She says she'll never forget the moment she revealed the video to him. Student Emma Stevens Covers 'Blackbird ... - HuffPost Canada “They’re starting to speak English more because none of their friends understand it, and I kind of want to change that.”. marble falls: May 2019 #3: Beautiful! #EmmaStevens gets a shout out by @PaulMcCartney "There's an incredible version done by a Canadian girl, see it on youtube, its in her native language." The cover was produced by the school's music teacher Carter Chiasson using translated lyrics from Mi'kmaq language teacher Katani Julian and her father. At 16, Stevens is already a seasoned performer who has been singing publicly in public since the age of 10. “It’s a beautiful version,” McCartney told the crowd of fans. The cover has been viewed more than 30,000 on YouTube since it was uploaded Apr. All the concerts from Emma Stevens 04 Mar 2021 Emma Stevens concert in Bath. READ MORE: N.S. So it really strikes a chord in my heart as well, this song.". Stevens’ version of the song currently has nearly 1 million views on YouTube. Stevens and her classmates at Allison Bernard Memorial High School in Eskasoni, N.S., recorded the song to highlight the United Nations’ International Year of Indigenous Languages, which seeks to raise awareness of threats to Indigenous languages across the world. Box 500 Station A Toronto, ON Canada, M5W 1E6. A high school student from an Eskasoni high school, who went viral for her Mi’kmaq rendition of Blackbird, met Sir Paul McCartney backstage at his Vancouver concert over the weekend. Emma Stevens said she and her music teacher, Carter Chiasson, first heard McCartney had singled her out for praise through comments on YouTube. Get a roundup of the most important and intriguing national stories delivered to your inbox every weekday. © 2019 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc. WATCH: Grade 10 student Emma Stevens performs Blackbird in the Mi'kmaq language in a YouTube video put out by her school in Eskasoni First Nation – May 1, 2019, Aerosol spread of coronavirus underscores importance of avoiding ‘three Cs’: Tam, U.S. election results: Live, real-time election results as Joe Biden set to become president, Paul McCartney gives shout-out to Eskasoni high schooler for viral music video, Paul McCartney gives shout-out to Eskasoni high schooler for viral music video – Jun 3, 2019, Unifying a divided America will be Joe Biden’s great challenge: former DNC head, World leaders react after Joe Biden projected to become next U.S. president, B.C. N.S. "We have to translate the concepts, and not the words specifically," she said. "He's a tough guy, but he had tears in the corners of his eyes and he loved it so much.". The Boileroom - Guildford. Emma Stevens sings Beatles' "Blackbird" in Mi'kmaq language (maritime canada) (Original post) applegrove: Apr 2019: OP: Very nice, thank you! READ MORE: Eskasoni high schooler hopes Mi’kmaq music video inspires others to learn language. Chiasson said “Blackbird” was chosen partly because of its melody, but also because of what he describes as its “hidden social message.”. McCartney also gave Stevens a shout out, where he praised her version of the classic hit. teen thrilled with Paul McCartney shoutout after Mi’kmaq cover of ‘Blackbird’ goes viral. In the future, she said she’d like to record an album. Want to discuss? “Paul actually wrote it in response to racism he witnessed towards black women when he was younger, so there are some parallels with that and what First Nations people, especially young, female First Nations people, are experiencing in Canada today,” he said in a phone interview. This story was originally published on May 1, 2019. "It spoke to me personally like that. "The song is just like the type of gentle advice that we get from our elders when we feel defeated and when we feel down," she said. “There are some kids who speak it in our community, but not a lot,” she said. "Those lyrics kind of make me feel more hopeful, more inspired to, like, learn my language more than I already know, and to show non-Mi'kmaq people the beauty of the song in our language," Emma Stevens, 16, of Eskasoni, N.S., told As It Happens host Carol Off. All rights reserved. Please read our Commenting Policy first. The translation process was a struggle, Julian said, because not all of the words have direct correlations in Mi'kmaq. "I'm glad that it gave them kind of a new view on music," Stevens said of the reception. Part of HuffPost News. Chiasson produced the video, and the lyrics were translated into Mi’kmaq by another community member, Katani Julian. The former Beatle has praised her version before. bans all social gatherings, indoor group physical activities in Lower Mainland amid surging COVID cases, Here are some of the lawsuits, criminal probes that await Trump as he leaves office, President-elect Joe Biden pledges to unite Americans in victory speech, ‘You’re fired’: Celebrities react to projected Trump defeat, Biden-Harris win, America Votes 2020: Trump refuses to accept Biden victory, doubles down on legal challenges, Coronavirus: B.C. Congrats. A Cape Breton teenager said she was almost moved to tears when she learned her Mi’kmaq rendition of The Beatles’ classic song “Blackbird” had earned her a shoutout from none other than Paul McCartney. "I know it's just, like, a little cover, but in our language, it's really beautiful and it just makes a big impact.". McCartney also gave Stevens a shout out during a performance in Lexington, Ky., back in June. Check it out,” he said a moment later. Written by Sheena Goodyear. I said, ‘Listen, your version is so beautiful I’m going to be nervous singing my version.'”. #capebretongirl #unamaki pic.twitter.com/rh1koyLQkQ. She’s also working on a new original song about missing and murdered Indigenous women, which she and Chiasson are hoping to release in July. ALLISON BERNARD MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL/YOUTUBE, United Nations’ International Year of Indigenous Languages. Just back from Kenya, AF where she sang her version of The Beatles “Blackbird” in Mi’kmaq. The teenage girl who recorded a cover of Blackbird by The Beatles entirely in Mi'kmaq says she hopes to one day release a full album in her people's language. Interview with Emma Stevens and Katani Julian produced by Sarah Jackson and Mary-Catherine McIntosh. teen behind viral Mi’kmaq Blackbird meets Paul McCartney in Vancouver. Listeners are definitely feeling that impact. See her play at the opening of the @unhabitat @UN #UNHabitatAssembly - https://t.co/CqMSgF1VuE #paulmccartney #blackbird pic.twitter.com/WsuQaaczp3, The McCartney moment was surreal for the 10th grader, who said she learned to love The Beatles thanks to her father, whom she described as a “superfan.”, “I grew up on that stuff,” she said. “There’s an incredible version a Canadian girl has done, you can see it on YouTube. It’s in her native language,” McCartney told fans in Lexington, Ky. “It’s really cool. After it aired on CBC Radio's As It Happens on Apr. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem. Stevens’ performance earned her worldwide attention, including a trip to a UN-Habitat Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya, where she performed last week and delivered a short speech that highlighted the plight of missing and murdered Indigenous girls and women in Canada. customerserviceguy: May 2019 #2: Works well, I love her voice. The song was filmed and recorded for International Year of Indigenous Languages, a United Nations observance. Could an Emma + Paul duet be in their future?! Met Emma Stevens at at the Joan Harriss Cruise Pavilion. Emma Stevens, 16, has been singing and performing for most of her life but only recently became a recording artist with the release of “My Unama’ki”, a song in celebration of her indigenous heritage and her love for her home of Cape Breton Island (Unama’ki). teenager who sang Blackbird by The Beatles entirely in Mi'kmaq, Winnipeg Indigenous language class pens children's songs in Ojibwe, Indigenous languages should be part of early childhood education, professor says. In 2018, she sang My Unama'ki (My Cape Breton), an ode to her homeland sung partially in Mi'kmaq, which she wrote and performed in collaboration with her fellow students at staff at Allison Bernard Memorial High School. Nitram: Emma Stevens Met Paul McCartney After Her Mi’kmaq Cover Of ‘Blackbird’ Went Viral – HuffPost Canada By on July 9, 2019 No Comments / 94 views. It is a priority for CBC to create a website that is accessible to all Canadians including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges. In concert footage published Sunday on Twitter by the United Nations’ human settlements and youth branch, McCartney praises Stevens’ recording and encourages his fans to look it up online. This wasn't Stevens' first attempt at performing in Mi'kmaq, and she says it won't be her last. There was plenty there to sink her teeth into, she said, noting that lyrics like "Take these broken wings and learn to fly" really resonate with Indigenous experiences in Canada. Sixteen-year-old Emma Stevens and her music teacher were given a chance to speak one-on-one with the music legend, who was playing a show at BC Place Stadium. The video, which was produced by Allison Bernard Memorial High School music teacher Carter Chiasson, shows Emma singing Blackbird in Mi’kmaq alongside her classmates. "Definitely," she said. They didn’t believe it until they saw video of the comments. "He's usually not at a loss for words very often, but he was absolutely quiet," she said.