The 600 singers - of all ages and backgrounds - had just an hour to practice the song, which many of them had likely never heard, before they recorded it.
By AMY SPIROUpdated: DECEMBER 20, 2017 05:17Israelis dance to US rock band Imagine Dragons’ ‘Believer’ in a video filmed at the Bascula Arts Center in Tel Aviv earlier this month(photo credit: screenshot)
What happens when you bring together 600 strangers and one hit rock song? As it turns out, you get one powerful video clip.To celebrate the end of 2017, the popular Army Radio music station Galgalatz decided to end the year with a bang. To that end, it partnered with Koolulam, a social music initiative and Shekel, an NGO for people with special needs, to create an unforgettable version of the Imagine Dragons hit “Believer.” The clip, which went online Monday afternoon, had already been viewed by more than 500,000 people by Tuesday morning."Believer" by Imagine Dragons performed produced by Israel radio with Koolulam (Facebook/גלגלצ)The band itself was moved by the rendition, as it reposted the clip on its Facebook page, with a note: “This 600 person choir singing Believer blew my mind this morning as I watched. So much passion.”The video and song were recorded earlier this month at the Bascula Arts Center in Tel Aviv. More than 50 people with special needs came from the Shekel organization to take part. The 600 people – of all ages and backgrounds – had just an hour to practice the song, which many of them had never heard, before they recorded it.“The decision to include people with special needs in the clip moved us very much,” the Shekel organization posted on their Facebook page. “Now friends, share it, like it and comment explaining to everyone why it is so important to include people with disabilities in the community!”The song “Believer” is one of the biggest hits of 2017, peaking at No. 4 on the US Billboard chart. The band’s lead vocalist, Dan Reynolds, said in an interview that the song was inspired by his struggle with a painful form of arthritis, and how it is about “finding a place of perspective where I could be appreciative of the pain in my life and make it my greatest strength.”
