Colyn Elliott runs a fan account for the soul singer and on Friday he issued a public plea to the Hello hitmaker to make her long-awaited chart return sooner rather than later.

"Please release new music soon, we all miss you so much," he posted on his Instagram Story timeline, tagging the singer in the hopes of catching her attention.

It appears Adele took note as she then responded to him privately, and revealed she had become a fan of his social media presence during the coronavirus pandemic.

"Your twitter account has entertained me all the way through covid," Adele told him.

"You look like so much fun! I'm absolutely chuffed (pleased) you like my music," she added: "Keep loving your life, it's so lovely and infectious to see from every angle."

A stunned Elliott shared a screenshot of the surprise exchange online and confessed it had reduced him to tears: "IM BAWLING MY EYES OUT (sic)," he tweeted, raving: "Adele I hope it was okay I tweeted this I was just so excited I wanted to tell my friends!"

It's not the first time Adele has interacted with her devotees on social media - she recently replied to one Instagram follower who requested an update on her next release.

"Adele where's the album?" the fan commented under a book recommendation the star had shared, prompting her to respond, "I honestly have no idea."

Adele's last album, 25, was released in 2015.