Billie Eilish unveiled her vulnerable “When the Party’s Over” in 2018 when she was just 16 years old.
Despite her young age, the song is wildly mature and all-too-relatable for the heartbroken, and therefore, has been covered countless times by some of music’s biggest stars.
Most recently, Chad Lawson struck a cord with fans when he delivered the song on a piano. “A great song is a great song no matter the genre or instrument,” he said in a press statement. “When I first heard this track, I was geeking how Finneas crafted such a unique melody based on his chordal theme; so creative. Add Billie’s unabashed vulnerability to the mix and you have the artistic marriage of head and heart. I knew this song would resonate with just a piano.”
We’ve compiled six other artists who have taken on Eilish’s powerful “When the Party’s Over.” See below.
Niall Horan
Just days before releasing “Nice to Meet Ya” off his then-upcoming sophomore album Heartbreak Weather in 2019, Horan had fans swooning over a quick piano cover of Eilish’s hit via Instagram Stories.
Though he only sang the first minute of the song, the former One Direction crooner’s piano cover is equally as emotive as the original, thanks to his effortless power notes.
LeAnn Rimes
For one of her weekly LovE Sessions in February 2020, Rimes performed a stripped-down rendition of the track. “‘When the Party’s Over’ has a haunting quality about it that has always moved me,” she said in a statement at the time. “When dreaming up the way to cover this song, that haunting quality is something I wanted to expand on. Singing it a capella does just that and there’s also an intimacy, a vulnerable connection from artist to listener, almost like you were hearing me sing a deeply confessional journal entry.”
Though the LovE Session has been since taken down from YouTube, Rimes has covered the song a number of other times (including as The Sun on The Masked Singer, which she ended up winning).
Pentatonix
Pentatonix kept their cover socially distanced in July 2020, but that didn’t stop them from nailing their characteristic harmonies.
The somber accompanying clip features all five members of the Grammy-winning a capella group performing the hit single in black outfits against a simple white background.
James Blake
The singer kicked off his Solo Piano mini-tour in December 2019 by delivering an ethereal cover of Eilish’s 2018 track during an intimate set at L.A.’s Theater at the Ace Hotel.
Blake’s airy vocals blended so seamlessly with Eilish’s song, he released a studio version in 2020 along with a series of other covers.
Cub Sport
Australia-based queer pop band put their hazy, dreamy spin on “When the Party’s Over” for “Like a Version,” Australian radio station Triple J’s cover session.
Accompanied only by a piano and some light vocal loops, the band both stamped the song with their own original sound, while staying true to the track’s choral roots.
Jared & The Mill
The indie folk band’s frontman, Jared Kolesar, appeared solo playing the acoustic guitar and singing Eilish’s lyrics in a black and white music video. “Feeling a helplessness to your own self destructive ways is a really difficult challenge to move past, and pulling people into your life when you see yourself as harmful is really scary,” the singer-songwriter told Billboard. “As somebody who spends most of my time away from home, I’ve dealt with a lot of this anxiety, and I think that’s why the song resonates so heavily with me. Plus Billie’s voice is insane and just draws you in from the top of the song.”
