. It's on trend for the genre without sticking to the more heavily synthesized palette of its contemporaries. It has massive crossover appeal by borrowing from the old and the new.
A great hook can always salvage a mediocre verse. A powerful hook sung with such honesty and emotional resonance will all but guarantee a hit. Add on name recognition from an Academy Award and Grammy Award-winning musician and you're destined for the record books.
Here's the video for Adele's "Hello," which definitely helps sell the slower opening. I can see how people who first experience it in this context would love it. Me? I heard it on the radio first and took time to warm up to it. You let me know how you feel about it in the comments below, from one Adele fan to another.