Incredible moment Jacob Collier turns his entire concert audience into a choir
7 April 2022, 13:06 | Updated: 7 April 2022, 16:48
“The greatest feeling in the world,” Collier captioned his viral TikTok.
Brilliant young musician and producer Jacob Collier has gone viral on TikTok for transforming his audience into a massed choir, at a recent date on his world tour. “It’s my favourite thing in the whole world” to do, Collier captioned his video (watch below), which has reached millions on social media.
Filling Vancouver’s Vogue Theatre, the audience’s sound builds higher and louder as they unwittingly harmonise together, with Collier signalling at different sections to move up or down a note.
Jacob Collier is a ground-breaking young musician, arranger, and producer. Now a five-time Grammy Award winner, he made history in 2021 as the first UK artist to win a Grammy for each of his first four albums.
Hugely loved in the classical world and beyond, Collier’s music spans jazz, trap, soul and blues, and he’s worked with some of the biggest artists from pop and film music, including Hans Zimmer, Coldplay, and Pharrell Williams. Choral composer Eric Whitacre recently described Collier as a musician “I admire and respect beyond words”.
Read more: Amazing high school choir sings spiritual ‘Down to the River to Pray’ from hotel balconies
During his live concerts, Collier is known for bringing his audience into the sonic landscape of his performance – conducting them, teaching them to harmonise and create percussion together.
A few days earlier, a second video of Collier turning his audience into a choir went viral – but from the audience’s perspective. “@Jacob Collier created the most amazing show and made us sound angelic,” the TikTok user captioned her video.
“Listen to the end,” she adds. “You won’t regret it!!”
Collier first found fame on YouTube in 2012 with his popular multi-track, split-screen videos (see his jazzed-up version of ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ here).
In 2014, Collier signed to American record producer Quincy Jones’ management company, and two years later released his debut album, In My Room, which he recorded, performed, arranged and produced himself from his family home in Finchley, North London, where he still lives today.
If angelic choral singing is your thing too, take a look at Jacob’s website here to see his tour dates.
Collier is also behind the music for an upcoming West End musical about Luciano Pavarotti, directed by Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman), slated for release in 2023.
