Entertainment

"Hello" Remix About Turning 30 Is Hella Relatable

by Lily Feinn

Dec. 4, 2015

Turning the big 3-0 can make anyone want to down a bottle of wine just to quell the anxiety. But the new YouTube video “30,” a parody of Adele’s “Hello,” reminds that you are not alone in feeling stressed about turning this seemingly important but arbitrary number. The video discusses the struggles of adulthood — from realizing that you are too old to have a party at Chuck E. Cheese to missing the time when your mom would do your laundry. “It’s no secret, I’m three decades old and still feel like a child,” sings Chanel Carroll in the clip.

The music of Adele’s emotional relationship anthem works perfectly to capture the frustration of wanting to stay fancy-free and in your 20s forever. The talent and voice behind this hilariously relatable video is the indomitable Chanel Carroll. The singer, actress, comedian is best known for last year's popular parody video “Tuition,” in which she uses the Queen B’s hit “Partition” to talk about the struggles of paying off her Sally Mae student loans. Her latest video, in only its second day on YouTube, already has thousands of views and is steadily climbing.

“It was a few weeks before my 30th birthday and I was feeling the pressure I think everyone feels when they're about to hit a big milestone," Carroll shared with Bustle regarding the inspiration for the video. "I started going through the list of things growing up that I thought were 'supposed' to happen by 30 like have children, own a home, etc. And I realized that those things are not where I am in my life and not where a lot of my friends are either and by CHOICE. I'm focused on other things right now and that's OK.” True that!

Carroll started making parody videos a few years ago as part of a holiday video tradition begun by The Movement Theatre Company, of which she is a member. Last year, she took matters into her own hands, and started producing videos independently. The strength of the songs she picks to parody help relate her message. "I just love pop music and I love being able to make people laugh through a tune that they are already familiar with," she said. However, choosing to belt tunes by wildly popular pop divas with enviable vocal skills takes a lot of guts (not to mention diaphragm!).

So who's next on Ms. Carroll's hit list? "There's been a lot of good music coming out recently so pretty much anyone is fair game.” Fingers crossed for a little Christina Aguilera or Pink!

Has the success of her video softened the blow of the 30th birthday? Ms. Carroll is too blessed to be stressed anymore: “Well, I'm only in my 3rd week of being 30 but I gotta say, it's going pretty well so far. As I said, I think we all get that twinge of anxiety that comes with hitting a milestone birthday but at the same time, I can honestly say that I'm entering 30 feeling better than ever.”

If you are about to turn 30 too, or you already have, you will recognize these stages of acceptance: