According to Newsweek, Regina Spektor once described “Hallelujah” as “pretty much indestructible.” And she’s right — no matter how untalented a singer you are or how wrongheaded your arrangement ideas, it’s impossible to make the song less than merely great. In 2005, while performing at the concert for the Jewish Heritage Festival, Spektor also proved that talent could elevate the song to truly incredible heights.

Spektor’s version is beyond spare — it’s just her, a piano, and a few strings. Her voice crackles with emotion as she sings the melody over this minimalist arrangement, and where other versions of the song tend to swell to a big climax, Spektor chooses to almost trail off at the end, as if exhausted by her emotional outpouring. This is actually a near-perfect way to end the song.

As noted by The Atlantic, Spektor’s arrangement and approach to the song weren’t accidental — she purposefully leaned into the song’s biblical references and spiritual tone for a religious setting. Spektor noted that you don’t have to understand the Bible references to enjoy the song, but her performance clearly has those connections in mind. Today, many artists choose to focus on the song’s religious imagery, but Spektor was once of the first to cover it with this intention in mind.

ncG1vNJzZmhqZGy7psPSmqmorZ6Zwamx1qippZxemLyue82erqxnpJ2ybq7ErKtmm5%2BrsrO%2FjKidZqSVpLuivsNmmqiglaPAbrTApaOepKWfrql50ZqlpJ2UZA%3D%3D