Susan Boyle's "In the Bleak Midwinter" Cover Is a Rapturous, Haunting Listen
The AGT legend never fails to convey the holiday spirit. Even when you listen in January.
It's time to celebrate 2025 by listening to one of Susan Boyle's most underrated covers.
The America's Got Talent icon's 2013 holiday album, Home for Christmas, is full of angelic performances of Christmas classics like "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and "Little Drummer Boy" that will instantly fill you with joy — but one of our favorite tracks from the album is a cover that may not be as well known: "In the Bleak Midwinter." Boyle is in rare form here, singing with a voracity fans may not be ready for.
There's nothing "bleak" about Boyle's "In the Bleak Midwinter" — it's as haunting, powerful, and uplifting as it gets!
Accompanied by a beautiful-sounding choir, Boyle's vocals soar as she shows off her perfect tone. It's stunning. Is it even possible for her to sing even slightly off-key? And, of course, the song's crescendo around the 2:10 mark will give you goosebumps in the best way.
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While "In the Bleak Midwinter" is arguably overshadowed by some of the other more well-known tracks on Home for Christmas, from a technical standpoint, Boyle has never sounded better — and it deserves a spot in your Christmas playlist next year!
Listen for yourself, below:
Growing up in a large family of nine children, Boyle's road to superstardom wasn't always clear — until her epic Britain's Got Talent audition changed everything. Unfortunately, her mother passed away before Boyle became an overnight sensation — but as she explained in an interview with The Guardian in 2013, Boyle dedicated her journey to the woman who raised her.
"I made a promise to my mum that I would do something with my life," Boyle said." Spiritually, she's with me all the time. She has had a word with someone upstairs, because I wouldn't have had this otherwise. There has been some sort of intervention in some way. I do feel that."
Here's what to know about "In the Bleak Midwinter"
Originally written as a poem by English-born Christina Rossetti in 1872, it was set to music and sung as a Christian holiday hymn beginning in the early 20th century. Harold Darke's 1909 version of the song, intended to be sung by a trained choir and beginning with one solo voice, is the version declared by choral experts in 2008 as "the best Christmas carol."
Although many versions of the iconic Christmas hymn exist, most are performed by full choirs in contemporary times, which makes Boyle's studio version stand out as one of the most unique takes on the classic poem!
