Hallelujah

"I remember being in the Royalton Hotel, on the carpet in my underwear, banging my head on the floor and saying, 'I can't finish this song.'" Thankfully, Leonard Cohen finally signed off on "Hallelujah," a mini-masterpiece which — thanks in part to its inclusion on the Shrek soundtrack and its adoption by contestants in well known TV pop talent contests — now ranks among the world's best loved songs. Here, we've gathered a selection of the many artists who have fallen hard for the fruits of Cohen's semi-naked labours, from Rufus Wainwright to Katherine Jenkins, and from k.d. lang to Jeff Buckley. Done country style or soulfully, crooned or folked-up "Hallelujah" is — ultimately — the song that celebrates itself.