Oscars 2020: Watch Billie Eilish Talk About Her Kobe Bryant ‘In Memoriam’ Tribute

Billie Eilish attended the Oscars on Sunday to perform during the show’s “In Memoriam” segment, singing a cover of The Beatles’ “Yesterday.” Eilish performed with her brother, Finneas, who backed her on the piano.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight ahead of the ceremony, Eilish shared that rehearsing the segment was made especially tough due to the recent passing of Kobe Bryant, who died on Jan. 26 in a helicopter crash along with eight others.

“It’s just sad. It’s like, I don’t know what else to say,” she said. “Every time, when we were in rehearsal and they run kind of what’s going to be playing, every time I see his face, I’m like, ‘What?’ It’s so weird. It doesn’t make sense to me. I just got shivers, it’s horrifying.”

The 18-year-old shared that she didn’t want anyone to focus on her during the performance but rather the images of those who have died.

“It’s not about me,” she said. “This is about them, and showing love. It really is true, I don’t want it to be about me, I want people to be watching the screen, watching the people.”

“I’m really looking forward to being respectful and respecting all the people that have passed this year,” she added. “That’s all I’m here to do.”

Along with Bryant, the “In Memoriam” segment honored dozens of other late artists including Doris Day, Peter Fonda, Anna Karina, Peter Mayhew and Kirk Douglas, who died just days before the Oscars at age 103. There were several names absent from the segment that fans felt should have been included — notably Luke Perry, who died in March 2019, and Cameron Boyce, who died in July 2019.

In a statement to CNN, the Academy said that it “receives hundreds of requests to include loved ones and industry colleagues in the Oscars In Memoriam segment.”

“An executive committee representing every branch considers the list and makes selections for the telecast based on limited available time,” the statement read. “All the submissions are included on Oscar.com and will remain on the site throughout the year. Luke Perry and Cameron Boyce are remembered in the Oscar.com gallery.”

Perry, Boyce and others who were not featured in the tribute are present in the Oscars In Memoriam section on the show’s website. Over 100 late artists are currently included on the site and 59 were featured during Sunday night’s broadcast.

Photo Credit: Getty / Kevin Winter