A Mi’kmaw teen’s viral rendition of a classic Beatles tune has been recognized by rock-and-roll legend Paul McCartney himself.
UN-Habitat Youth tweeted a short video on Sunday of McCartney talking about the song during a concert.
“There’s an incredible version done by a Canadian girl,” McCartney told the crowd. “See it on YouTube. It’s in her native language … it’s really cool."
A video of Emma Stevens performing “Blackbird” in the Mi’kmaq language went viral after it was posted to YouTube on April 25. As of noon Monday, it had been seen close to 416,500 times.
The Eskasoni, N.S., teen, who is a Grade 10 student at Allison Bernard Memorial High School, recorded the song with help from her music teacher.
Last month, Stevens told CTV Atlantic she hoped her music would inspire others to learn more about her language and culture.
“It's a very, very powerful song and doing it in Mi'kmaq just makes it more powerful," she said. “It's a different language and a very beautiful language.”
She also said that she hoped the song would attract the attention of Paul McCartney.
“I hope he sees it and I get to meet him. I really want to meet Paul McCartney,” she told CTV.
McCartney is currently on tour in the United States.
Stevens also recently performed at the opening of the UN-Habitat Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya, where she spoke about the Red Dress Movement in Canada and sung the Mi’kmaq Honour Song.
