About

"Hallelujah" is a popular song written by the late singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen. It has been covered by many artists and grown into a staple of popular culture, with different versions appearing in numerous films and television shows.

Origin

"Hallelujah" first appeared on Leonard Cohen's 1984 album, Various Positions.^[1] Cohen wrote 80 draft verses of the track in one writing session.^[2] Of the ones that made the final version, several contain biblical references. Cohen would often perform the song live with different verses.

Spread

The first cover was recorded by John Cale, who first recorded it for a Leonard Cohen tribute album called I'm Your Fan, released in 1991. Cale's version (below, left) has lyrics that Cohen only performed live. It also only uses piano as its musical accompaniment, and inspired more somber covers of the song. Cale's version inspired Jeff Buckley to record what would become one of the most critically acclaimed versions of "Hallelujah" for his 1994 album, Grace (below, right).

Shrek

The song gained its widest exposure yet after Cale's version appeared in the 2001 animated film Shrek. For royalty reasons, a version by Rufus Wainwright appeared on the film's official soundtrack. According to Alan Light, author of The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the Unlikely Ascent of "Hallelujah", the song's use in the film sparked its popularity in pop culture, as "six-year-old kids were suddenly singing 'Hallelujah,' and adults came to know it as the song from Shrek."^[3]

In the following years, "Hallelujah" rapidly became a beloved and popular song choice for emotional scenes in film and television. Versions appeared in The O.C., Scrubs, The West Wing, House, and many more. It has been covered by Regina Spektor, K.D. Lang, Imogen Heap, Justin Timberlake, Bon Jovi, The X Factor's Alexandra Burke, and more. It's popularity led Cohen to agree with a New York Times critic who asked for a "moratorium" on the song's use in popular culture.

Saturday Night Live

On the Saturday Night Live following the 2016 United States Presidential Election and Leonard Cohen's death at the age of 82,^[4] Kate McKinnon, dressed as Hillary Clinton, covered the song in the show's cold-open.

Search Interest

External References