Watch Billie Eilish cover ‘Yesterday’ by The Beatles in Nashville
On the Nashville stop of her ‘Hit Me Hard And Soft’ tour, Billie Eilish addressed Donald Trump’s presidential win before performing a rare rendition of an older song about abuse and a cover of ‘Yesterday’ by The Beatles.
Eilish played at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville onNovember 6th, a day after the 2024 US elections. During her performance, she spoke to the crowd about Trump’s win admitting that she initially “couldn’t fathom doing a show on this day.”
“But the longer the day went on,” she continued, “I kinda had this feeling of it’s such a privilege I get to do this with you guys and that we have this in a time that… And I just love you so much and I want you to know that you’re safe with me and you’re protected here and you are safe in this room.”
The singer went on to introduce ‘YOUR POWER’, a slightly older song from her 2021 album, Happier Than Ever. “It’s about the abuse that exists in this world upon women and a lot of the experiences that I have gone through and people I know have gone through,” she explained, “To tell you the truth, I’ve never met one single woman who doesn’t have a story of abuse. Not one.”
“I’ve dealt with some stuff myself, and I’ve been taken advantage of. My boundaries were crossed, to say it politely,” Eilish shared, “And now a person who is a convicted — let’s say a convicted predator, let’s say that — someone who hates women so, so deeply is about to be the President of the United States of America.” She then dedicated the song to “all the women out there,” sharing her love and support.
After performing ‘YOUR POWER’, Eilish sat cross-legged on the floor to cover ‘Yesterday’ by the Beatles. Accompanied by a singular acoustic guitar and backing vocalists, the lyrics to the song seemed all the more pertinent following Eilish’s powerful speech.
Eilish also played ‘TV’, a staple in her live set, but she stopped the song after a particularly potent line. “The internet’s gone wild watching movie stars on trial,” she sang, “while they’re overturning Roe v. Wade.” The entire audience joined her in singing the second half of the line, before Eilish took a step back from the microphone and ended the song.
Billie Eilish’s love of The Beatles
In a conversation with NME, Eilish once spoke about the influence of The Fab Four on her career and said: “It doesn’t matter how old you are, where you’re from, what you look like or who you are: you can do this.”
She added. “The Beatles were what raised me. My love for music I feel 95 per cent owes to the Beatles and Paul. It’s insane to think about.”
Additionally, Eilish also once named her favourite songs by The Beatles to Vanity Fair: “I love ‘Something’, I love ‘Julia’, I love ‘You Never Give Me Your Money’.” The singer also added ‘Anna (Go To Him)’ from Please Please Me and ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer’ from Abbey Road before stating, “Gosh, I could go on and on. I love The Beatles”.
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