I happened to see this trailer today for the new version of Les Miserables’. The song has been in my head all day:
Now, I’ve heard the song before. Susan Boyle made it popular again a few years ago when she wowed the judges on Britian’s Got Talent. I checked her video today on YouTube. It’s had over 21 million hits.
So why did this trailer with Anne Hathaway singing this familiar song advertising this familiar show get over 20,000 hits in one day?
I think it had to be the haunting, raw quality of her voice. This was the voice of someone in pain and who has given up, very different from Susan Boyle’s soaring rendition. The director of Les Miserables, Tom Hooper apparently had the actors sing live on the set instead of recording them later in a studio. The result was stunning, memorable, and makes us want to see more.
I can’t stop thinking of the voice and the images in the trailer. And I’ll be buying a ticket when the movie comes out.