“New York, don’t be late tonight!! I want you to listen to my entire album, front and back,” Billie Eilish wrote on social media before her free listening party at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Eilish danced to the rhythm of “Hit Me Hard and Soft” (as she mentioned in this interview) played through the sound system. The event will be repeated tonight at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, just hours before the album’s release. “Even Jesus Christ will listen to the album… I’m nervous and excited, oh my God,” Eilish said in an Instagram story.
Billie Eilish premieres new album ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft’ in front of thousands of fans at Barclays Center in Brooklyn pic.twitter.com/N8vwUXpkzD
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) May 16, 2024
In the video above, Eilish addressed the audience, saying: “I’m freaking out! Do you want to hear something? Okay, guys, I’m going to play the entire album for you, from start to finish, and I won’t pause it halfway, and I won’t talk. Well, I don’t know. Maybe I will. But I’m trying not to talk. I’m doing my best.”
This isn’t the first time the singer has offered a preview of her new album: it already happened during Coachella, when shortly after performing with Lana Del Rey, the pop star attended a party and played “Lunch” for the first time.
🚨 BILLIE EILISH CANTANDO “LUNCH” DO “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” NO #COACHELLA. pic.twitter.com/uAkCGUklDb
— Info Billie Brasil (@InfoBillieBR) April 14, 2024
A preview of “Birds of a Feather” was heard in the Netflix trailer released on social media for the third season of “Heartstopper.” The series centers on a love story between two boys and tackles gender-related themes within the LGBTQIA+ community, aligning at least in part with Eilish’s new album. “Last year I realized I wanted my face in a vagina,” Eilish told Rolling Stone. Some tracks on the album, starting with “Lunch,” emerged from her self-awareness and embrace of her queer identity.
🍂Heartstopper Season 3 is coming to Netflix on October 3! 🍂
And no better way to announce it than with an exclusive snippet of @billieeilish's new song, Birds of a Feather! pic.twitter.com/foQi9Lb5zo
— Netflix (@netflix) May 13, 2024
In addition to Brooklyn and Los Angeles, the album will be played in Dolby and AMC theaters in Miami, Nashville, Boston, and San Francisco. After the album’s release, Eilish will kick off her world tour “Hit Me Hard and Soft.” From September 2024 to July 2025, the singer will travel to many cities in North America, then continue to Australia and eventually to arenas in Europe, the UK, and Ireland.
Here are some videos from the Brooklyn listening party:
