AURORA Brings the Beatles’ “Across the Universe” into Like a Version
AURORA sings the Beatles’ “Across the Universe” in triple j’s Like a Version setting. Her lead voice gives the familiar composition a different color, while the open accompaniment allows its long melodic lines to remain clear throughout the interpretation.
The broadcaster released the performance in May 2019. Its studio setting brings the cover close to the listener, giving the music room to establish its atmosphere without the scale or distractions of a large concert production.
Like A Version asks visiting musicians to perform an original song and a cover. That pairing makes this appearance especially revealing: listeners can hear AURORA interpreting someone else’s writing alongside a composition from her own musical world.
‘Across the Universe’ suits an interpretation that values space. Its images move from one idea to another without needing a conventional narrative, allowing the singer to guide attention through the sound and shape of each phrase.
AURORA’s delicate vocal tone gives that movement a particular intimacy. The performance invites close listening to the ends of lines, where a small change in emphasis can alter the emotional direction of an otherwise familiar passage.
Watch the performance
A cover can remain recognizable while changing the way a listener enters a song. Here, the composition supplies the landmarks, while the singer’s voice changes the surrounding mood. Recognition and discovery can happen at the same time.
The title suggests enormous distance, yet the radio studio creates a close encounter. That contrast is part of the appeal: expansive language reaches the audience through a performance that feels concentrated on the immediate moment.
The song’s repeating ideas also reward patience. Rather than treating repetition as an obstacle, a listener can follow how an interpretation shades each return, discovering differences within a structure that initially sounds familiar.
Atmosphere does not require the words to disappear into the arrangement. The most rewarding way to approach this cover is to listen to the relationship between vocal color and language, letting each inform the other.
AURORA brings her own identity to the piece without needing to compete with the Beatles recording. The two versions offer different points of entry into the same writing, and neither has to erase the other to be enjoyed.
The performance also demonstrates why radio sessions remain valuable. A clearly defined musical task can give an artist the opportunity to reveal influences and choices that do not always emerge from a standard promotional appearance.
Her accompanying Like A Version performance of ‘The Seed’ provides useful context. Hearing the original alongside the cover makes it easier to distinguish the qualities she brings with her from those already present in the Beatles song.
For listeners discovering AURORA through this recording, the cover functions as a welcoming doorway. A recognizable melody offers something to hold onto while the individual voice introduces a less familiar artistic personality.
For Beatles listeners, it offers a different pleasure: the chance to hear how a composition travels. Another performer can draw attention to textures and emotional possibilities that habit has made easy to overlook.
Its strength lies in the meeting between a durable song and a singer willing to make a personal connection with it.
AURORA’s ‘Across the Universe’ leaves space for that connection to unfold. The familiar writing remains available, and her performance gives listeners a reason to slow down, return to the song and hear its atmosphere afresh.
More videos to explore
For a companion recording, triple j presents “AURORA – ‘The Seed’ (live for Like A Version).” This video offers another musical setting to explore alongside the featured performance, with attention to its own arrangement and the performers’ delivery.
For a companion recording, The Beatles – Topic presents “Across The Universe (2021 Mix).” This video offers another musical setting to explore alongside the featured performance, with attention to its own arrangement and the performers’ delivery.
Further reading: Performance background and source.
