Lionel Richie Planning Adele Duet Following Viral “Hello” Mashup

Before Adele’s “Hello” took the world by storm in October, Lionel Richie already had a hit from 1983 of the same name, singing, “Hello, is it me you’re looking for?” Thanks to the Internet, Richie and Adele’s monster singles meshed into one viral mashup, which inspired the former Commodore to cook up something with the British siren.

The Grammy-winning singer revealed his plans for a forthcoming collaboration at an Art Basel kick-off event in a recent interview with E! News.

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“We are going to be doing something together — that’s already almost in the works. … I can almost say that we are talking, but right now she has a mission,” he said. “Her mission is [to] get her record out and go on tour, so until she finishes that cycle, that won’t happen just yet. She is committed to that.”

He also recalled getting bombarded with calls in the midst of Adele-mania. “You have no idea how many people called me on the phone and said, ‘Are you going to let her get away with that? She stole ‘Hello’! Then I said I don’t own ‘Hello.’ I own the melody,” he said. “But, what it did was it blew everything to the ceiling. The conversation came up. If you say Adele and you say Lionel or Lionel and Adele … that’s the best pairing you could have!”

Fans can cross their fingers for a potential Richie and Adele duet when the U.K. record-breaker (her third studio effort 25 has already topped four million in album sales) embarks on her live tour across the pond in the new year.

This article first appeared on Billboard.com.