‘Hallelujah’ Views Surge On YouTube In Wake Of Leonard Cohen’s Passing

Following the death of Leonard Cohen, YouTube took a look at the works of the famed musician to see how fans were celebrating his legacy. On Nov. 10, the day that Cohen passed, his video for Hallelujah — arguably Cohen’s best known song — became the most popular video on all of YouTube with more than 5 million views.

While other Cohen songs also experienced an uptick in views in the wake of his passing, YouTube wrote in its Trends blog, such as Dance Me To The End Of Love, I’m Your Man, and So Long, Marianne, Hallelujah outpaced their growth by a longshot (see below). Hallelujah, which was initially released in the 80s but gained steam after a cover by the singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley surged in popularity after his death, is one of the most popular 80s songs on YouTube, the platform says. Buckley’s version counts 75 million YouTube views, while Cohen’s counts 53 million.

As one of the most ubiquitously covered songs in popular culture, YouTube says that creators have covered Hallelujah more than any other song that was released before 2010. The song has been covered a total of 8,700 times, with Coldplay’s The Scientist coming in second with 6,900 covers and the band’s Fix You coming in third with 5,700 covers. Guns N’ Roses’ Sweet Child O’ Mine has also been covered 5,700 times.

“While Cohen may be gone,” YouTube writes, “his music — particularly Hallelujah (below) — has memorialized him as a once-in-a-generation talent.”