Even while we were forced apart, music proved it could still stitch us together. This top 10 uplifting roundup shines a spotlight on the most heart‑warming online collaborations that sprang up when the world hit pause. From bedroom studios to makeshift home stages, these videos remind us that a shared melody can bridge any distance.

Top 10 Uplifting Performances

12 We Are the World

More than seventy musicians from Long Island banded together to craft “We Are the World 2020 — The Quarantine Mix, Long Island.” Their mission? To sprinkle a little hope and healing across New York and the globe amid the COVID‑19 crisis.

Each artist recorded their part from the safety of their own home, using anything from polished studio gear to a trusty smartphone. After sending their individual tracks, a diligent edit team stitched everything together into a seamless, feel‑good anthem. Sit back, press play, and let the collective optimism wash over you.

11 What the World Needs Now Is Love

Students at Boston Conservatory and Berklee College of Music rallied to deliver a virtual rendition of Burt Bacharach’s classic “What the World Needs Now Is Love.” Their goal: unite a scattered community through song.

Senior composer Shelbie Rassler, working from sunny South Florida, issued a simple Facebook call‑to‑action: “Record yourself singing, playing, dancing—anything you love. I’ll splice it all together and share the love!” The response was a kaleidoscope of creativity, from an accordion‑playing pianist to a percussionist who turned a rice‑filled salt shaker into a makeshift shaker.

Rassler told NPR, “Even in quarantine we can keep doing what we love, stay connected, and create art together.” Bacharach himself praised the effort, saying he felt proud and honored to hear his song reborn by such talented students.

The final video bursts with joyous voices, a reminder that love truly is what the world needs now.

10 Close to You

The Pub Choir tossed a challenge to the internet: pause the endless scrolling and sing along with them. In just 48 hours, over a thousand singers from eighteen countries uploaded their takes of The Carpenters’ “Close to You.”

Every successful submission was painstakingly added to a massive “Couch Choir” mosaic. The result? A luminous, virtual hug of harmonies that felt both intimate and grand.

9 Here Comes the Sun

Camden Voices, a forward‑thinking 30‑piece ensemble based in London, gathered singers, instrumentalists, and educators for a quarantine‑era cover of “Here Comes the Sun.”

Their self‑produced video radiated optimism, with listeners likening the soaring voices to a warm summer sunrise breaking through a cold winter of pandemic gloom.

8 You’ve Got a Friend

A worldwide cast of actors from the musical “Beautiful” recorded a heartfelt version of “You’ve Got a Friend” for The Actors Fund, all from the safety of their homes.

Viewers were moved, commenting that the performance felt like a comforting embrace, a reminder that even in isolation we can stay caring and connected.

7 Hope for the Future

Thirty‑two trumpet virtuosos from fourteen nations filmed themselves performing a brand‑new anthem titled “Hope for the Future,” penned by Matt Catingub. The piece serves as a tribute to frontline healthcare heroes.

Contributors ranged from classical soloists to jazz players, military bands, educators, and even rock legends from the Dave Matthews Band and Chicago. Each musician’s name and national flag appear on screen, underscoring the global solidarity.

The project was inspired by trumpeter Ryan Anthony, who, battling cancer in the hospital, also appears in the video, lending a deeply personal touch to the uplifting composition.

6 Over the Rainbow

When the Chino Valley Unified School District’s annual choir concert was cancelled, students pivoted to a virtual a‑cappella rendition of “Over the Rainbow.”

The performance sparked a wave of praise, with fans noting it felt more genuine and uplifting than many celebrity‑produced “Imagine” videos.

One viewer exclaimed, “Much better and more beautiful and authentic than the celebrity ‘Imagine.’ This was lovely, hopeful, and truly uplifting!”

5 What a Wonderful World

John Foreman’s Aussie Pops (Isolation) Orchestra released a stirring version of “What a Wonderful World.” Listeners praised it as a beacon of hope, especially compared to the dissonant “Imagine” renditions filmed in lavish homes.

The video opens with the cheeky caption, “The Aussie Pops Orchestra has never ‘phoned it in’ … until now,” before launching into a warm, polished performance.

Foreman urged audiences to stay safe, promising that once the crisis passes, live music will return, and we’ll all be eager to fill concert halls again.

4 Boléro

Members of the New York Philharmonic recorded Ravel’s “Boléro” from their homes, dedicating the powerful piece to frontline healthcare workers.

The accompanying caption read, “The musicians of the New York Philharmonic dedicate this performance of Ravel’s ‘Boléro’ to the healthcare workers on the front lines of the COVID‑19 crisis. #ClapBecauseYouCare.”

One viewer reflected, “Boléro feels like the metaphorical steps out of quarantine—starting timidly, then swelling as more souls join the march back to normalcy.”

3 Lux Aurumque

Grammy‑winning composer Eric Whitacre orchestrated a groundbreaking virtual choir of his choral masterpiece “Lux Aurumque.” The piece, a luminous Latin hymn, translates to “Light, warm and heavy as pure gold, and the angels sing softly to the newborn babe.”

Whitacre provided a downloadable score and a conducting track, then wove together 243 individual recordings from 185 singers across twelve countries into a breathtaking mosaic of sound.

The final video radiates a celestial glow, showcasing the power of collective artistry even when miles apart.

2 Bridge Over Troubled Waters

The Voice of Miami children, unable to rehearse in person, turned to a virtual choir for “Bridge Over Troubled Waters.” Their first foray into online collaboration resulted in a heartfelt, home‑grown rendition.

They emphasized that virtual choirs demand keen listening, precise blending, and disciplined timing—skills that, once honed, keep the music alive until in‑person singing can resume.

1 Don’t Stand So Close to Me

Sting, Jimmy Fallon, and The Roots teamed up for a quarantine‑style remix of “Don’t Stand So Close to Me.” The performance featured inventive “at‑home instruments” such as scissors, pot lids, and even a Connect 4 game board.

The lighthearted video supports Frontline Foods, a charity delivering meals to ICU nurses and other frontline staff. One beneficiary explained that the donated food is a vital lifeline during grueling shifts.

Beyond the playful visuals, the collaboration underscores how creativity can fuel serious causes, proving that even a song about distance can bring us closer together.

When the world was forced to stay indoors, creative minds turned the silence into a symphony of brilliance. From literary giants to scientific pioneers, the top 10 great quarantine feats proved that a little isolation can spark monumental achievements. Below, we count down the most remarkable works born from lockdown, each a testament to human resilience and imagination.

Why the Top 10 Great Quarantine Works Matter

10 Eugene Onegin

Alexander Pushkin occupies Russia’s literary throne just as Shakespeare does England’s. His magnum opus, the verse novel Eugene Onegin (1832), tells the tale of a pampered aristocrat drifting through Saint Petersburg’s glittering ballrooms before retreating to his late uncle’s country manor. There, he encounters the poet Vladimir Lensky and the captivating Tatyana Larina, whose love becomes his obsession.

Pushkin, a dandy much like his fictional hero, often turned to his pen when illness struck—most frequently an affliction of the venereal sort. In the autumn of 1830, a fierce cholera outbreak in Moscow drove him to his family’s rural estate. While practicing a form of early social distancing, he completed Eugene Onegin along with several other classics, sealing his legacy as Russia’s unrivaled bard.

The novel later inspired Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to craft an opera in 1879, cementing its place in both literary and musical canons. Pushkin’s ability to transform a period of forced isolation into enduring art showcases the power of quarantine to fuel creativity.

9 Samuel Pepys’s Diary

Samuel Pepys (1633–1703) wore many hats: Member of Parliament, civil administrator for the English Navy, and, most famously today, meticulous diarist. From 1660 to 1669 he kept a daily record that now serves as a primary source for the English Restoration, offering vivid insight into the era’s politics, culture, and everyday life.

When the bubonic plague ravaged London in 1665, Pepys was unsurprised; he had witnessed a similar “black death” outbreak in Amsterdam two years prior. In June of that year he scribbled, “[To] my great trouble, hear that the plague is come into the City,” followed by a pious plea, “God preserve us all.”

Pepys’s diligent chronicling gave historians a clear picture of how the disease spread so swiftly, linking the catastrophe to a massive rat infestation in the squalid city. His diary remains an invaluable window into the human experience of quarantine.

8 Alexander The False Prophet

Lucian, a celebrated wit of the Roman Empire, hailed from Samosata—now in modern Turkey. As a playwright, satirist, and rhetorician, he delighted audiences by mocking cultural quirks, from Greek‑Syrian rivalries to stoic philosophy. One of his notable works, Alexander the False Prophet, skewered the era’s fascination with magic and the desperate search for supernatural cures.

The titular Alexander was a genuine figure, Alexander of Abonoteichus, who claimed magical powers capable of healing the sick. His notoriety swelled during the Antonine Plague of AD 165, a devastating epidemic that swept the Roman world. Greek physician Galen identified the disease—likely measles or smallpox—originating from China and traveling along the Silk Road.

While many Romans either isolated themselves or chased mystical remedies, Lucian chose satire, exposing the charlatan’s falsehoods and highlighting how fear can breed superstition during a pandemic.

7 The Magic Mountain

Considered a masterpiece of German literature, Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain debuted in 1924. The narrative follows Hans Castorp, a young Hamburg merchant who visits his cousin Joachim at a Swiss tuberculosis sanatorium nestled in the Alps. What begins as a brief stay spirals into an extended sojourn as Hans’s health wavers and he encounters a cast of patients embodying post‑World War I Europe’s societal decay.

Mann’s intimate knowledge of sanatorium life stemmed from personal experience. His wife, Katia, battled tuberculosis, prompting them to spend time at a Davos‑Platz health resort in 1912. Over the years, the couple frequented spas worldwide, granting Mann firsthand insight into the atmosphere that would become the novel’s setting.

The novel’s rich tapestry of illness, introspection, and cultural critique emerged from Mann’s own periods of isolation, demonstrating how quarantine can nurture profound literary reflection.

6 Dashiell Hammett

American novelist Dashiell Hammett grew up in a devout Catholic farming family in Maryland, quickly abandoning school at thirteen to mingle with gamblers, prostitutes, and thieves across Baltimore and Philadelphia. Seeking redemption, he enlisted with the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in 1915, serving as a private eye until 1922.

After his detective stint, Hammett turned to writing detective fiction, drawing upon his gritty experiences to craft iconic sleuths like Sam Spade and the Continental Op. Yet his literary career might never have ignited if not for a bout of tuberculosis contracted while serving in the U.S. Army during World War I.

The army deemed him 25 percent disabled, granting a medical discharge and a modest pension. This financial safety net, combined with a part‑time copywriting job, afforded Hammett the time—and the frequent coughing fits—to pen stories that would define the hard‑boiled genre.

5 Anton Chekhov

Like Pushkin before him, Russian writer Anton Chekhov found his creative spark amid Russia’s recurring cholera outbreaks. Between 1892 and 1899, he produced some of his most celebrated short stories, including “Ward No. 6” and “The Black Monk,” each probing the human condition with clinical precision.

Chekhov split his time between his Melikhovo estate, where he organized famine and cholera relief for local peasants, and his demanding career as a practicing physician. The dual roles amplified his empathy, informing the stark realism of his narratives.

Unfortunately, his health deteriorated, and by 1897 he could no longer practice medicine. Like Hammett, Chekhov succumbed to tuberculosis, passing away in 1904. Nonetheless, his oeuvre remains a cornerstone of world literature, much of it forged in the crucible of epidemic‑driven isolation.

4 Paradise Lost

English poet John Milton wore many hats: pamphleteer, philosopher, and Latin Secretary for England’s Commonwealth Council of State. Yet his enduring fame rests on the epic poem Paradise Lost, which dramatizes Satan’s rebellion and humanity’s fall from grace.

Milton’s later years were marked by blindness, forcing him to dictate the poem to family, friends, and amanuenses between 1652 and 1667. Complicating matters, the Milton family relocated to Chalfont St. Giles to escape the Great Plague of London in 1665‑66. It was within this quarantine‑induced refuge that Milton completed his magnum opus.

The epic’s profound theological and political themes emerged despite (or perhaps because of) the enforced seclusion, underscoring how adversity can sharpen artistic vision.

3 The Decameron

The Decameron stands as arguably the greatest literary work about a pandemic. Likely penned between 1348 and 1353, it chronicles ten young aristocrats who flee Florence’s Black Death by retreating to a country estate. There, they entertain each other by telling one hundred stories over several days.

The collection balances somber moral tales with ribald humor, reflecting the spectrum of human response to catastrophe. Boccaccio wrote in the Florentine vernacular, a language that would later evolve into standard Italian.

Having lived through the 14th‑century plague, Boccaccio escaped Florence’s devastation by traveling to Naples and other Italian cities. Though he avoided infection, he witnessed the Florentine outbreak firsthand in 1348, experiences that infused his storytelling with authenticity.

2 William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare’s life was punctuated by recurring plague epidemics. As an infant, he survived the 1564 outbreak that claimed many of his Stratford‑upon‑Avon neighbors. Biographer Jonathan Bate argues that the playwright’s recurring encounters with disease shaped his artistic trajectory.

The plague surfaces in several of Shakespeare’s masterpieces, notably Romeo and Juliet. Intriguingly, his most prolific period—1605‑06—coincided with a severe plague year in England. Rather than languish in despair, Shakespeare harnessed the enforced downtime to produce towering works such as King Lear, Macbeth, and Antony and Cleopatra.

Scholars now believe that the societal pause forced by the epidemic provided Shakespeare the space and urgency to create, turning quarantine into a catalyst for his greatest artistic outpouring.

1 Isaac Newton

Sir Isaac Newton, the English physicist and mathematician whose discoveries laid the groundwork for modern science, found his genius flourishing during a period of forced isolation. In 1665, while a modest student at Cambridge, the university shuttered its doors due to the Great Plague of London.

Returning home to his family’s countryside house, Newton seized the quiet to conduct a series of experiments that would revolutionize our understanding of motion and gravitation. It was within this self‑imposed quarantine that he first articulated the laws governing falling bodies and planetary orbits.

Rejoining Cambridge in 1667, Newton’s meteoric rise—from undergraduate to fellow and ultimately professor by 1669—was propelled by the insights cultivated during his solitary months. His story epitomizes how lockdown can incubate breakthroughs that reshape civilization.