NHS choir called in to record TikTok hit

A community choir was invited into a recording studio by rock artist Sam Scherdel after he heard them performing a version of his song Somewhere in the Middle.

The track, which recently featured on an episode of ITV's Love Island and has amassed more than two million views on social media platform TikTok, has been reimagined as a standalone choral piece in collaboration with the Hull NHS Choir.

Scherdel, from Sheffield, is also due to perform live with the choir during his show at The Social in Hull on 22 May.

The track is due to be released on Bandcamp, with all proceeds going to two hospital charities in the region.

Choir leader Lucy Vere said the collaboration came about after she went to watch Scherdel in concert last year, and fell in love with the song.

She then shared it with the group's musical director as part of a shortlist of potential choir songs for the new year, and it was introduced in January.

The choir, which was established in 2014 and performed at the King's Coronation concert at Windsor Castle, went on to create their own arrangement, and when a clip of the performance began circulating on TikTok, Scherdel discovered it.

Vere said: "As a choir, we always tag the artists whose songs we sing on social media, but Sam is the very first artist who ever replied.

"He told us how moved he was by our arrangement, and incredibly, within just six weeks of that original tagged video, we found ourselves in the studio with him recording our version together.

"Our choir exists to support NHS staff to relax, feel good, and reconnect with music and with each other.

"To do that, people need to love what they're singing and feel genuinely valued for what they do."

Commenting on the success of the original track, Scherdel said: "I was just stunned seeing the song grow beyond anything I've ever released before."

Of the choral version, the UK indie artist added: "Honestly, it brought a tear to my eye hearing it performed like this."

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