2. Africa (Toto)

Few power ballads are as emotive and era-defining as Toto’s ‘Africa’, with its sunlit harmonies and its spine-tingling, unforgettable chorus. The purest element of this song is that it invites you to make it as big as you can, meaning that you can accommodate as many singers as you like and add your choir's individual character to your interpretation to fill out the music and help this song achieve its full power.

3. Rolling in the Deep (Adele)

Adele’s 2011 breakthrough hit has elements of pop, blues, and gospel, all helping to make it one of the most perfect songs for choirs to transform into their own and have plenty of fun with in the process. In particular, the chorus’s musical canon call-and-response element is ideal for big choirs, as you’ll hear in the video below:

4. Let It Be (The Beatles)

It can be heart-stirring when choirs help a pop song find its hymnlike quality, and this is the case for almost any choir that has adapted The Beatles’ ‘Let It Be’ (a song which already has strong elements of gospel). The version by the Boston Gay Men's Chorus shared below is a fine showcasing of how choirs can be bold and brilliant, while still being understated in their delivery.

5. Viva la Vida (Coldplay)

Augmented by powerful strings, the music of ‘Viva La Vida’ lends itself well to a mixed chorus SATB. But that's only one of plenty of possibilities of interpretation. It is a crisp, fulsome song with strong lyrics and a rousing chorus; it’s also a song that can be performed by either small choirs or those that seek to fill out an entire stage. In addition to energetic interpretations, there are also newer, more tranquil choral arrangements that highlight the song’s anthemic character in an especially expressive and moving way.

6. Stand By Me (Ben E. King)

This is what you might call ‘having a trick up your sleeve’. Let’s face it, few songs are as immediately recognizable (not to mention emotive) as Ben E. King’s ‘Stand By Me’. The song is also very accessible for a wide range of choirs, and is often best placed for community choirs who want their performances to suggest the vibe of a warm, communal hug that brings the whole audience in on the moment. If it’s fit for a Royal wedding, it’s likely fit for your choir…

7. Take On Me (a-ha)

Very, very occasionally, you get a pop-choral crossover that can morph both styles of music and make something entirely original. A-ha’s 80s synth hit ‘Take On Me’ has the power to do this. It’s falsetto means that it can still be a rewarding test for choirs and those doing the musical arrangements - but its synth-pop heart allows it to move away from any suggestion of a prim, stuffy choir singing and become something unique, something more akin to a crowd-pleasing pub singalong.