Billie Eilish: Tiny Desk Concert

Billie Eilish: Tiny Desk Concert with tags npr, npr music, national public radio, live, performance, tiny desk, tiny desk concert, tony desk, tiny concert

Anamaria Sayre | December 12, 2024

Saudade is a Portuguese word that can be roughly defined as a feeling of melancholy, nostalgia or yearning for something that is beloved but not present. There's no perfect translation, but one of the closest English expressions of the word I've ever seen is Billie Eilish's Tiny Desk performance.

You'd think the Los Angeles-born singer invented the term. Every breath is so full of indulgent melancholy, hopeful regret, at 22 years old she's become a captivating fixture of what it means, or rather what it feels, to love and lose simultaneously.

Trading belting vocals and rocking guitar for gentle piano and almost-breaking falsetto, she reimagines tracks like "THE GREATEST" in their most raw and honest form. In Eilish's world, love's purest forms are inherently terrifying. Therein lies her starpower – she effortlessly, relentlessly brings to the fore the trickier emotions many of us tuck away for fear of what the world might think.

"I don't know what I'm crying for, I don't think I could love you more," she sings on "BIRDS OF A FEATHER." Turns out the world is made up of a lot of people who just want to be seen, and this stripped down set is the perfect space for Eilish to give listeners just that.

SET LIST

"THE GREATEST"

"L'AMOUR DE MA VIE"

"i love you"

"BIRDS OF A FEATHER"

MUSICIANS

Billie Eilish: vocals

Finneas: guitar

Andrew Marshall: drums

Solo Smith: bass

Abe Nouri: piano

TINY DESK TEAM

Producer: Bobby Carter

Director/Editor: Maia Stern

Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell

Videographers: Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame, Alanté Serene

Audio Engineer: Neil Tevault

Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer

Photographer: Zayrha Rodriguez

Tiny Desk Copy Editor: Hazel Cills

Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed

Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson

VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins

#nprmusic #tinydesk #billieeilish

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and offering support in taking on everything life demands. With therapists available to communicate via video, chat, or phone. At BetterHelp.com/TinyDesk.