Breathtaking Cover Of Christmas Classic 'Little Drummer Boy' Leaves The Audience Spellbound

Dec 07, 2021 by apost team

When the holiday season comes around, we often hear popular Christmas songs everywhere we go. One of these is "Little Drummer Boy," which everyone is probably at least a little familiar with. The song is an international Christmas favorite and for good reason too.

Each Christmas season, a few bands or artists will inevitably cover it and release their rendition. But unfortunately, not all versions of the song are unique. Some artists just copy the original song with no spin to it. It remains lilting, soft and familiar with the consistent beating of the drum.

But Christian pop group, For King & Country, covered the song back in 2017, and their version is unlike any of the other covers of "Little Drummer Boy." There may be a drummer that is also a boy, but that is where the similarities between the title and the cover song end.

For King & Country first performed this captivating cover at a live show in Phoenix in 2017. The song was also released on their Christmas album, "Christmas: Live from Phoenix." 

In the video of the live performance, as the song starts Luke Smallbone bangs the marching drum while he slowly walks towards his spot on the stage. The stage is dark and all the lights are on him. All you hear is the banging of the drum and the crowd cheering in anticipation. They can hardly wait for the song to start. 

The anticipation of the drumming is heightened when the electric guitar comes in. That's when the song truly begins to pick up energy.

Soon after the stage lights up and everyone goes wild. Now the rest of the band comes in and it's clear that magic is about to happen. Whether it's the cellist or an additional drummer, it is clear to see that every member is passionate about their music and they all really love this song and what they did with it.

While most of the song sounded like a rock song, when the lead singer opened his mouth and crooned out the first verse, the song became more reminiscent of the original. Their rendition of "Little Drummer Boy" is breathtaking and the band's fresh take on this Christmas classic is inspired.

The only way that artists stay relevant is through taking risks, albeit calculated risks. This rendition of the classic Christmas song was definitely a huge risk, especially because the song is celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Many of their fans might've had a problem with the song and the way For King & Country presented it. Some might find the song to be disrespectful. Unfortunately, this is the risk that modern artists must take. Sometimes the outcome is not worth the risk, and other times the opposite is true. In this case, it was definitely worth the risk to put such a fresh spin on the classic song.

The video has since been viewed over 10 million times, which proves that the band's risk paid off. Fans clearly can't get enough of what they did with it and that shows in the comments too.

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One person commented:

"And that is how you bring a song written in 1940 up to date — brilliant!"

Meanwhile, another said: 

"I have NEVER liked this song...until I heard this version. Now I have to listen to it on repeat ever(y) Christmas"

Other people commented about how skilled the musicians were. One person said: "Did anyone else listen to the rhythm guitarist? I don't think he missed a single lick. That was strong! Almost like Stevie Nick's 'Edge of Seventeen.'" Meanwhile, another joked that they actually made the accordion cool with the song. People who are drummers themselves spoke about the emotions they got when they watched this. One said:

"As a drummer, i literally get chills every single time i watch this 😭 I'm a part of a small church that's just starting out, but I told my pastor that we have enough drummers to do this. Hopefully next year we can do this 😁"

Another wrote:

"Being a mother of a drummer... This was really fun to watch. Great take on this classic song. Loved it."

Others spoke of the religious connotations of the song, while others mentioned that you didn't even have to be religious to appreciate the beauty of this cover. One user wrote:

"Well it doesn’t matter if your (sic) religious or not, this song rocks"

For King & Country's version of "Little Drummer Boy" is incredible on multiple levels. Not only is it simply a unique and masterfully skilled cover of an old song but it's been appreciated by people from all walks of life.

What do you think about this performance? Do you like their take on this wonderful Christmas classic? Let us know and show this video to your friends to make their day!