It Took Three Long Days, But We Finally Have An Explanation For Adele's Flip Phone In The "Hello" Video

Adele's "Hello" video has racked up more than 61 million views since it dropped on YouTube last Friday.

Billboard is also reporting that the tune is on track to break the U.S. record for most digital downloads in a single week. The record, bafflingly, belongs to Flo Rida for the song "Right Round", which enjoyed 636,000 digital sales in its debut week. "Hello", however, has moved more than 450,000 intangible units in its first two days.

All of that is to say: a lot of people have seen this video clip (including Lionel Richie).

Besides many noting the similarities between the two songs - specifically, their use of the most common greeting in the English language - many have also taken issue with the bizarre use of a flip phone by the British songstress; a strange, anachronistic inclusion akin to her sending her regretful musical message via Morse code.

The video's director, Xavier Dolan (responsible for the beguiling movies Mommy, Laurence Anyways and Heartbeats) defended his aesthetic choice to the L.A. Times.

"I could see the GIFs on Twitter. I'm like, 'guys, get over it. It doesn't matter.' But the real explanation is that I never like filming modern phones or cars. They're so implanted in our lives that when you see them in movies you're reminded you're in reality," he explained.

"If you see an iPhone or a Toyota in a movie, they're anti-narrative, they take you out of the story. If I put an iPhone or a modern car in a movie it feels like I'm making a commercial."

In other Adele news, a radio host confused her with Beyoncé by asking about her supposed alter ego, "Sasha Fierce." It really has been a very big week for Adele. Her next album, 25, drops November 20.