Adele’s ‘Hello’ Spoofs – The Best Parody Videos So Far

If you’re reading this post, there’s a pretty strong chance that you are one of the 485 million (and counting) or so people who have already viewed Adele’s record-obliterating video for ‘Hello’ on YouTube. It’s therefore highly likely that you’ll be a little more than familiar with its soon-to-be-iconic imagery: the sepia colour scheme, the gusty filming conditions, Adele’s attachment to the flip phone – a winning combination, if ever there was one.

As with anything mega-successful, there’s been a seemingly-unrelenting stream of parodies from chat and sketch shows and a smorgasbord of plucky YouTubers. And you just know that somewhere, in a dusty studio, Weird Al Yankovic is readying a polka-tinged treatment. There is no escape from the spoof. And so, to save you the tricky business of weeding through the dense forests of ‘Hello’ send-ups, here’s our round-up of some of the best so far.

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SNL MADE ‘HELLO’ THE ANTHEM FOR THANKSGIVING

Last weekend’s Saturday Night Live sketch rammed home Adele’s universality: taking place during Thanksgiving dinner, the show’s cast members – plus guest host Matthew McConaughey – play an insensitive family who fall into argument at every (admittedly controversial) point in conversation. And the only thing that can stop the bickering and closet racism? Putting ‘Hello’ on the stereo, obviously.

MISS PIGGY HAS A GO

The ‘Hello’ video came along at an ideal time for the masterminds behind the Muppets who, rather bizarrely, decided to implant the puppets’ usual atmosphere of high jinks and frivolity with a cold slice of emotive pain by breaking up the once-steely relationship between Kermit and Miss Piggy (as comedian John Oliver recently said on the matter: “Because you know what’s wrong with the Muppets? Kermit doesn’t fuck enough pigs”). And thus, in a prime slot during the commercial break at last weekend’s American Music Awards, the jilted Ms Piggy was cast as Adele, throwing shade at everyone’s favourite frog.

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ELLEN TOOK ADELE’S CALL

“Have y’all heard Adele’s new song?” asks Ellen of her whooping studio audience. Of course they have, Ellen. Of course they have. The day-time host then proceeds to have a four-way conversation with the Tottenham singer, Drake and Lionel Richie, because we all needed that cultural reference overdose.

JAMES CORDEN DID A HALLOWEEN ‘HELLO’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMHatZwOy-M

Corden’s surprising success in the US has received plenty of oxygen from his teaming up with well-known faces for viral sketches and bits, so it’s little surprise that his take on ‘Hello’ utilised the The Late Late Show host’s little black book. Teaming up with the outspoken host of Billy On The Street (premise: Billy Eichner runs around the streets of Manhattan with a mic and camera and yells questions at passers-by – it’s actually rather funny), the pair’s take on Adele’s superhit uses ultra-clever wordplay by turning ‘Hello’ into ‘Halloween’. Genius! Anyway, it’s a bit of a hit-and-miss affair about being too old to trick-or-treat that could conceivably become funny again come October 2016.

THERE’S AN NFL SPOOF

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFmA4JG5_8c

You may know him as Señor Ben Chang from Community, but in his spare time away from Greendale, Ken Jeong likes to team up with fellow funnyman Rob Riggle (The Daily Show, Step Brothers, 21 Jump Street) for Fox Sports’ NFL coverage in the US to send up the American Football league. Much of the references will be lost on you if you’re not familiar with the likes of the Giants and the Eagles, but even those not ITK about the NFL will appreciate the shaming of the Washington team’s name, the Redskins (“it’s soooo racist”).

THERE ARE MILLIONS OF LIONEL RICHIE MASH-UPS

Look, everyone and their dog has made the connection between Lionel and Adele’s songs – which, incredibly, share the same name! – so it was only a matter of time before someone (in this case, BlendTV) on the internet mashed the two videos together to create a sure-fire piece of viral comedy. And yes, it really is 11 seconds that you should take out of your day to watch, just so we can all lay that particular joke to rest.

ADELE EVEN DID HER OWN PARODY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yL7VP4-kP4

This is how all cultural phenomenons should be put to the bed: put them in a dressing room with Late Nate host Jimmy Fallon and the ever-excellent The Roots, and make them play the song with classroom instruments. It’s worked wonders for Carly Rae Jepsen, Meghan Trainor and Idina Menzel in the past, so it’ll no doubt work for Adele too – the cover (if you can call it that) is typically excellent, with sublime work in particular from Tuba Gooding, Jr. on the kazoo and banana shaker.

See more: The things you see in every Adele video

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