Many people will know Billie Eilish because of her hit song “bad guy” in 2019 that made her the first artist born in the 21st century to make a number one song on the Billboard Hot 100. Eilish’s popularity has grown with every new release, and her exciting new announcement will have the world watching her.
The painfully long three year wait for a new album is finally over, as Eilish recently announced her highly anticipated third album “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT”, which is to be released May 17. If her last release (“What Was I Made For?”, published July 13, 2023) was any indication, this album is going to be a quality hit.
“I think Billie has a very unique voice and way of producing music,” says an MBA sophomore. “I’m super excited about her new album.”
Now 22 years old, Eilish has won two Oscars for best original song, a Grammy for album of the year, and various other accolades alongside her collaborator and brother, Finneas. She has released multiple astounding singles, EPs, and her two hit albums “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” in 2019 and “Happier Than Ever” in 2021.
“I’m actually really excited, because I feel like she’s pulling all the stops and she isn’t really holding back,” says Liam Balmeo, QUEST freshman.
Eilish’s style of music is very unique to her, and almost anything she releases will surely be played over and over again by fans. I’m looking forward to powerful, heart-punching lines like the ones in her title track “Happier Than Ever”.
“[HIT ME HARD AND SOFT] does exactly as the title suggests; hits you hard and soft both lyrically and sonically,” says a description of her new album on Eilish’s website. That is something Eilish does well in many of her songs. The description also states that it would be “ideally listened to in its entirety from beginning to end,” which I know many fans will be doing.
Rolling Stone magazine released an article revealing the track list of 10 songs for her new album, which Eilish was not too happy about. However, as a fan it excites me to see what some of her new songs could potentially be about.
Eilish also released previews of a few songs on YouTube, and at a surprise party at Coachella. The songs included “LUNCH”, “L’AMOUR DE MA VIE”, and “CHIHIRO”.
“I really like the one preview that she did with Apple Music, CHIHIRO, because personally ‘Spirited Away’ was one of my favorite movies as a child, still is right now,” says Balmeo. “So to create a song from that movie is just- I’m speechless.”
Her song “CHIHIRO” is titled as a reference to the main character in the Studio Ghibli’s movie “Spirited Away”. According to Billboard, Eilish has been a fan of one of Studio Ghibli’s creators, Hayao Miyazaki, for a long time.
Some fans were disappointed that Eilish didn’t continue the trend of releasing her album on a family member’s birthday (“Happier Than Ever” on her brother’s birthday, and “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” on her mother’s birthday), and while that shows her love for her family, I don’t believe it affects the quality or popularity of the album.
“I can’t wait to see what new music she brings to the industry,” says the MBA sophomore. “I think her previous songs are great and she deserves all the fame she has.”
It is just a few weeks away, but I, along with others, are waiting on the edge of our seats for the arrival of the release date, May 17.
