Cohen was working up to the end, releasing “You Want It Darker” just a few weeks ago. So although the song dominates his legacy, the difference between Cohen’s approach and virtually everyone else’s makes you wonder if the popularity of “Hallelujah” is the right way to think about the influence of an artist who never seemed to care much about scoring big pop hits.īut the audience came regardless. Timberlake sang the song in 2010 during a telethon for survivors of that year’s earthquake in Haiti.Īnd just a few months ago, Tori Kelly did “Hallelujah” at this year’s Emmy Awards, where her performance was meant to coax tears as part of the “In Memoriam” tribute to recently departed television folk. In 2001, John Cale’s rendition cropped up in the movie “Shrek.” In 2002, “The West Wing” used Jeff Buckley’s version to soundtrack a pivotal moment. “Look, Leonard,” the label’s president told the singer, according to legend, “we know you’re great, but we don’t know if you’re any good.”Īnd, indeed, it wasn’t the low-rent “Hallelujah” from “Various Positions” that finally took off, but rather a seemingly endless series of cover versions, each weepier than the last. To listen to “Hallelujah” with an ear tuned for hits is to understand, at least a little, why Cohen’s record company initially refused to put out “Various Positions.”
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