[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lionel_richie.jpg]]
->''"[[JustForFun/{{Hello}} Hello,]] it is me you're looking for?"''

Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter, best known for his stint with the Music/{{Commodores}} before becoming one of pop music's greatest artists. ''The Daily Telegraph'' ranked his performance at the 2015 UsefulNotes/GlastonburyFestival the number one act of the weekend.[[note]]Music/KanyeWest, the headline act of the night before finished ''last'' by comparison.[[/note]]

Website/ThatOtherWiki has a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel_Richie rundown]] on his life and career.

In 2017, he was named as one of three judges for the 2018 ABC revival of ''Series/AmericanIdol'', alongside Music/KatyPerry and Music/LukeBryan. During the 58th Academy Awards, Lionel Richie won an [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/AcademyAwardForBestOriginalSong Best Original Song]] Oscar for 1985 movie [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/WhiteNights White Nights]] song "Say You, Say Me". Richie had another [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/AcademyAwardForBestOriginalSong Best Original Song]] Oscar nomination for the 1981 movie "Endless Love" with song of the same title.

----
!!Discography
* ''Lionel Richie'' (1982)
* ''Can't Slow Down'' (1983)
* ''Dancing on the Ceiling'' (1986)
* ''Back to Front'' (1992) (Compilation album with three new songs)
* ''Louder Than Words'' (1996)
* ''Time'' (1998)
* ''Renaissance'' (2000)
* ''Just for You'' (2004)
* ''Coming Home'' (2006)
* ''Just Go'' (2009)
* ''Tuskegee'' (2012)
-----
!!"Let the tropes play on (play on)":
* AlbumTitleDrop: ''Can't Slow Down'' and ''Dancing On The Ceiling'' on their respective albums.
* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: The African-sounding bridge in "All Night Long (All Night)" was just gibberish made-up by Richie when he didn't have enough time to hire a translator for some foreign language lyrics that he wanted in the song.
* CoverAlbum: The ''Tuskegee'' album consisted of reinterpretations of songs he wrote in full or part. Most were from his solo career, though "Easy" and "Sail On" were first recorded by the Commodores, and "Lady" by Music/KennyRogers.
* GenreShift: ''Tuskegee'' consisted of Richie collaborations with current country artists. [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg And]] Music/JimmyBuffett.[[note]]The British and German editions replaced a few of the country acts with more locally known acts.[[/note]] One of the songs he chose for the album was an aversion; the original "Deep River Woman" was a collaboration with Music/{{Alabama}}, and was released to country radio alongside the pop outlet.
* GiftOfSong: Richie wrote the song "Three Times A Lady" as a gift for his parents' 37th wedding anniversary.
* GreatestHitsAlbum: The Definitive Collection (2003) features his biggests hits.
* MeaningfulName: ''Tuskegee'' is the name of the Alabama town where he was born and attended college, specifically Tuskegee Institute (now a "University").
* OlderThanTheyLook: [[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lionel_Richie_in_2017.jpg This picture?]] He was ''68'' when it was taken.
* OneWomanSong: "Ballerina Girl" and "Deep River Woman" from ''Dancing on the Ceiling.''
* StalkerWithACrush: Plays one in the video for "Hello", in which he pursues a blind performance art student. Extra squicky as his character is a professor.
** ''WebVideo/TheMusicVideoShow'' says gives an alternative to this in [[https://youtu.be/k_FzG59ITjo an episode]] saying, she knows what's going on.
--> "It's kind of their thing."
* TeacherStudentRomance: The music video to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_ILDFp5DGA Hello]] by Music/LionelRichie has this type of romance between a blind woman and a music teacher. The teacher [[StalkerWithACrush spends the video stalking and lurking around]] but the ending (the student has just finished sculpting a bust with Richie's likeness) implies a mutual attraction.
----
->''"Everyone you meet (all night), they're jamming in the street (all night)\\
All night long (all night), feel good, feel good (all night)"''