10-Year-Old Girl With Autism Blows Crowd Away With Holiday Rendition Of ‘Hallelujah’

Everybody knows the famous, heartbreaking ballad ‘Hallelujah,’ originally penned by Leonard Cohen in 1984.

The bittersweet melody draws the ear through a painful story of love and loss with religious iconography, allusions to romance, and, of course, a story of music. But few have heard the altered holiday version of the song, that while still poignant in its hymn, tells the story of another kind.

When a 10-year-old girl from Northern Ireland sang this version in an emotional solo at her school’s choir performance, she became a viral internet sensation. Kaylee Rodgers comes from Donaghadee, County Down, and has both autism and ADHD. Kaylee is a student at a special needs school and began singing as a way to boost confidence. However, she didn’t know just how far that confidence extends.

So far, the moving Facebook video has racked up more than 180,000 views. The girl recently spoke with ITV to share her perspective on the popularity of her performance.

“It was really amazing how many views I got,” she said. “I just loved doing it.”

“For a child who came in P4 and wouldn’t really talk, wouldn’t really read out in class, to stand and perform in front of an audience is amazing,” Colin Millar, principal of Killard House told ITV. “It takes a lot of effort on Kaylee’s part.”