Billie Eilish says she cried after performing ‘The Greatest’ for the first time
Billie Eilish has said she cried after performing her new song for the first time.
Eilish dropped her newest album ‘Hit Me Hard And Soft‘ on Friday (May 17), where she would go on to host a series of listening parties across London, New York and Los Angeles.
Now, Eilish has opened up to Radio 1‘s Jack Saunders (via Music News) about watching the album come to life. She told Saunders that she became emotional performing ‘The Greatest’, the record’s sixth track, at her show in Los Angeles last week (May 16).
“The count-in happened and I was sitting there on the edge of the stage in front of this tiny crowd and I was like, ‘Woah, I’ve never done this one before’ and it’s really one of my hardest.” she recounted.
“I love that song so much. That song is really, really special to me. I literally performed it the other day and cried after.”
She also opened up about how difficult the writing process had been, having worked on the album with brother Finneas for nearly two years.
“We started working on this album officially in October 2022 and had many months of ideas that weren’t very solidified and weren’t very exciting to us,” she told Saunders. “We liked them but we were like… I don’t think we can do this any more.”
However, she revealed that writing ‘Skinny’, the album’s first track, “awoke something in us”, inspiring them to write the rest of the album.
NME hailed ‘Hit Me Hard And Soft‘ in a four star review, writing: “Billie came into this process with aspirations to find herself, creatively and personally: ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft’ remains distinctly unique, a portrait of a singular talent entering young adulthood, exploring her queerness and experiencing the emotional thrill and (sometimes) catastrophe of chasing passion or falling in love.
“In trying to write an album for herself, she’s made one that will resonate harder than anything she’s done before.”
She announced a huge world tour for 2024 and 2025, where she will stop by the UK in July next year. See dates below and visit here to purchase US tickets, here for UK tickets, here for European tickets and here for Australian tickets.
Billie Eilish ‘HIT ME HARD AND SOFT’ 2024/25 world tour dates are:
SEPTEMBER 2024
29 – Québec, QC – Centre Videotron
OCTOBER 2024
1 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
2 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
4 – Baltimore, MD – CFG Bank Arena
5 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
7 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
9 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center
11 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
13 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena
16 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
17 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
18 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
NOVEMBER 2024
2 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
3 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
6 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
8 – Cincinnati, OH – Heritage Bank Center
10 – Saint Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
11 – Saint Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
13 – Chicago, IL – United Center
14 – Chicago, IL – United Center
16 – Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center
17 – Omaha, NE – CHI Health Center Omaha
19 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
20 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
DECEMBER 2024
3 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
5 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
6 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
8 – Portland, OR – Moda Center
10 – San Jose, CA – SAP Center at San Jose
11 – San Jose, CA – SAP Center at San Jose
13 – Glendale, AZ – Desert Diamond Arena
15 – Inglewood, CA – Kia Forum
16 – Inglewood, CA – Kia Forum
17 – Inglewood, CA – Kia Forum
FEBRUARY 2025
18 – Brisbane, Australia – Brisbane Entertainment Centre
19 – Brisbane, Australia – Brisbane Entertainment Centre
21 – Brisbane, Australia – Brisbane Entertainment Centre
22 – Brisbane, Australia – Brisbane Entertainment Centre
24 – Sydney, Australia – Qudos Bank Arena
25 – Sydney, Australia – Qudos Bank Arena
27 – Sydney, Australia – Qudos Bank Arena
28 – Sydney, Australia – Qudos Bank Arena
MARCH 2025
4 –Melbourne, Australia – Rod Laver Arena
5 – Melbourne, Australia – Rod Laver Arena
7 – Melbourne, Australia – Rod Laver Arena
8 – Melbourne, Australia – Rod Laver Arena
APRIL 2025
23 – Stockholm, Sweden – Avicii Arena
24 – Stockholm, Sweden – Avicii Arena
26– Oslo, Norway – Telenor Arena
28 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Royal Arena
29 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Royal Arena
MAY 2025
2 – Hannover, Germany – ZAG Arena
4 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Ziggo Dome
5 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Ziggo Dome
7 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Ziggo Dome
9 – Berlin, Germany – Uber Arena
29 – Cologne, Germany – Lanxess Arena
30 – Cologne, Germany – Lanxess Arena
JUNE 2025
1 – Prague, Czech Republic – O2 Arena
3 – Kraków, Poland – Tauron Arena
4 – Kraków, Poland – Tauron Arena
6 – Vienna, Austria – Stadthalle
8 – Bologna, Italy – Unipol Arena
10 – Paris, France – Accor Arena
11 – Paris, France – Accor Arena
14 – Barcelona, Spain – Palau Sant Jordi
15 –Barcelona, Spain – Palau Sant Jordi
JULY 2025
7 – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
8 – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
10 – London, UK – The O2
11 –London, UK – The O2
13 – London, UK – The O2
14– London, UK – The O2
16 – London, UK – The O2
17 – London, UK – The O2
19 – Manchester, UK – Co-op Live
20 – Manchester, UK – Co-op Live
22 – Manchester, UK – Co-op Live
23 – Manchester, UK – Co-op Live
26 – Dublin, Ireland – 3Arena
27 – Dublin, Ireland – 3Arena
In other news, Eilish has dropped a surprise extended edit of ‘L’Amour De Ma Vie’.
The post Billie Eilish says she cried after performing ‘The Greatest’ for the first time appeared first on NME.
Alex Rigotti
NME
