Entertainment

Billie Eilish’s moody cover of Yesterday at the Oscars splits opinion

The Bad Guy singer performed during the In Memoriam section.
The Bad Guy singer performed during the In Memoriam section.

Billie Eilish moved the Oscars audience with a moody rendition of The Beatles’ Yesterday.

The 18-year-old, who took home the so-called Big Four prizes at the Grammy Awards last month, sang the Sir Paul McCartney-penned track during the annual In Memoriam section.

Joined by brother-collaborator Finneas O’Connell, she performed against a montage of recently departed stars including basketball great Kobe Bryant, Monty Python star Terry Jones and singer Doris Day.

Eilish perched on a stool while O’Connell sat behind a piano – reminiscent of their Grammys performance of the ballad When The Party’s Over.

But fans watching the ceremony at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles were split in opinion.

Some were complimentary of the melancholy take on the 1965 track.

“Hook Billie Eilish’s cover of Yesterday to my veins,” one joked.

Another said: “Well impressed with billie eilish’s cover of yesterday by the beatles at the oscars last night!”

A third added: “Billie Eilish singing yesterday is my new religion.”

Another simply described Eilish’s rendition as “stunning”.

However, the performance drew ire from some Beatles fans.

One “die hard” supporter of the Fab Four said they were “totally pissed” at the young singer for “ruining” the classic track.

Another added: “Did anybody else think Billie Eilish singing yesterday by the Beatles for the in memoriam was an inappropriate choice of tone.”

The Academy previously confirmed on Twitter that Eilish would appear at the Oscars for a “special performance”.

Some fans assumed she would use the occasion to debut her theme for the forthcoming James Bond film, No Time To Die, but they were left disappointed.