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'Hallelujah', a dud turned classic song, the focus of new Cohen documentary
Today, it enjoys cult status and has been performed by everyone from Bob Dylan to Jeff Buckley and Bon Jovi -- even appearing in animated hit "Shrek" -- in a unique evolution detailed in a new documentary film.
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In this file photo taken on September 28, 2012, Canadian singer Leonard Cohen performs on stage during his concert at the Olympia concert hall in Paris. Leonard Cohen's song (AFP/Thomas Samson)
Leonard Cohen's song "Hallelujah" pretty much flopped when it came out nearly 40 years ago.
Today, it enjoys cult status and has been performed by everyone from Bob Dylan to Jeff Buckley and Bon Jovi -- even appearing in animated hit "Shrek" -- in a unique evolution detailed in a new documentary film.
The tune rich in religious and erotic references by the Canadian poet, who died in 2016, has made the rounds.
In 2008, a gospel version of the song was performed by Alexandra Burke on the British TV talent show "The X Factor."
That year the song placed 1st, 2nd and 36th in the British music charts: the versions by Burke, Buckley and the original by Cohen himself.
"I do not know of any other song with that trajectory," said music journalist Alan Light, who wrote a book on the song called "The Holy or the Broken," published in 2012.
'Snowball is rolling'
