Tiny Desk Concert: NPR

On By Littum

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

You’d think the Los Angeles-born singer coined the term. Every breath is so full of indulgent melancholy, hopeful regret that, at 22, she has become a captivating frame of what it means, or rather what it feels like, to love and lose at the same time.

She trades belted vocals and rocking guitar for gentle piano and almost crushing falsetto, recreating tracks like “THE GREATEST” in their most raw and honest form. In Eilish’s world, the purest forms of love are inherently terrifying. Therein lies her star power – she effortlessly and relentlessly puts forward the more difficult emotions that many of us hide 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.” It 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 place for Eilish to give listeners just that.

SEAT LIST

  • “THE BIGGEST”
  • “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
  • Sound 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