Hello by Lionel Richie was released on February 13, 1984, with You Mean More To Me as the B side. It was the third single from Richie’s second solo album Can’t Slow Down.

In the United States, the song reached No. 1 on three charts – the pop, R&B, and adult contemporary charts. It also was a No. 1 hit in several other countries, including Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. According to songfacts, Hello was Motown’s first ever UK million-selling single.

Hello has arguably one of the more memorable music videos from the 1980s. Directed by Bob Giraldi, who also directed Michael Jackson’s Beat It video, it features Richie as a teacher pining away for a blind student. He later discovers that his feelings are requited, as she has sculpted a bust of his head. Giraldi revealed in the book I Want My MTV that Richie was concerned the bust didn’t resemble him (right there with you, Lionel, but it’s the thought that counts).