Susan Boyle Did a Captivating Live “Hallelujah” Cover with a Surprise Partner

Turns out Susan Boyle and bagpipes are a perfect combination.

Whether making best-selling studio albums or simply covering some of the all-time classics in her own unique style, Susan Boyle is in a league of her own.

Since she burst onto the scene in 2009 after her unbelievably viral Britain’s Got Talent audition, she has worked tirelessly to bring her singing gifts to the masses.

And on New Year’s Eve 2023, that gift was given to a lucky crowd at a bagpipe show. Yes!

It turns out this Got Talent icon knows how to ring in the new year right. In a 2023-into-2024 NYE performance from the Scottish bagpipe band Red Hot Chili Pipers (you read that correctly), Boyle took the stage for a surprise performance of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” And she crushed it, naturally.

Boyle and bagpipes: something we never knew we needed in our lives before today. (That said, Boyle is Scottish herself, so the pairing makes sense.)

This is far from the first time Boyle has sung “Hallelujah.” It’s featured on one of her cover albums, and she performs it regularly.

While not a religious song, per se, Cohen’s “Hallelujah” has been given spiritual meaning by many. Boyle’s faith and relationship with God are two things she holds dearly.

“My faith is incredibly important to me on every level,” Boyle explained to The Christian Post in 2014. “It gets me through those moments of self-doubt and also allows me to understand that this gift of my career, later in life, is from a higher power.”

Originally written and recorded for his 1984 album Various Positions, “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen has been covered by countless other artists like Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainwright, Kodi Lee, Jennifer Hudson, Brandi Carlile, Willie Nelson, and others.

Wainwright’s version enjoyed a lot of popularity when it was featured on the Shrek soundtrack in 2001; some fans consider it the definitive version of the song.

After Cohen died in 2016, his recording of “Hallelujah” reached number-59 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.