Nova Scotia teen sings Mi'kmaq cover of 'Blackbird,' meets Paul McCartney

A Nova Scotia teen who went viral with a Mi’kmaq cover of Paul McCartney’s song “Blackbird,” met with the legendary musician in Vancouver this weekend.

After playing the hit song at BC Place Stadium, the former Beatle told the audience about meeting Emma Stevens backstage earlier that evening. The 16-year-old from Eskasoni First Nation went viral with her rendition of the song, which she sung entirely in Mi’kmaq, along with her classmates. The video was produced by her teacher Carter Chiasson in honour of the United Nations’ International Year of Indigenous Languages. The year-long observance is intended to raise awareness on endangered Indigenous languages around the world.

The YouTube video has nearly one million views.

It was even retweeted by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“It’s a beautiful version,” McCartney told the Vancouver crowd. “I met her before the show. I said, ‘Listen, your version is so beautiful I’m going to be nervous singing my version.'”

It wasn’t the first time Stevens got a shoutout from the superstar musician.

At a June show in Lexington, Ky., McCartney encouraged the crowd to look for the video online.

"There's an incredible version done by a Canadian girl, see it on YouTube,” he said. “It’s in her native language."

After McCartney’s first shout out, Stevens told CBC program q that she initially didn’t believe that had happened.

"Then, when I realized it was actually real, I got so excited that it almost made me cry. I grew up listening to the Beatles everyday, my dad is a super fan," she told the radio program. "To have someone like Paul recognize what we did, and why, is a true honour. This is very special for all of us."

Chiasson told q this weekend about meeting McCartney, that his brother had "emailed the right person and said the right things and all of a sudden we had an invitation."