Pentatonix’s lead vocalist Scott Hoying is the kinda guy who just casually gives a masterclass vocal performance on the street when a busker is jamming out on piano. That epic moment happened when French busker Julien Cohen got a request from a passerby to play Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” Julien began playing the beautiful melody and then Scott walked up with a smile and started singing those heartbreaking vocal lines, causing a commotion in the busy park.
But the surprises weren’t done yet, as New York pop/opera talent Sone stood up and began singing with Scott. Scott and Sone have incredible chemistry, and those harmonies were just out of this world! Check out Scott’s run at 1:36 – simply jaw-dropping. The Music Man has to say the surprise collab is also super fun to watch, as the three performers were having the time of their lives giving the unsuspecting crowd a world-class show!
Julien uploaded his performance with Scott and Sone to his YouTube channel, where it blew up to a hefty 11.7 million views. Viewers loved the chemistry and added comments such as “Those harmonies were nuts. That was one of the most beautiful renditions of ‘Hallelujah’ that I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to” and “Just beautiful. The harmony was angelic. When I hear good singing I always get goosebumps.”
Julien has a real knack for creating incredible moments during his busking sessions. The Frenchman dropped a 17 million view viral moment when 10-year-old South Korean violin prodigy YeonAh Kim joined his public piano performance. Kim brought such a mischievous and fun energy to the performance, and her skills are simply amazing. The runs she was pulling off on her violin were something else – some people were just born to play music.
Julien must have been stoked with himself when he pulled off a collab with Scott Hoying. The 34-year-old singer is the founder, lead vocalist, and baritone singer of the hitmaking American a cappella group Pentatonix.
The Music Man readers may note that “Hallelujah” was a natural choice for Scott to perform in his collab with Julien and Sone. After all, it is Pentatonix’s signature song. Listeners just can’t get enough of the group’s rendition of the Leonard Cohen classic. Pentatonix’s cover of the tune is their most-streamed track on Spotify by a huge margin, and it currently has 625 million streams on the platform.