Children’s Choir Beautifully Sings In “I Can Only Imagine” Performance

May 12, 2021 by apost team

The One Voice Children's Choir is a group of children living along the Wasatch Front, Utah, in the United States, ranging in age from four to eighteen years old. The choir has received lots of attention on the internet and has even gone on to compete on American television talent shows, such as America's got talent. The nonprofit corporation covers both already-known songs, as well as releases their own original music. As a part of their program, the choir funds annual community workshops and educational programs, through the help of donations. To set themselves apart from other organizations, Once Voice Children's Choir stresses that they provide professional-level quality experiences, so that the children's voices are also able to reach a wider audience. The choir also subsidizes participatory opportunities for families in need, by offering financial assistance.

This time, the One Voice Children's Choir covered MercyMe's "I Can Imagine" and released a touching music video that invites its viewers into the lyrics of the song. MercyMe is a contemporary Christian band based in Oklahoma, so although the two groups are miles apart, One Voice Children's Choir was still able to invoke the soul of the original song. Posted on Mar. 16, 2019, this rendition takes the song to a whole new level, inspiring joy, hope, and an appreciation for the beauty of life. While it is a group performance, the featured soloists are incredibly talented, and it definitely adds to the value of the cover!

Read on to learn more about this choir's history and mission, as well as to see the incredible rendition these children performed. 

What can you imagine? Masa Fukuda, director of One Voice Children's Choir in Northern Utah, imagined a first-class children's choir whose unique sound and presentation could touch hearts and kindle hope. This choir, which has an impressive 2.43 million YouTube subscribers and 336 million viewers, was formed from a children's choir that Fukuda organized for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.

It has since gone on to compete on America's Got Talent, sing for President Barack Obama, and perform nationally and in over 100 countries, in locations from Normandy to Indonesia. Its more than 100 members ages 5-18 see the choir as a second family; this attitude pours into their music, where their obvious joy gives energy and power to their music. This is seen especially in their cover of MercyMe's 2002 mainstream ranker, "I Can Only Imagine."

One Voice Children's Choir took "I Can Only Imagine," and transformed it into a music video that is a feast for the eyes, ears, and heart. In the beginning, viewers are introduced to a beautiful snow-flecked field at the base of a mountain, where choir members and musicians dressed for the farm and for the cold are singing. Afterward, they are shown singing in the homes of the members, through barns, through an award ceremony, and through a church with all of the members dressed in fancy blue dresses and smart blue suits. The video showcases other talents in addition to singing talent.

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At various points, three ballerinas belonging to the choir dance along to the line "Will I dance for you Jesus," while 20 child musicians play stringed instruments in the background. The tone of the song is bright, unified, and clear, forming the perfect background for the eleven child soloists to let their stunning voices be heard.

One Voice Children's Choir's cover concentrates on several themes the original song: the importance of family and a need for healing in Jesus' presence. "I Can Only Imagine" was written by MercyMe member Bart Millard, as a faith-filled response to his experience being abused as a child by his father. Released in 2001, in 2018 the song became the basis for a movie of the same name starring Dennis Quaid and documenting Millard's journey to forgiveness and reconciliation with his father.

Just as family is important in the original song, family is important in One Voice Children's Choir's cover, which has reached over 9 million views on YouTube since it was uploaded in 2018. In one part of the cover, a singer in a barn is playing her guitar to her toddler brother who has Down's Syndrome, much to her brother's delight. At another time, a different member of One Voice Children's Choir is learning to paint from her grandmother. Children in the video who have obviously suffered injuries sing joyfully of healing along with the rest of the choir. The themes of family, healing, and hope portrayed in the video vividly bring out the original message of the song.

What did watching this music video make you feel? Did it make you reflect on your family? Let us know your thoughts and be sure to pass this article along to your loved ones!