It was in 1984 that legendary singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen released Hallelujah. While it enjoyed some success, it wasn’t until the 90s that the song was brought back and given new life through covers by other artists. In 1991, John Cale covered Hellelujah in his Leonard Cohen tribute album called I’m Your Fan. Cale’s version was used in the popular film Shrek, and it was also featured in the TV show Scrubs.
Cale’s version of Hallelujah ended up inspiring Jeff Buckley, who also covered the hauntingly beautiful song. Buckley’s rendition ended up being one of the most celebrated songs of all time, ranking 259 on Rolling Stone’s “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” and even being inducted into the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry. Sadly, although Buckley’s version was much celebrated after his album went gold in 2002 (nine years after its release), he did not live long enough to enjoy its success as he passed away in 1997.
Recently, another cover of Hallelujah has been getting a lot of attention. This rendition was recorded by Pentatonix, the a capella group from Arlington, Texas that won the third season of The Sing-Off. Pentatonix has won numerous Grammy awards as well as the hearts of millions of fans worldwide. If you’re at all familiar with them, then you know that whenever they release a cover, it’s going to be spectacular!
Pentatonix’s cover of Hallelujah is achingly beautiful and you may very well struggle to hold back your tears. Since its music video was released on YouTube, it has gone absolutely viral. Watch and listen for yourself and let us know what you think.
