A Capella music has been gaining in popularity in the last couple of years, a trend which I whole-heartedly support. 1/14/15: The human voice is one of my favorite instruments, and I love hearing it stripped down. Of course, when performing a Capella, there’s great safety in numbers. Singing all alone with no accompaniment is something few have pulled off successfully. Enter Sara Bareilles.

We all know she has a spectacular voice, and no one can fault her musicality, but her recording of “Once Upon Another Time” begins with just her voice and continues essentially that way for three full minutes. It’s an impressive feat, as is holding an entire audience in your hand they way she does. There’s not a peep from them. Such power!

Note: I was going to link to the album recording. Then I thought about it, and I decided that the live version was more impactful. See? No studio tricks! As a bonus, she first explains how she came to write the song.