Choir! Choir! Choir! teaches the audience to sing as a group, records the performance, then posts it on YouTube.

Choir! Choir! Choir!

I can be a melancholy sort. When I get that way, I often turn to music either to lift me from whatever sadness needled its way inside my being or to work through it.

I’m partial to ‘80s pop and metal and ‘70s rock ‘n’ roll, but when I get down, rather than a genre, I tend to seek choral works of modern songs. Something about people coming together to make a joyful noise, I guess. So I’m a big fan of the Canadian duo Choir! Choir! Choir!

This team flipped the script on choirs. Rather than a chorus of singers taking the stage for an audience, Choir! Choir! Choir! takes the stage to teach the audience to sing as a group, then records the performances and puts them on YouTube.

The most recent video I can find is of Abba’s “Mamma Mia” at a full concert hall. But the band’s trove of videos includes redemptions of Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time,” Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” and even Elvis’ “Suspicious Minds,” along with Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts” and Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy.” From classic rock to country to metal, this choir gives all kinds of genres a go.

Choir! Choir! Choir! often is fun to behold, the kind of stuff that can pop a melancholic balloon.

— Phil Wright, news editor, East Oregonian