LIONEL RICHIE, artist: I just figured that the video would be a simple love story. And then Bob leveled me to the floor when he said, “Here’s my big pitch. You’re a teacher, and you’re gonna fall in love with a blind girl.” I admit, I hesitated for a moment. But you don’t hire Picasso and then tell him how to paint.

The funniest story about “Hello” is that I kept going back to Bob over and over again saying, “Bob, that bust of me does not look like me.” “Bob, the bust does not look like me.” Finally, Bob came over to me and said, “Lionel, she’s blind.”