Long before playing the Royal Albert Hall and becoming a 7x Grammy Award winner, London-born multi-instrumentalist and musical mastermind Jacob Collier first claimed fame posting Stevie Wonder covers to his YouTube channel. But even after amassing more than two million subscribers, and becoming one of the youngest, globally renowned songwriters on the scene today, Jacob still hasn’t let the fame float to his head, bringing things back to Earth with a flawlessly festive living room cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Overjoyed.”
This clip, uploaded in January 2020, has topped one million views to date and shows off a brand new side to Stevie Wonder’s song. Music Man readers can watch the magic unfold in the video below.
Now, let’s backtrack for a little context. Stevie’s original “Overjoyed,” first released in 1985, is a ballad set in piano, electric piano, and strings. Unacquainted listeners can check it out further down in this article, and get ready to be mind-blown by Jacob’s reimagination!
So, what sets Jacob’s version apart from the classic single? Jacob reconstructs Stevie’s luscious piano harmony on an obscure stringed instrument called the Harpejji; a fretted creation halfway between a piano and a guitar, sporting a twangy sound that fits somewhere between country music and Beatles psychedelia.
Sat cross-legged on the living room floor by the twinkling Christmas tree, Jacob lets his raw talent shine as he reworks Stevie’s intricate riffs on this just-as-intricate instrument, his full focus serving the traits of a true virtuoso. He ribbons his chords with simultaneous lead melodies, each note amplifying the Harpejji’s kaleidoscopic effect as Jacob conjures atmospheres comparable to Fleetwood Mac’s acoustic hits through this curious new instrument.
While some viewers have been left fangirling over Jacob’s “cute mix of unattainable mastery and overly giddy nerdboyness,” others have been taken completely spellbound by this unexpected, genre-twisting rendition.
However, Jacob’s pure display of unfiltered, at-home talent has been busy stealing the show. As one top commenter wrote, “I do believe this is a once-in-a-generation genius born with incredible aptitude. But let’s not pretend like he doesn’t work at his craft and just rolls outta bed and plays something like this. The guy probably works his butt off 10 hours a day making his videos, editing, learning his craft, years of practice. This stuff isn’t just magic, it’s hard work.”
But this realistic insight hasn’t stopped viewers from writing what we’re all secretly supposing whilst watching this clip: “I like to imagine this was on Christmas and he just opened it and instantly knew how to play it perfectly!”