Hallelujah - How to Cover it Badly

In this video, 'How to Cover it Badly', I look at various ways that ‘Hallelujah’ is covered by taking a look at Jeff Buckley, Leonard Cohen, Ed Sheeran, Bono and a range of other musicians from KZbin, Pop Idol and The Voice. I explain various aspects of the song by investigating its lyrics and the underlying structure that makes it tick! Along the way, I get a bit mean too!
(Belated R.I.P to Leonard Cohen and extremely belated R.I.P to Jeff Buckley).
Leonard Cohen Version
• Leonard Cohen - Hallel...
Jeff Buckley Version
• Jeff Buckley - Hallelu...
Hilarious Bono Version
• Bono Hallelujah
Baby guitar: the best KZbin video I found all week
• baby guitar
Legend parents and their lucky baby (7 million views. Wow. One day...)
• Guitar Baby!
Pitchfork Article about Cohen and Hallelujah
pitchfork.com/thepitch/1360-le...
Please put requests and suggestions in the comments below. I read them all!
EDIT: I mistakenly call a trombone a 'trumpet' towards the end of this piece.

[@gamatastica3478]

Imagine getting your cover featured then the commentator just says *yuck*

[@officialromanhours]

Current Objective SURVIVE

[@asandysoldier3164]

A kick in the head halo on pc dude AHHAHAGAHAQHHQ

[@Quagmirian]

Don't sing like shit then

[@cheyennerumsley]

Well, at least the dude's now got a net worth of $170 million at the age of 21 so he's pretty much laughing all the way to the bank 😜

[@LOLRyanTheKidLOL]

Imagine being Shawn Mendes

[@frickinfrick8488]

“Just because you can doesn’t mean you should” What every singer needs to hear.

[@zzzapi]

*musician

[@deadlock1011]

A fking men

[@user-en7dx1qp3k]

*person

[@CaptainScorch217]

@brendanbeck

[@CaseyShontz]

I think that point is true but it doesn’t work well with the clips he was saying it about. I think those girls had to bring it up an octave because they couldn’t sing it in the lower octave, not just because they wanted to. I do that all the time when I’m singing for fun.

[@govindanagar4623]

This gives me sudden urge to write an overly complex jazz cover of hallelujah

[@AceAttorny]

Hallelujant Steps

[@keshavramesh8482]

Collier's got you covered

[@chilala-kantunguni3416]

Please do it!

[@govindanagar4623]

@@chilala-kantunguni3416 Ok i might actually do it

[@gr8cescale]

@@govindanagar4623 please keep us updated

[@tristan3456]

I think the reason everyone is skipping octaves is because they can’t hit the high notes at that higher octave, and can’t hit the low notes at the lower octaves. So they end up octave hopping trying to keep it in their vocal range.

[@riso9059]

Seems legit

[@FranzSarmiento17]

Honestly, I think it wasn't as egregious as he makes it out to be. It's just that the singers are probably just not that good with their vocal range. I'd pass it as forgivable compared to the other "warbles"

[@EtamirTheDemiDeer]

Mood

[@anitaanil6333]

YES

[@senza4591]

What? How does this say 7 years ago and right next to it 3 months ago wtf

[@Kmac2021]

That Bono version actually angered me.

[@Tantacrul]

I'm sorry to do that to you :)

[@Kmac2021]

Tantacrul don't apologise, I need the anger to make memes

[@AbsoluteAbsurd]

Owo its that boi

[@RedTV8888]

I believe Bono actually publicly apologized for that cover

[@user-ii3zm4it4h]

Meme Lord Kmac is here, ladies and gentlement! Love your videos, m9!

[@thomasrosebrough9062]

"if you're simply subordinating the musical meaning to a display of your technical skill, then you suck" I have been waiting my whole life for this sentence.

[@thomasrosebrough9062]

I don't agree with everything in this video, but I feel very vindicated by the exact wording you gave for this sentiment.

[@jacobsweat1520]

as a bassist, i'm all about the soul, i'm almost never technical, whether i'm playing bass clarinet in a concert band or wind ensemble, or rock/blues/jazz electric bass

[@papphase860]

This sentence is the perfect explanation for my hate against most covers.

[@jacobsweat1520]

@@papphase860 i do tyler childers covers with as much soul as possible

[@raulperez2308]

you can still make or play meaningful, atmospheric music while showcasing a great technical skillset.

[@annasaringer3729]

I accompanied a girl on the piano while she sang this song this year on a school show. She sang half of it in arabic! I thought that was very cool and creative.

[@senza4591]

Oh neat!

[@safir2241]

is this a joke im missing

[@EzeKry]

@@safir2241 no it's just a legitimately nice story.

[@willtowers1532]

alham- dillulah, alham-dillulah

[@HerbaMachina]

@@safir2241 I hear you, it's set up like it's gonna be a joke, and then the writer goes and subverts our expectations to give us just a nice story. The bastard! How dare they play with our heads in such a manner.

[@Musicman11389]

It goes like this: the 4th, the 5th, the 6th, and then the 4th again.

[@xarealpersonx]

Then the the 6th then the 4th again

[@Musicman11389]

Baffled.

[@milanstevic8424]

@@Musicman11389 baffled, more baffled, and then the 4th again

[@retro34]

@@milanstevic8424 legend says he's still composing to this day

[@zsofi497]

What?

[@nikgulley]

To be fair, I don't think the TV talent show crowd responds to anything but vocal runs and octave jumps.

[@JazzyUnderscoreTrumpeter]

True... 😔

[@xstoofpeer]

@Rodzilla Its a fucking talent show. People dont care about how technical somebody is, they just want to know if it sounds good for them. One of my favourite TV talent show auditions is Redemption Song by Mitchel Brunings on The Voice. He just has a great voice and I couldn't care much if his technique is perfect.

[@zachjollimore4339]

I mean mass opinion of talent and musical ability is technical proficiency, and speed, and not actual musicianship

[@codyi5232]

Nik Gulley the entire audience is paid. To be fair if you can actually strum and write they’ll basically pull you out of line and try and sideball your ass. They don’t want real musicians on that show they want people who watch glee lol. \m/

[@juannaym8488]

Also, that weird stuff they do with their faces, where they try to make it seem super hard and emotional to just sing a few words

[@dr.quackenbacker5247]

This exact argument goes for every cover of "Sound of Silence" ever

[@Cubby9196]

Except the Disturbed one!

[@dernlui1842]

@@Cubby9196 Especially for the Disturbed

[@netahamiel4304]

Everybody worships the disturbed one but i can't bear hearing it

[@RSidd]

@@Cubby9196 the Disturbed cover sucks donkey bollocks.

[@Seth9809]

@@dernlui1842 And music critics say the original is the most pretentious song ever....

[@IsaacEverettVideos]

It’s worth remembering that Jeff Buckley’s version relies heavily on the adaption performed by former Velvet Underground member John Cale.

[@willhubbell6124]

I didn’t know that that’s awesome

[@AndrewMoffitt]

This is a critical piece of information that is criminally overlooked. Cale's performance inspired Buckley, and in doing so, it set the standard for every. single. cover. that we've heard since then. It baffles me how he's so rarely included in conversations about the song. Whenever we hear a modern cover, we're really listening to Cale's interpretation. Not to say that Buckley didn't bring something to the table; in fact, in some respects, he even improved on it. Where Cale's vocal rings with a noble, almost regal melancholy, Buckley imbues the song with a pained, aching sadness so complete that it transcends description. Cale's solo piano is excellent and served as a wonderful basis for interpretation, but everything about Buckley's instrumentation, from the choice of guitar to the the reverb-heavy tone, fits the tune brilliantly.

[@Alice-cl9cf]

Also important to note that John Cale included lyrics that Cohen would perform live but weren't in the original recorded version of the song. Lyrics like "I used to live alone before I knew you" and "Love is not a victory march // it's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah" aren't in the original version but are included in basically every single cover of the song. Cale actually asked Cohen to send him the lyrics after watching him perform it live and Cohen then faxed him 15 pages of lyrics.

[@JellyFlavoredGerman]

@@AndrewMoffittJohn Cale's contribution to popular music as a whole is wildly underestimated.

[@bradleyisaacsims68]

I think you're spot on about most of these (especially the warbling bit), but the opposite critique of this also true: covers of this song that just the Buckley version note-for-note are boring and lame. And even Buckley does the octave up thing in the later choruses. The take-away is that a good cover of a great song is ... hard.

[@All4Tanuki]

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" There are plenty of songs with great ideas but a flaw that makes them hard to appreciate as a whole. A cover is the perfect opportunity to fix these!!

[@Ceolskog-Folk-Metal-Hiking]

What I would love to hear is a version that mixes the Cohen and Buckley versions - the verses the way Buckley does it, then build up to the big chorus like in Cohen's original.

[@Ceolskog-Folk-Metal-Hiking]

Well I couldn't find what I wanted to hear, so I ended up doing one myself by covering Cohen's version, with a bit of a Jeff Buckley flavour in the verses.

[@juliec3870]

When they go an octave higher it’s not because they can go high, it’s because they can’t go low. I know from experience.

[@cooxy9964]

Julie Camm then you need to adjust the key of the song...

[@sparksfly5877]

Yeah I know right? But simply adjusting the pitch to something more comfortable works.

[@anakruger2412]

@@cooxy9964 No, adjusting the key would change the song. Jumping an octave is generally how you fit something to range. Edit: Of course, only if it fits the song. If the song is going down, you shouldn't jump an octave in the middle of that downward phrase. Source: Music student for 8 years.

[@kaitlynbaker8491]

I agree and sometimes especially if you are a beginner you don't understand how to change keys yet. Doing this until you understand it isn't hurting anybody.

[@link_7164]

Kaitlyn Baker maybe not. My mate said that someone went up an octave once and it caused some sort of resonance and this crab’s shell shattered like a glass. And also that the crab was performing open heart surgery on his uncle at the time.

[@desperatemohammedantheworl5833]

Holy shit, that Bono cover version really exists and wasn't just a bad dream.

[@barringtonwomble4713]

BONO oh NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

[@shimalding]

Never thought I'd hear Hallelujah edited as a sexy Enigma song

[@heartache5742]

i am a doughnut

[@dariovega9772]

Rt

[@andyfletcher3561]

@@lonewolf8667 I know this is old and all, but I couldn't agree more. Maybe if I'd never heard Cohen sing it himself I would feel differently...

[@jesseroel8362]

Hallelu... uuuu... ... *"ouya"*

[@danielbelkin4652]

Ah yes, my favorite defunct video game console. Maybe they chose to reference it as a metaphor for their interpretation of the song?

[@jesseroel8362]

@@danielbelkin4652 finally someone got it! It's pretty much a metaphor for failure

[@Poiuy]

Jesse Roel Is that a fan of Sorrow TV I see

[@xarealpersonx]

Never forget

[@senza4591]

*_my god._*

[@j9mattfield]

My biggest pet peeve regarding covers is people who say “do you” instead of “do ya “ which is the rhyme with Hallelujah

[@idontcare1898]

Listen to the original by Cohen, he pronounces it as "but you don't really care for music, do you?" no ya at all

[@casey3029]

@@idontcare1898 doesn’t mean it’s the right course of action just because it’s the original. ‘do ya’ sounds better

[@Aidenkong523]

​@@idontcare1898 in the album version, it does sound like he says "do ya"

[@kaitlyn__L]

Just like teachers ruining Fuzzy Wuzzy by pronouncing “was he?” too distinctly at the end.

[@dianew800]

My pet peeve about the song: singing it as if it were a Christmas carol.

[@AnimeSunglasses]

Oh geeze, yes. Bloody Christian ignorance of the lyrics...

[@Em-ih5du]

I love you

[@RubberyCat]

@@AnimeSunglasses Personally, i think it is perfect as a Christmas song.... But then again, i do have the impression that GOD supports Atheism, because all the big and known religions has fucked things up, and is worshipping their own dogmas instead of GOD. My Hallelujah is both broken and Holy, at the same time.

[@AnimeSunglasses]

@@RubberyCat well, broken and holy at once is the thing it's written to express...

[@RubberyCat]

@@AnimeSunglasses The earlier or original version is, yes. However, several later versions, including the one Jeff covered, is more sad and broken ... And yes, i'm referring to one of the key verses in the song, which may be different depending on which version you decide to sing.

[@chronovac]

I am glad I have found someone who shares my disdain for warble

[@MedievalSolutions]

My belief is that warblers can't actually hold a nice clean tone for even two seconds... I'd invite them to break such belief, but they are busy trying to fit a warble on every milisecond.

[@captainmunchlax8629]

There’s a time and place for everything. But it’s just not necessary here. There are certain songs it works in, though I’m not a major fan of said songs

[@LambruscoPeter]

Marc Bolan is a master warbler though

[@senza4591]

I think its vibrato and yeah its overused

[@matankesselman456]

@@senza4591 vibrato is good. The warbling in question is melisma. If done tastefully, it's good. If not, it's tacky and somewhat boastful.

[@MrFredNC]

I think this video should be a required watch for all musicians ever. Not just Hallelujah cover people, not just singers, all musicians. If you are doing interpretation of whatever kind, always look at the music itself and bring out what is in it and what characterizes iit, rather than doing random stuff with it in order to promote your own "individuality". If done properly, there is still enough space for that in every piece without butchering it first.

[@AM-ux6ey]

With the octave higher thingy most female singers can’t reach the low notes so have to go higher.

[@AdrianVisan]

You can change the key and still have the same effect

[@guilhermekhoury2091]

@Ow my Bones Or you could just let people sing what they want

[@gutsFunnyman]

@Ow my Bones or just rewrite it into a pitch you can sing.

[@TheEudaemonicPlague]

As a defense for such behavior, it fails. If you *can't* sing it properly, don't sing it at *all*. You know it's a serious problem, if you're sitting at a bar, singing along to the jukebox, and a musician thanks you for not doing that shit. True story.

[@adog3129]

Hah, should have thought about that before being f*male

[@Bhazor]

No other song says "I learned the guitar to get laid" quite like a Hallelujah cover

[@Quintaner]

Wonderwall usually does the trick

[@singmysong4444]

Ha... best comment ever on this thread

[@BitcoinMotorist]

Baby, I Love Your Way Peter Frampton

[@oz_jones]

@@Quintaner imagine too, or it probably did back in the day

[@jacobadams905]

Nah, nah, nah, Something is THE putang magnet!

[@AlibifortheAfterlife]

5:42 Well it goes like this, the sixth, the sixth, the major sixth and the major sixth

[@MatmoeLP]

It's baffling how she's covering hallelujah

[@mateusdotta887]

btw, who is this girl?

[@tamircohen1512]

@@mateusdotta887 For research purposes, right? Her name's Holly Henry :)

[@tasimasoe8430]

@@tamircohen1512 Trust man hahaha

[@benwhite8157]

Great comment. There's so much dissonance it's no longer a chord but two separate chords conjoined involuntarily. Edit: Onlay ma opunion.

[@simonockas]

Me: *can't even sing Jingle Bells properly* Also me: "oh my god this cover is utter garbage what an absolute idiot lmao"

[@Aaackermann]

Yeah. To say a piece of music is garbage is understandable. To say: "what an idiot" is simply rude.

[@simonockas]

@@Aaackermann it was obviously just a joke bro

[@Aaackermann]

@@simonockas Well, good to know then, bro. Take care!

[@randallmokjialung3592]

Dont need a master chef to know good food,aye?

[@valeale8851]

I think the "Lets make the last Hallelujah an octave higher" mostly stems from the fact that the last hallelujah is in a very low and uncomfortable note, so for new-ish (particularly femlae) singers, this is the safest most comfortable and pretty-sounding option. It's what I used to do lmao

[@nahuel3433]

Wouldn't the obvious fix be to sing the entire song an octave higher, make the peak higher still and then have the last Hallelujah com back down to the original level?

[@valeale8851]

@@nahuel3433 I guess it depends on your register. It's more of an instinctual decision to change the one note you can't quite reach than to change the entire song's octave if it's already comfortable for you. Even if it isn't necessarily *better*

[@ldbonq]

femlae

[@rohitchaoji]

Especially considering Cohen's baritone voice. I think most people start off singing in a register they're most naturally comfortable with in their speaking voice, and by the time they get to that point in the song, they realize it's too low for them to go naturally. It indeed does sound very amateur.

[@mrbackup993]

​@@rambunctiousvegetable2025 That's a very gatekeep-y way to maintain the structural integrity of the song. Would you seriously tell an amateur singer to stop trying to sing hallelujah just because they're breaking the meaning of the song by doing it wrong?

[@Meminjo]

That octave jump in seven nation army, my sides are in another dimension.

[@joelvaross]

I had to laugh so hard at this part ^^

[@Roescoe]

That was funnier than expected even though I was expecting it.

[@tiananman]

haha I've listened to that part 4 times and it's still awesome. Might try to play it like this

[@myselfremade]

I think the reason female singers jump an octave in this chorus is because they don't have the lowend rage for it to be done properly.

[@4dultw1thj0b]

@@myselfremade Yeah, that's the technical reason, but it still doesn't sound good. They should at least raise the key to one that will actually work.

[@LokNWykLeer]

Man, when people "oversing" like this, even if it's just a simple little song, just to demonstrate their "incredible" voice control, that annoys the hell out of me.

[@PerfectWorldLevelUp1]

These people have ruined songs like "all by myself" for me. The original song is already a bit much but people just have to show off instead of sound good.

[@candykanefpv98]

LokNWykLeer it’s more impressive for someone to be restrained. Simpler drums, bass and vocals often can be more difficult because you have much less room for error.

[@lauraschantz9058]

This. A song like "Killing Me Softly" that's MEANT to have warbles, sure, go ahead and show off. But not "Hallelujah." Please.

[@novic329]

They gotta flaunt their ego

[@barringtonwomble4713]

You've described every single time hallelujah has been done on a pop idol style tv show.

[@namenamename390]

4:40 The only thing I'm qualified to criticize about this is that she sings "h[eh]llelujah" instead of "h[ah]lleluja" and I hate it.

[@sir8923]

My god yesss, it somewhat offends me when person pronounces simple words incorrectly

[@xcmodev1558]

Or when they say the “-jah” as “yeah” and not “yuh”. Helps lower it too

[@DuckInGameStop]

That might just be her accent... I'm not sure

[@mitchkroska3678]

I would say that the singers get caught up in the word, "Hallelujah" and it's religious meaning and feel like they can "let the spirit guide them" with the phrasing ; as long as it's sung from the "soul", it's valid.

[@Abby-wj5je]

the sad shrek song.

[@jamie_mkv]

@@robertsmith4157 nah it's just a better version tbh

[@christophermaksudian6271]

@@robertsmith4157 Fun-fact: though it was Wainright that appeared on the CD soundtrack, it was actually John Cale's rendition that was in the movie. It's really worth tracking down

[@HangmanOfficialUploads]

The true sad Shrek song will always be Eels - I Need Some Sleep.

[@elliotkabay1069]

"David Liebe Hart - Hallelujah, Shrek Retold"

[@chopun3862]

Yeah I prefer the John cale version for the nostalgia

[@historian3844]

that bono cover sounds like a donkey kong song

[@theafterlife2511]

Ah yes, the U2 level from donkey kong country DK is going to finish that level *with or without you* diddy

[@TheGrumpyBowTie]

Bono sucks

[@davidspears4550]

@@TheGrumpyBowTie But Bono has a Nobel peace prize(just like that other great humanitarian Henry Kissinger)! P.S. The only Bono I recognize is Sonny.

[@joecebu2791]

Bono is the most over rated guy out there.

[@FainthedCherry]

dK, dOnKey KonG-

[@fishum6483]

Shrek's version will always be the best version to me.

[@alexanderestrada3117]

That's actually the original, John Cale's version

[@hellcat2449]

alexander estrada uhhhhh the original was Leonard Cohens

[@greatclams6425]

@@hellcat2449 This is certainly true, however, I do get what they mean even if they didn't express it with complete semantic accuracy: that Jeff Buckley was covering the John Cale version of the Leonard Cohen song.

[@wadeperkins714]

I love how “a short video to tide people over” turned into his second most viewed video and an absolute gem

[@ErikBongers]

I once heard someone singing Radiohead's "Creep" and she sung it with such joy! And she smiled! And she brought the whole song to a wonderful heavenly place! And...yeah.

[@howard5992]

Nice.

[@vz2428]

I'M A CREEP!! :) I'M A WEIRDO!! ☺☺

[@brunzmeflugen]

That reminds me of the Postmodern Jukebox version. They made creep sexy. It's odd.

[@elijahfordsidioticvarietys8770]

I'm pretty sure you can mash that up well with the LSD Sound system song, "All of My Friends".

[@hammfleis8126]

Might want to check out Richard Cheese's version of Creep :)

[@chloeledbetter635]

*fetus shawn mendes singing* commentator: “yuck”

[@nathanwood2369]

I WAS FUCKING PISSED. But he still had a good point.

[@averybondeson3322]

He's not THAT good honestly, like I can give him credit for not using a backing track during live performances but his studio recordings still have that fake, "glossy" feeling that can only be found in pitch correction

[@skepticmoderate5790]

@@averybondeson3322 Honesty I prefer the gloss.

[@averybondeson3322]

@@skepticmoderate5790 And that's fine, but if someone's job is to sing and they can't do that, then they're not really getting paid for talent. It would be like paying some 15 year old kid who puts pre-made drum loops over pop songs and calling him a "professional drummer". It's insulting to people who can sing well and don't get paid for it.

[@pedrosilvamusician]

@@averybondeson3322 as a Singer myself he puts too much resonance in his nose. Which makes him lack projection and power and especially presence. Just ask him to Sing without any mic and you would see him struggle to get the same tonality. Hence why most vocal students do not sing pop and if and when they do they stand out

[@aidankeogh9994]

"Not in front of the baby, look at him, he doesn't like it."

[@Skul1ManEXE]

*_baby starts playing Zeta Force on guitar_*

[@BiggusNickus]

Baby looked like he straight up shit himself.

[@lovarra1426]

Thank you for this. People seem to be afraid of simplicity and that fear is rarely so well demonstrated as in the covers to this song.

[@BlackFiresong]

I blame music competitions on TV. They give the impression that it's never enough to sing a song simply and well. You have to do all the vocal gymnastics you possibly can to be noticed. Otherwise you're "generic" and "boring".

[@effy3808]

Ive noticed that those *super* indie guys are obsessed with warbling. Its annoyingggg.

[@Aaronies]

Compensating for a lack of an actual good voice

[@loggtrader7615]

Theyre not “indie” theyre the type that listen to 5sos

[@vladimirtubic6060]

That's why they remained indie...

[@margicates553]

It’s Mouth full of marbles, feel my pain destroy my vocal chords indie boy sound 😝

[@yogeshwargupta6919]

Idk what you mean but it's more up with the pop people. Super indie guys have a knack for using electric guitars or rather accentuating string noises when using guitars instead of focusing on these warbling noises. These people that you're talking about might be self-titled indies but you can't really be indie by copying a pop trend.

[@geddyleessoup5086]

I hate it when people over sing hallelujah, it’s the equivalent to over singing the happy birthday song.

[@paulfarr2795]

Amen, I hate going to that party where there is that one person overdoing it, the song ends, and everyone just inwardly cringes

[@atticusshipstone2150]

I know I can’t stand how people just sing happy birthday all the time especially around birthdays it’s almost as if the they’re singing it for someone’s birthday

[@heinzerbrew]

@@atticusshipstone2150 They aren't talking about singing the song more than once. They are talking about the people that make the song all about them and not the subject.

[@Cheezbalz26]

oh god for real. It's like, the attention is supposed to be on the person who's birthday it is, quit trying to steal the spotlight

[@AZ-kr6ff]

@@Cheezbalz26 I know! Totally!! That's usually about the time I climb up onto the table, drop my pants and lay a big steaming log right on top of the cake. I can't stand it when people try to be the center of attention.

[@Gresyth]

I find it wildly inappropriate to hear this song in a church. By Cohens' own words this is a totally secular song. As he wrote it the Hallelujahs are orgasms. Keep in mind this was released on his Various Positions album which is mainly about sex.

[@senza4591]

Bruh

[@silcrow4045]

Aw fuck yeah mate thanks for the info

[@LilPinkFuzzyMonster]

Seriously, the amount of people who claim this is a religious song is really weird and displays the fact that these people have not bothered to listen to the lyrics past 'hallelujah'.

[@stick-itproductions.3307]

@@LilPinkFuzzyMonster THANK YOU

[@xz3024]

And don’t forget all the idiots that think this song is appropriate for Christmas 🤦🏾‍♀️

[@somedood9989]

I swear, after I hear "Hallelujah, Hallelujah" my brain immediately tells me that the next lyrics are of course "ASSIST TROPHY, WALUIIII-IIIIIGI"

[@mariobros237]

That white stripes joke killed me

[@orlock20]

That ping at the end sounds like either the string broke or the string got unstuck from the nut while tuning.

[@TurtleGamers1]

@@orlock20 sounds like jack alright...

[@garrettz.6857]

When Jack picks a guitar that's just a bit _too_ screwed up

[@BillPeschel]

Adding the reaction shot nailed the joke. This guy knows from timing.

[@ricardoron3395]

Holy shit it was so funny

[@donvalentino9822]

0:48 Just for anyone who didn’t know, that’s the lead guitarist of Dragon Force shredding “Through the Fire and Flames” but his strap broke

[@archiederham2103]

Good ole Herman Li

[@donvalentino9822]

Archie Derham **The MADMAN**

[@tktktk47]

the song still haunts me to this day.

[@senza4591]

I think one time the guy chucked an expensive prs guitar off camera and there was a big THUNK and I almost threw up

[@pvtwade7057]

This song broke my rockband guitar

[@xanderguyer7512]

When you know about Leonard Cohen and his poetry, these (lame-in-comparison) interpretations lack Cohen's emotional depth and clarity. He truly was the baffled king composing Hallelujah. Everyone else just wants to sound deep. (Well, if you compare the covers to the original song.)

[@magicmulder]

I once listened to an old street busker who had a great raspy voice but when he covered Barbra Streisand's "Woman In Love" there was one chord he kept messing up, so I walked up to him and explained what the proper chord was, and he ended up telling me his life story in between songs. A very nice memory tied to a "bad" cover version.

[@samcavanagh7993]

"who better than bono" a phrase never said unironically

[@johngalik6609]

Excuse my 10th and 12th grade English teacher from that list. She traveled to go to 3 of his concerts on the same tour. Teaches his lyrics as poetry, plays his songs in class, has posters of him, never stops talking about him, and literally has kissed the man. She “is [also] a doughnut.”

[@richardroberson2564]

The man can sing and write tho.

[@classymutt1384]

Low note: **exists** Female singer: AAAAaaaaOOHooooaAaAaA

[@anfearaerach]

My sister got laughed at because she can compete with baritons and lower. She's a true alto.

[@snowmountainlion]

Ahahahhahahahahhahahaha 🤣🤣🤣it’s not their fault they just wanna shiiiiiiine and to them singing high as the heavens is how to that lmfaooo awesome comment dude

[@nasirahmad4661]

@@snowmountainlion BS But Okay 😂😂😂

[@doxariel]

@@snowmountainlion leonard cohen called from the grave, he wants to personally pay you his respects

[@snowmountainlion]

ariel thank you channeller 🙏

[@Volvith]

Musician: "Musical Theory" That Blonde Girl: _"MONOTONIHILISM THEORY."_

[@themroc8231]

0:11 The "memorable upgrade" was really the work of John Cale. Jeff Buckley's recording was more a cover of John Cale's version than it was a re-imagining of Leonard Cohen's song. And am not trying to take merit and recognition from Buckley here, but trying to give some back to John Cale.

[@jorgemoran89]

The worst thing is that tv shows are spreading the empty idea that music is all about technical ability :''(

[@meredithwilliams4671]

@John Ross No, you're just looking in the wrong places or maybe it's not the genre you prefer. The American folk/ roots scene is absolutely thriving. Tyler Childers, Arlo McKinley, Lost Dog Street Band, Cody Jinks, Rainbow Girls All incredibly talented artists but not everybody likes that kind of music. :) Cheers!

[@johnwilliams4965]

John Ross wtf we have the same name

[@mitchellfarinasdeleon5933]

That is my problem with most creep covers, a lot of voices are good but they miss the whole point of the song. The song isn’t meant to be pretty. It’s meant to hurtful and angry. Not soft and pretty

[@isaactune7518]

Isn’t pitch teeeeechnically technical ability? He’s really hatin on what people are doing with the pitch and runs and stuff but in reality people make it big because people like the sound of their voice, so runs actually help and individualize the singer, giving them their own special thing ya know

[@GeneseChannel]

jesus christ y’all are such galaxy brains. How did you reach the universal conclusion that ‘music ended 19 years ago’? As long as it makes someone feel something, it doesnt fuckin matter

[@vindurverndari]

When you jumped into that girl’s cover to sing the imagined main vocal line- probably the most badass moment ever in a music analysis channel. Ice cold

[@Tantacrul]

Lol. Cheers!

[@MaddesG1]

@Sean H wasnt that Dragonforce

[@alxjones]

@@MaddesG1 Yeah, that's Herman Li playing with DragonForce.

[@tempything2389]

He's a cruel man. Cruel but fair.

[@H0MY911]

what cooler than being cool?

[@columbus8myhw]

I actually like the "imagined main line" version. I'm so familiar with the song that I can imagine the melody pretty strongly, so the singing does feel like an actual backing

[@columbus8myhw]

Also, re: octave jump "Does this sound right? [Seven Nation Army riff with the last note an octave higher]" ...Yes?

[@All4Tanuki]

Telling on yourself pretty badly there

[@offisk]

An enlightening and frightening examination of a song gone viral into a virus,. One thing I can surely be grateful of is witnessing JB perform the song more times than I can count. Every show offered a new opportunity to share a different version without the illustrated pitfalls. I miss him dearly.

[@spaghetti4896]

I want Jack black to do a soft cover of it and I don’t know why

[@coltoncurlee5067]

Good idea fam

[@jimmyywutang832]

I know exactly why you'd want that. It'd be God damn beautiful

[@matejcevnik7362]

Kiss from a rose was fucking amazing by him

[@FreddieHg37]

I can perfectly picture it with his voice...

[@wilsonallender6334]

First he’ll do it soft.....then he’ll do it hard!

[@xFlamingCitrusx]

i think mostly female singers do the octave jump thing because they cant reach the low notes, and haven't bothered/dont like to transpose it up any further

[@alibahba9909]

it just gets annoying to be real, but to each their own.

[@Toughy112]

A huge problem with some female singers that I've worked with is that they don't bother to develop their chest voice. Like, usually they're not even that deep down in their chest voice before they jump up. With the 3 examples, I'd say the only one that sounded like she was nearing the bottom of her range was the second one but even then she still probably could have hit the notes

[@pandakatiefominz]

Women try to sing as high as possible. I don't know why, but women being able to hit high notes is considered superior than hitting lower notes. The ideal for women is being a soparano, so they always try to show how high they go. It makes me feel ashamed sometimes as a woman who struggles with high notes but can hit low notes well. I'm in theatre communities and it's tough for us out here

[@vspreels399]

pandakatiefominz exactly, I sing quite low for a young girl and people always get so shocked..

[@chronicallymeee]

@@pandakatiefominz Personally I'm very comfortable singing primarily in my chest voice using my head voice primarily as an ornament, but my singing teacher is always telling me that I should sing higher, and almost chastising me for how low I can go in scales like I should be ashamed for hitting low range. It's not that I'm against developing my range, but this idea that it's wrong to maintain my low range is wierd.

[@rodchallis8031]

At the other end of the spectrum, it is said Leonard Cohen's favorite cover of Hallelujah was done by K D Lang, in 2005 in Winnipeg during the Juno Awards. Cohen was in the audience. Can you imagine the guts it must have taken to sing that song in front of Leonard Cohen? And excel?

[@BirthQuakeRecords]

I feel like your criticism of “singers singing along with an imagined lead singer” isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially with a cover. Most audiences of a cover of a well known song will probably already be hearing the original melody in their head, and harmonizing with that absent-but-implied melody is actually kinda cool in my opinion. I feel like you even mirror this sentiment in your video response to that guy (the one with permanent “Dreamworks Face”) who talked about how modern music sucks bc science-something-something. That being said, many singers definitely do over complicate their parts in a really self indulgent way, often to the detriment of the piece. Like a drummer playing all fills and no groove.

[@SebMaynard]

"Subvert the whole idea of musical direction as some kind of nihilistic statement." You legend.

[@orlock20]

Modern punks sticking it to The Man.

[@Tantacrul]

Lol. Thanks.

[@alexandremagalhaes1774]

What about the cover waleluja?

[@DarcyTheCute]

only *actual* cultured men get this reference. *_amirite_*

[@heyheyitsjae2475]

The perfection of the song

[@siddharths840]

Waluigia

[@Mathee]

@Mark Wehner Who made the cut? The nerd, the prude The never was, the always nude The ones who'd never uttered Wallelujah

[@PumperKrickel]

It´s wanderful.

[@benediktopulus]

I actually think the octave higher thing works really well, given you don't do it everytime. The rest i agree with though

[@BlackFiresong]

Yeah, I personally think it works well at the very end to go up an octave very softly. I'd go low all the other times, though.

[@ZenoDovahkiin]

Wait so what you're saying is the Waluigi version is one of the better interpretations because it gets the arc?

[@ffiiggyy]

The perfect specimen, an athlete and a musician.

[@Rachel98246]

Love the Profile Picture!

[@InfinFox]

The Waluigi cover is the best version

[@beliandraMinecraft]

The WHAT

[@alexolotl124]

Wahhhluigiiiiii Wahhhhluiiiigiiii Wahhhhluigiiiii Wahluiiiiiiiiiiiigiiiiiiiii

[@stigafan]

I need a source for the animated baby shredding a guitar at 7:01

[@Srewtheshadow]

The real takeaway here. A goldmine of meme potential.

[@stigafan]

@@Srewtheshadow I found it by searching "baby guitar" :p

[@ctarth]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/p3ivnGR9icxohNU

[@the_architect..]

@@stigafan You're a genius

[@XxZigonxX]

Zabutom - zeta force is the song. I like the dubmood cover

[@MarianaPall]

Everytime I watch a singing competition and they butcher this song in order to flex their high notes I get so pissed, and now I can explain why, thank you!

[@ScooterSkillsYolo]

POV: you've only just clicked this video after seeing it on our recommended for 3 years

[@batmeme7486]

Alright, I clicked it. You happy now, algorithm?

[@nick3718]

Oliver stole Reverse card

[@TheK3vin]

"Okay, got it. You fuck up the dynamics. That's how you cover it badly. Can I GO."

[@m.qazmis]

i made a bad cover of it

[@jjfromthebigland781]

Dance, puppet. Algorithm.

[@rhys2275]

You can say you’re not interested in the video

[@mistertwister2000]

Song: exists Pop singer: *it’s warbling time*

[@arthurgervais4529]

I find the version of Leonard Cohen so strong. Not the first one, but when he came back years later, when his voices had become so deep.

[@printfogey5275]

This. And his wonderful back-up singers do such a great job.

[@lilo5437]

I’m just wondering why I’m seeing Radiohead in the background lol

[@rustynumbat]

Probably because he's talking about originality in songwriting.

[@insertwittyname5649]

My huge pet peeve is when people don't match the "minor fall and the major lift" lyric to how its sung. My priorities are probably in the wrong place but God it BOTHERS me 😫

[@izzylee64]

No, this is way worse than what he's worried about. I thought that was what this video was gonna be about tbh.

[@ddogbritt16]

It's funny that people mess up on that part since that part is literally saying how the notes are.

[@Xjustlookatmex]

word-paintings are commonly used in songs, but somehow singers are not aware of this concept.

[@Xjustlookatmex]

also earlier in the lyrics: "It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth", as the piano notes go IV and V chords

[@insertwittyname5649]

@@Xjustlookatmex Yeah, I remember that. I was too lazy to write the whole thing lol. It sucks that people don't follow that part. Its my favorite lyric in the whole song. 😔

[@ZenoDovahkiin]

But they look so sad and pretty singing it, and that's what it means to have talent, right?

[@heinzerbrew]

Talent is a dirty word.

[@authenticbaguette6673]

heinzerbrew I. A.G.R.E.E with capital letters

[@authenticbaguette6673]

ZenoDovahkiin it's also important to strip on stage **cough** america's **cough** got cringe

[@robinwarren6924]

No nigga

[@vz2428]

@divine intervention of beanos Wow I can play a song with 4 chords I'm so talented

[@senza4591]

I dont think ive ever been so sick of the word "hallelujah"

[@tacopacopotato6619]

Lol this guy is ruthless. Dear featured peeps, try not to let it get in to you. Don't stop creating :)

[@sauzeeee]

Truth is a harsh teacher.

[@sayven]

@@sauzeeee Critique is always subjective and thusly not to be equated with truth. I disagree with a lot of things in his video and it actually begins with the curve of tension he drew at the very beginning. I don't hear it that way, and I think it still works. His whole critique was built on the assumption that you had to match this curve, which is not true. Even then, I don't see how the octave jump doesn't match the tension curve. It's about tension, not pitch, and while pitch has and influence on tension, so have other things, like loudness and timbre. So if you were to do the octave jump but compensate by going into falsetto or a breathy head voice this would work even within these boundaries.

[@MadameSomnambule]

"No, not in front of the baby" The baby's face just killed me. 😂😂😂

[@Tusskie]

This why my cover is great...it doesn't exist yet, therefore it can't be judged because you can't get into my mind and heart my thoughts, making it the best

[@thedillybarboy]

You underestimate my power

[@nickchambers3935]

3:06 "It sounds like their dad is watching over them." I sincerely hope they do not share a dad

[@deefee701]

It sounds like you're singing the backing part when your main singer just stormed off. (Love it!!)

[@alejandroreyes8878]

5:12 "Look how they massacred my boy"

[@toucanlystanly]

Alejandro Reyes She butchered it to hell.

[@nrggvrn5576]

7:01 that's him now

[@illeagalbeagle]

"Wow, she can go between 1000 and one notes in a second! That's a win! Wait, what? It sounds horrible? Naaaaah that's true talent!"

[@tsrenis]

It's shit like this that allowed Fergie to do that shit with the Star Spangled Banner lmoa

[@randallwalsh3919]

"did you just subvert musical direction as some kind of nihilistic statement?" quality videos honestly keep em coming

[@Roescoe]

Wow yeah that was actually deep.

[@aknopf8173]

I actually liked the harmonies (albeit the execution left something to desire). Regarding the question: There is a whole genre dedicated to that idea. It's called minimalism. What I'm trying to get at: It's hard to call something plain bad when there is so much up to taste. The author likes the original structure and musical statement of the original chorus, and that is fine. And he made a very good and funny video about that and I liked the video and I am glad he made it. It should just be more clear that with "badly" he meant "in a way _I_ don't like it". But then, I bet some of those covers he showed have millions of views, so maybe that is clear from the beginning and I am just being a jerk. Whatever, have a nice day.

[@Roescoe]

Badly actually means badly though. Something is a good cover of it if it is similar in quality and intention and production to the original. It is possible to make something which sounds nice, but isn't a good cover because it doesn't follow the song it purports to cover. Just because something is pleasant doesn't mean it is named properly.

[@aknopf8173]

@@Roescoe Out of curiousity, would you consider this a bad cover, then? kzbin.info/www/bejne/npTHi3-Ko51_epY Because while it follows the original to the measure and even the instruments are the same, it certainly has a different production and intention. (Sorry, I could not resist :))

[@Roescoe]

Sadly I don't know the song that you've linked so it'd take me a while to get the intention or atmosphere of the song. I only could rate the Hallelujah covers because I knew the song well enough.

[@mauri-mattiaslaanesaar5305]

6:32 has me laughing uncontrollably somehow help

[@kuru9157]

4:00 i feel like I've heard singing like that a million times

[@windowstaskmanager5349]

It's the overused type prettyboy singing

[@calebdavis1323]

“Did you subvert the whole idea of musical direction in some sort of nihilistic statement?” I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard at anything on KZbin.

[@vertexvortex]

Ahem... IT SUBVERTED MY EXPECTATIONS! IT BROKE NEW GROUND!

[@williamwebb580]

It’s as if it was sung by Rian Johnson himself

[@jamesk8075]

6:31* the Seven Nation Army reference is all this really needed as an explanation* 😂😂😂 (Appreciate all the time you put in for this video)

[@Lolwutfordawin]

I want a full version of that just to mess with people. It's hilarious

[@Limbaugh_]

It’s just people trying to sound impressive and failing miserably 😂

[@aperson22222]

My last words before I die will hopefully be “I did my best, it wasn’t much/I couldn’t feel what I tried to touch/I’ve told the truth, I didn’t come to fool ya/And even though it all went wrong/I’ll stand before the Lord of Song/With nothing on my tongue but ‘Hallelujah.’” But I’ll just say it.

[@Tantacrul]

Hey everyone - so, I thought (in April 2022), that I'd add a little editors note about this video, since it keeps getting a resurgence of activity every few months. Although I don't completely disown this video... I am unhappy with how poorly I communicated a few ideas. This was only my second video and I had less than 100 subscribers when I made it. At this point, I hadn't yet developed a decent sense of how to express ideas without inadvertently communicating additional ideas I don't believe in. As a result, a lot of people have come away from this video thinking that my point was something like: "there is only one way to play this song", which I don't believe at all. I don't actually even really like this song, by the way :) However, I can't possibly fault anyone for thinking that my point was "there is only one way to play this song", since I communicated my ideas quite imprecisely. What I was *actually* trying to say was that what I consider to be 'good' covers (like those by John Cale and Jeff Buckley) are those where the artist gave thought to musical structure - both of the original work and their interpretation and made a conscious choice to make alterations to it. They knew what they were changing and why. Conversely, what I consider to be 'bad' covers are often the result of a lack of this kind of deep attention. As a result, 'bad' covers often fall back on default performance behaviours (like going a semitone below the final note and then back up), producing an interpretation that sounds less effective. There are a couple of throwaway lines at the end where I try to 'cover' this point without getting bogged down by it. As a result, the point is never really made. If I was to make this video today, I would have compared what I consider to be both good and bad covers. I'd find 'good' covers that are really weird just to show how far an interpretation can go. I would also only feature musicians who are either famous (like Sean Mendes, the second example and Bono) or who have a very large following (like many of the rest but not all). I would also have spent a lot more time digging into the whole song and not just a single phrase. Again, never in my wildest dreams did I think this video would one day have well over 1M views. Lesson learned. I do still like one thing about this video though: it was when I first realised that I could talk about music in a fun, energetic way that included lots of jokes and silliness. To some extent, I found my voice here.

[@michaeldonnan6767]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rmfVf6d4d9ijmtE In my opinion this is the best cover of the song. But that's just one mans opinion.

[@FadeAwayIntoDarkness]

A whole video and no mention of Imogen Heap

[@jordancyphers]

You made a 10-minute video of a pretentious snob bashing on other artists. If this is the focus of your videos, feel free to have a much, much larger gap between posting. Or perhaps add to the art world instead of trying to make yourself feel better by bringing others down.

[@nemo1716]

Hey Tantacrul, you've earned a new subscriber with this video. I am jelous of your ability to turn on a camera and talk about the sorts of musical points I want to talk about. Would you consider making a similar video to this, but for the US' National Anthem? Please keep making videos! ❤

[@nemo1716]

@@jordancyphers Aren't you trying to make yourself feel better by bringing him down with this comment? I agreed with this video entirely, and I have to say it is you who comes off as a 'snob'.

[@Jake-ut4vo]

This is one of my favorite songs, and I’ve listened to as many covers as I can, and honestly the biggest problem a lot of amateur artists fall into when covering this song is that they don’t actually understand what the song is about. There’s a story about how when Leonard Cohen was writing this song he wrote over 100 different versions of the verses, and a lot of covers will use a different amount of the verses in the song. The song is meant to be interpretable and different to whomever is presenting it. But the main piece of the songs premise is meant to remain intact, the irony. Too many people don’t understand that Hallelujah here isn’t used in a literal sense of praise. It’s juxtaposed with feelings of guilt, loss, manipulation, and conformity. The speaker’s Hallelujah is forced from him at first. In this way the religious imagery within the song is meant to serve as a contrast to the idea you’re presenting, some bittersweetness. Whether it is a love for life but alienation in Leonard’s version, or a celebration of sexuality contrasted with repression, the Hallelujah represent some kind of denial or deference, and coming to terms with learning that it is okay to have that which you’ve been denied. So when people sing the in a way that is overly performative, the entire theme is lost, because the song loses its dynamic appeal, and cathartic release.

[@the11382]

Who sings it best?

[@ichbrauchmehrkaffee5785]

Haha, lol, that reminds me of the time, back when I still went to church, a group of girls planned to sing this during service. But before they actually did, another church-lady (my mom) took a closer look at the lyrics and adviced them not to.

[@londoncalling05_47]

1:22 Is that Thom and my boys vib’n in the back?

[@teradex124]

ikr

[@Coffee_n_Opera]

Duuuuuude I’ve been binging on these all day getting ready for my recital! You are hilarious and your content is great 👍

[@AveryMoron]

That seven nation army caught me so off guard omfg why is that so damn funny

[@kleiton__]

6:32 Seven nation army but whoops my finger slipped

[@sohamsengupta6470]

@Some Dude Ah yike even thinking about that hurts my ear WEEE da daaa WEEE daa da daaa WEEE da daaa dum WEEEEE

[@argeebe]

As a musician and a poet, I wanted to say that I appreciated this video. Cheers.

[@jeraldbutternubs9566]

My music teacher: so what about you, are you a fan of Cohen’s or Buckley’s? Me: shrek

[@JackSpasojevich]

Is and forever will be my fav version

[@kenz8824]

The first time I ever heard this song was in shrek

[@the_red-plague]

Dr. Disco oh yeah yeah

[@dontsubscribetome3262]

Same and its the best way to do it

[@danatronics9039]

It's also the best version

[@poserdisposer6460]

Dr. Disco and it’s my favorite

[@MostafaElSakari]

Oh yeah yeah

[@seanwar5240]

me: I'm having an early night tonight me at 2 am: 7:00

[@NicTheCapsicum]

Thank you so much for introducing me to that simply outstanding cover from Bono. It's something I didn't know I needed in my life.

[@9871234567894561323]

> "subverting the idea of musical direction into a nihilist statement". Tantacrul (2017) 10/10

[@spartanhoplite3753]

Has no one ever heard Jeff Buckley doing this live? Because he most certainly does not follow this “rule” live. He sometimes goes up an octave, sometimes holds a note to skip lyrics, just changes it up. But in the fact that he always does it with real powerful emotion in his voice everything he does in the song always seems to work fantastically well and fit the song. This video seems to basically ask that all covers of the song change nothing about it, which would make all covers very boring

[@Tantacrul]

I don't ask that everyone cover the song without changes. I ask that people observe the meaning of the song and how that meaning is represented in it's melody. You could take this and go wild with it as long as you're thinking about the meaning of what you're doing.

[@mabrurhrivu4998]

You can't use present tense when talking about Jeff Buckley

[@spartanhoplite3753]

Tantacrul ahh thanks for the clarification!

[@spartanhoplite3753]

Mabrur Hrivu Mabrur Hrivu in this case I most certainly can. The footage and recordings of him live all still exist. There is no problem talking about someone who is dead in the present tense if you are perceiving them in some format. From your understanding of the tenses you seem to want people to say “ that recording was so good” when listening to a song instead of “that recording is so good” because of the fact that it was recorded in the past. Recordings live on and can remain in the present tense. I have quite obviously assumed the premise that people know he is dead and that therefore I am talking about recordings of him.

[@JoseGarcia-yh4tu]

yeah but he knows about this music stuff and says things with words that sound nice and with a smug voice I think he is 100% right

[@CvKauskinne]

what if you jump down an octave instead?

[@Tantacrul]

If you can do that, you get extra credit for having amazing lungs.

[@alxjones]

@@Tantacrul I'll just shift the rest of the piece up the octave.

[@MarcoChurchH]

Well that's DJENT

[@JaJDoo]

@@MarcoChurchH exactly what i was about to write

[@kylemcclellan9686]

Distort the crap out of it, pig squeal, and throw in a face melting bass line.

[@ntgm8]

6:30 I found this part way too funny. The way that it cuts to his face at the last note always makes me laugh.

[@alphachrome713]

6:58 "You're gonna give him weird ideas" well yeah but the baby is jammin' tho