10-year old Kaylee Rodgers from Northern Ireland has a voice that is being heard around the world.
A video of the middle schooler Kaylee Rodgers singing a Christmas version of Leonard Cohen‘s “Hallelujah” with her school choir went viral in 2016, not only because Rodgers has an incredible voice, but because she’s overcome some incredible challenges to share that voice with the world.
According to her principal, Colin Millar, Rodgers has autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but singing has helped her build up her confidence.
“For a child who came in P4 (7 to 8 years old) and wouldn’t really talk, wouldn’t really read out in class, to stand and perform in front of an audience is amazing. It takes a lot of effort on Kaylee’s part,” Millar said.
“Hallelujah,” written by Leonard Cohen over the course of five years, was recorded by dozens of artists including Celine Dion, Justin Timberlake, Willie Nelson, and Susan Boyle.
But Cohen passed away just weeks before Kaylee Rodgers’ rendition of his most famous song was released. Somehow, we’re sure that Cohen would approve of this stunning remake.
The YouTube video alone has been watched over 17 million times. You can watch that performance here.
Her performance caught the attention of the Steve Harvey-hosted television show Little Big Shots. They invited her on the show to perform “Hallelujah” with a cappella group Pentatonix, who had also gone viral for their own version of the song. Their video has 729 million views.
Hear Kaylee Rodgers and Pentatonix sing “Hallelujah” in the video below.