[Little Viper]

The most acclaimed cover of the song to date is by American singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley. Most subsequent covers have copied Buckley's version, which in turn follows John Cale's 1991 recording.

Rufus Wainwright also covered the track, emphasizing the piano – and his version was included on the Shrek soundtrack in 2001, although it was John Cale's recording from the tribute album I'm Your Fan that inspired Wainwright's and was used in the film itself. (Wainwright apparently replaced him on the soundtrack because he is signed with Dreamworks SKG and Cale is not.) The Shrek theme music was also based on "Hallelujah."

Among the many other musicians who have performed covers of this song are Elisa, Bono, Bob Dylan, Clare Bowditch, Allison Crowe, Jackie Greene, Julie Felix, Imogen Heap, Anthony Michael Hall, Custard, k.d. lang, Kevin Max, Wayne Whittaker, the Prayerbabies (a Melbourne-based 'country and preston' band) and Kathryn Williams. Counting live performances, the list includes Ari Hest, Brandi Carlile, Gavin DeGraw, Dave Dobbyn, The Dresden Dolls, Chris Clonts, Damien Rice, Jay Clifford, Regina Spektor, Starsailor, and Sheryl Crow. Chris Botti recorded an instrumental version of the song for the album December. An a cappella version by Clemson University's "TakeNote" is included on the "Best of College A Cappella 2006" CD.

Movie and TV soundtracks
"Hallelujah" is frequently used in television and movies during sad or tragic scenes. It has been used in movies as diverse as Basquiat, The Edukators, A Lot Like Love, Shrek, St. Ralph, Barfuss and Lord of War, and TV series such as Grey's Anatomy, Holby City, House, Falcon Beach, The L Word, The O.C., Scrubs, The West Wing, Without a Trace, Cold Case, Criminal Minds, The Shield, Nip/Tuck, Crossing Jordan, Trigun, and Lost.