It’s been over 50 years since The Who released their legendary 1971 album, Who’s Next, which brought fans some of the band’s most beloved songs of all time — including “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and “Baby O’Riley” — and now one of those tunes is making a comeback on TikTok via a somewhat surprising cover.
According to Spotify’s list of Viral Trending TikTok Songs, a dance/techno cover of The Who’s “Behind Blue Eyes” from Norwegian DJ and producer Braaheim, Swedish producer Ilyaa and singer Emmy was added to the list this month. (Though Emmy is also Norwegian, she’s known for representing Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 with the song “Laika Party.”)
@emmykgk00 Behind Blue Eyes🦋 @Braaheim @ILYAA
♬ original sound – EMMY
While the song is currently at #82 on the list of trending TikTok tunes, it’s not clear exactly why it’s charting at the moment, as the cover appears to have been released in 2024. However, Braaheim is represented elsewhere on the list by a variety of other tracks, including “Like it Like (Yee-Haw),” “Black Betty,” “Tell Me Why” and “Paradise.” Clearly, the music pro has a flair for putting all new spins on classic hits; Edm.com praised Braaheim, saying “his affinity for producing intoxicating covers is unmatched, taking on a wide array of genres — like slap and tech house to progressive — and making them his own.”
‘Behind Blue Eyes’ started out as part of a rock opera
Pete Townshend originally intended for “Behind Blues Eyes” to be part of his Lifehouse rock opera project with The Who, as American Songwriter reported. Lifehouse was meant to be a follow-up to Tommy but was abandoned; in the aftermath, “Behind Blue Eyes” was salvaged for Who’s Next. (The Lifehouse project was revived by Townshend years later.)
In the book The Who by Numbers: The Story of the Who Through Their Music, Townshend shared some of the song’s background story, explaining, “‘Behind Blue Eyes’ really is off the wall because that was a song sung by the villain of the piece [Jumbo], the fact that he felt in the original story that he was forced into a position of being a villain whereas he felt he was a good guy.”
As the blue-eyed Roger Daltrey sang:
No one knows what it’s like
To be the bad man
To be the sad man
Behind blue eyes
No one knows what it’s like
To be hated
To be fated
To telling only lies
But my dreams, they aren’t as empty
As my conscience seems to be
I have hours, only lonely
My love is vengeance that’s never free
The lyrics are clearly relatable for countless listeners, as this latest surge in popularity proves. And Braaheim’s version isn’t the only time “Behind Blue Eyes” has been covered — Limp Bizkit also released their take on the tune in the ’90s.
Related: The Who’s Roger Daltrey Was Temporarily Fired for Punching This Band Member 60 Years Ago Today
