Billie Eilish concert is “the greatest” ever
On Dec. 20 at the Kia Forum, my life was forever altered. One may ask why, and that is because I was blessed enough to attend Billie Eilish’s “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” tour, which was perhaps “the greatest” concert I have ever attended. I am still “happier than ever” that my friends and I were able to get tickets, and you could not begin to “guess” how much I enjoyed the entire experience. From the moment that I stepped foot in the venue to the “bittersuite” walk back to our car, I was never “bored.”
The setlist included many songs, the majority of which were from her latest album [the tour’s namesake], however she also performed some of her older classics. I loved everything she played, so narrowing down my favorites has proven difficult. One highlight was her opening song, “CHIHIRO.” I personally love this song and its energetic and suspenseful tone. Truly, it was the best opening song and I could not help but shed many tears while the crowd screamed as Billie entered the stage. She surprised me with some songs I was not expecting, including one of my favorites, “ilomilo.” Another song of hers which I have loved since fifth grade, called “lovely,” appeared on the setlist.
“WILDFLOWER,” one of Billie’s most popular songs, was absolutely divine live. The crowd sang the backing vocals for the song at one point, paired by everyone’s flashlights and the sound of my sobs. Other songs from this album that I love, like “SKINNY” and “THE GREATEST” were fantastic. “SKINNY” is more of a somber song, so Billie encouraged everyone to sit down, as well as “TV,” which she played immediately after. I think that I was looking forward to hearing “THE GREATEST” the most, and it did not disappoint. It begins at a slower pace and ends with the perfect lyrics to scream along with the crowd. The structure of this song reminds me slightly of another song she performed, “Happier Than Ever,” which I absolutely adored. The song begins in a calm manner, but as soon as she sang the lyrics, “You called me again, drunk in your Benz…” the crowd went crazy.
Overall, I did enjoy the setlist and know that she had limited time. Also, some newer fans may not be familiar with her older songs, but I still would have enjoyed it if she played more of them. For example, her song “Male Fantasy” used to be on the setlist, but too many fans did not know it, so she sadly removed it from the setlist.
She played two songs which are not on the setlist, one of which was a Christmas song, “Silent Night.” The song that shocked me the most, however, was “i love you.” She brought out her brother, Finneas, to sing with her, and my friend and I were in absolute shambles as soon as we heard the first chords of the song. I remember that we were so jealous when she played this at a different concert, so to be able to hear it on our night was such a pleasure.
Billie clearly loves what she does, which you could sense as she performed. As I looked around at the crowd, I thought about how talented of an artist she truly is, considering that on each night of the tour, thousands of people get to experience her songs all in a different way. It is so beautiful to me that each person can relate to the lyrics in their own way, and that everyone has their own personal connections to her songs.
I could ramble about this experience for hours, but I will leave it at this: if you ever have the opportunity to see Billie Eilish live, absolutely take it. She is truly the voice of a generation and arguably one of the best artists of our time. I cannot wait to see what she has planned for the rest of the tour, and I will be fondly looking back on all of my memories from this night for as long as I live.
