Adele’s new single, Hello, was only released a day ago and it has already racked up more than 25 million YouTube views.
The sepia-toned video has gone viral not just because of its haunting lyrics and artistic shots - it is the singer’s anachronistic flip phone and unorthodox tea-making technique that has really got people talking.
Adele seems to have resisted the trend towards touchscreen smartphones, although fans pointed out she could probably afford a top-of-the-range device after the success of her previous albums 19 and 21.
Released in 2011, 21 has sold more than 30 million copies. Her new album, 25, is also set to be a record breaker - it's already number one on iTunes and the single is currently the number one download song in 85 countries.
Dedicated Adele followers showed the mother-of-one has long been a fan of the flip phone, as a picture surfaced of her using the retro device in an old photo.
Director Xavier Dolan has hit back at jokes about the old-fashioned mobile phone, claiming modern devices like the iPhone are “anti-narrative, they take you out of the story”.
But he is yet to justify Adele’s unconventional practice of putting the tea bag into the cup after the hot water.While fans on Twitter said the 27-year-old had made the flip phone cool again, no one seemed persuaded to adopt her method of making a brew.
The singer, who does not use Twitter and has described fame as a "fake life", still managed to break records for views of her video - an achievement fans compared with Taylor Swift, a dedicated user of social media.
Swift held the record for the most views in 24 hours, with her video for Bad Blood, which had 20.1 million views in a single day.
Hello, which Adele has said is about “yearning for my past”, has also prompted Lionel Richie parodies, in reference to the singer’s 1980s hit of the same name.
Adele joked with BBC Radio 1 Breakfast show host Nick Grimshaw, “We’ve definitely got to do something, me and Lionel”.
Fans are already way ahead of her, with one mash-up seeing Richie answer Adele’s flip phone call, only for to snap the phone shut again and hang up on him.
Speaking to the LA Times, filmmaker Dolan said the the fuss over the phone “drives me crazy”.
“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 added, "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."
The video, filmed at a farm in Quebec, Canada, last month sees Adele paired with The Wire actor Tristan Wilds.
But the singer said the song was not intended to be romantic.
“It’s not about an ex, or a love relationship – it’s about my relationships with everybody that I love,” she said.
