Lionel Richie confirms collaboration with Adele is 'in the works'

Lionel Richie has confirmed that he will collaborate with Adele.

Richie, 66, said the pair will definitely team up but that Adele’s tour is her primary focus.

"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 told E! News.

“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."

Following the release of Adele’s debut single, Hello, from her album, 25, BlendTV made a mash up of Richie's Hello and Adele's single - something the All Night Long singer found "hilarious".

Richie also posted a picture to his Instagram alongside the caption: "HELLO @adele is it me you're looking for... #hello."

He said: "Wasn't that hilarious? Hilarious! Someone said to me, 'Lionel, Adele did Hello' and I said, 'Retirement. I am done'...Then, all of a sudden I realised this is not 'Hello.' She just used 'Hello.''

The Grammy-winning artist said he is not annoyed with Adele for penning the line “Hello” – but praised her for concocting the “best pairing”.

He said: "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.

"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!"