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

She trades powerful vocals and rocking guitar for gentle piano and almost crushing falsetto, reinterpreting tracks like “THE GREATEST” in their rawest and most honest form. In Eilish’s world, the purest forms of love are inherently terrifying. Therein lies her star power – she effortlessly and tirelessly brings out the more delicate emotions that many of us hide 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 that the world is made up of a lot of people who just want to be seen, and this stripped-back set is the perfect place for Eilish to give listeners just that.

SET LIST

• “THE BIGGEST”
• “L’AMOUR DE MA VIE”
• “I love you”
• “BIRD OF ONE FEATHER”

MUSICIAN

• Billie Eilish: vocals
• Finneas: Guitar
• Andrew Marshall: drums
• Solo Smith: bass
• Abe Nouri: piano

SMALL 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 Copier: Hazel Cills
• Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
• Series creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
• Vice President, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins