I'm wine drunk and listening to Pentatonix's Hallelujah on repeat and I have OPINIONS here we go!
Avi is the absolute hero of this version. As a classically trained singer, I can say unequivocally that his pronunciation of the word hallelujah is PERFECT.
The "le" syllable is sung exactly as it's written in IPA, as le, not the more common lei, and it even favors a schwa at certain points which is preferred over adding the i sound (please note I'm speaking in international phonetic alphabet here, not English)
Furthermore, he backs off the "jah" syllable, singing the word as it's pronounced, ha'leLUjah, not as it's often (lazily) sung, ha'leluJAH (please note I'm using a phone keyboard and thus can't type out emphasis in the purest form)
Add to that the apparent ease with which he moves between his bass and baritone registers, the beautiful soloist quality of his verse compared to the strength of his foundation in supporting the other verses, I mean COME ON
Even in his supporting role his harmonies are ALL OVER his range and he never sounds strained, never isn't absolutely essential to the sound.
He is a true basso profundo, which is relatively rare in general and VERY rare in pop music. I've only met two in my life and I spent several years surrounded by incredibly talented vocalists. There is a wealth of skilled basses, but a basso profundo??? Are you kidding???
Obviously none of this is to disparage their current bass, Matt Sallee, who is very talented and has a truly lovely voice. But I'm talking Avi now and like, seriously. What a fucking gift his voice is. That rendition of Hallelujah would absolutely not exist without Avi.
Anyway I'm gonna go cry to this song some more, end of my vocalist rant, bye
All this to say if @Avi_Kaplan is single I'd be willing to rethink my "single for life" status
Jk or maybe not whatever, either way check out @Avi_Kaplan bc his solo music is beautiful and haunting in the absolute best way
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