Hi. I hope you are having a good day.
Today I wanted to create a first reaction post to Billie Eilish's new album Happier Than Ever, and a part two to my previous Billie Eilish post.
As a brief overview, Billie Eilish has recorded her second album and been promoting it over the past few months. First impressions are that this is not like her debut, as she's undergone a complete makeover for her new album. Fans went absolutely crazy from when she posted that infamous photo of her with light blonde hair for the first time which smashed Instagram records, becoming the first photo to hit one million likes within six minutes of posting... making it one of the most liked photos on Instagram.
When she recorded her debut album (when we all fall asleep, where do we go?) she was only 17 years old and shot to stardom from that album. Sometimes people forget she is still incredibly young and personally I think she's managed to handle fame incredibly well from a young age, and kept herself grounded in the process.
From saying this, I am not saying she is perfect as she will naturally make mistakes going throughout her life at some points, especially being in the public eye and only at the start of her career. However everyone does make mistakes along the way as we are all human. It is how we learn from them that really counts. I don't think anyone in the public eye and on this planet has never not made a mistake, and that's completely natural. That being said, I think the topic of making mistakes and cancel culture are two very different things!
Naturally as Billie is so young, she is also going to experiment with her appearance and style. Her style mainly consisted of baggy clothes, which was a powerful statement to prevent other people from body shaming and judging her body especially when she was still technically classed as a teenager, not an adult. Which sends out a very strong message, body shaming is a current issue in the current world, and is also something practically every girl has been a victim of in some way. However if you are in the public eye, your body image is scrutinised constantly by people around the world... which is something we can never imagine until being in that situation ourselves, a pretty much impossible situation for the majority!
By dressing in baggy clothes, she was making her standpoint very clear, that she didn't want her body to be judged, she wanted her music to be known first and foremost. Plus when she did shoot to stardom, she was only 16 / 17 years old. She was incredibly young and by taking away the medias ability to judge her body was a very powerful move on her behalf. She still dresses in baggy clothes to this day to avoid judgement however from the past few months, she has also proved that she is not afraid to go her own way and go beyond the boundaries of baggy clothing.
During the time between my first and second post about Billie, she has also released a personal photo book (By Billie Eilish) including photos of her well documented life, her personal life as well as her own work providing fans with an in depth look of her life. The photo book was received well by the general public as it managed to capture her life in all aspects, from her childhood to her encountering fame at such a young age. Billie has also made her first Disney appearance by releasing a cinematic concert experience, Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles. She has also recently announced her first ever perfume as well, which is due for release in November.
In the run-up to the release date, she was promoting her second album, which is called Happier Than Ever. She revealed there was another album in the works during an interview with Vanity Fair, with sixteen new songs and she loved them all. On April 27th, Billie announced via Instagram that her second album was going to be released Friday 30th July 2021.
The album was to be released in different formats with different coloured cassette tapes, vinyls and the classic CD. Since that announcement, she has been promoting the album and released a few of the singles including Your Power, Lost Cause and NDA.
As of right now, I am listening to Billie's new album at 6am for the first time on Friday 30th July, on a very rainy morning. I always wake up reasonably early, and wanted to listen to the album before I started my day and give my first impressions in the form of a blog post!
Billie Eilish on Happier Than Ever album: "The songs in the album are all over the place. And very versatile and different to one another, but also are very cohesive, which is like a big goal for me is to make things feel like the same project, but not like the same song over and over again."
Getting Older: This introductory track is all about growing in the music industry, as well as the sexual harrassment which can come along with it. She alludes to her own experiences of sexual harrassment, and by doing this, it encourages others of the importance to speak out and that harrassment can happen to anyone. However at the same time, she also wants to keep her experiences private, which is completely understandable. The song itself has a memorable beat, and it is the perfect introductory song for the basis of her second album... I really liked this song from my first impressions!
I Didn't Change My Number: This catchy song alludes to a break up and separation from someone, and having zero sympathy for the person who has hurt you. This is probably a great one to listen to after healing from a break up and being adamant you want nothing to do with your ex or even an old friend or family member. This one is a slow jam and it sends out an empowering message to cut out people who have hurt you in the past... Which again, many people can relate to being hurt due to other's behaviour and actions. This one is definitely one to sing along to due to the infectious tune!
Billie Bossa Nova: This is probably one of my favourites from first listen, detailing about a secret love interest at a hotel lobby. This is probably one of Billie's more romantic songs to date, describing falling in love, secretly checking into hotel lobbies and it is also reminiscent of the life of a touring pop star, the balance between the life shared with the world and personal life, including intimate details of her love life. She was also inspired through Brazil's culture and the Bossa Nova music scene (a style of Brazilian music derived from samba). This was something new, and Bossa Nova also means "new style"... The perfect title for this track! Which really did work spectacularly well... This song really reminds me of being on holiday abroad. The song has a real dream-like quality as well as having a catchy melody, and that is also what makes this song so fantastic... Definitely off to a great start!
My future: This ballad is a personal track about Billie looking forward to her future, self reflection and self growth. With the world being a bit crazy, the future can look uncertain at times however this uplifting track makes me feel more excited about what the future has in store. She references to how she needs to love herself before falling in love with anyone else. Halfway through the track, the beat changes which reflects the change from Billie focussing on her past to her being hopeful for the future. The video also reflects this when the rain begins to disappear and the sun comes out, with the nature starting to bloom. This encouraging track gives hope to so many during times of uncertainty, and I love that.
NDA: From first impressions.. I wasn't sure what I thought of the song. This one is all about the need for privacy whilst being at the height of fame. It was something I hadn't really heard before... The best word to describe it is "bass"! Absolutely loved the music video, of being in the night and the cars zooming around. This really represents a fantastic image of the dark and dangerous side of fame. After listening to the song a few times, and the radio played it quite a bit... I pretty much became obsessed with it. When the bass properly kicked in and I got used to it... I was sold! This tune is such a headbanger and even though I was not expecting to like this, the more it was played... the more I realised I unexpectedly loved this song! A perfect track to dance to on a night out! Also the end of NDA is the exact same beat as the start of Therefore I Am... Which is a great transition between the two tracks!
Halley's Comet: If there was an award for the most underrated song on the album, this song would definitely take it. Halleys Comet is a short comet which is only visible from Earth approximately every 75 years, which is a once in a human lifetime occurrence. By using this analogy, it shows that Billie expressing her love is just as rare as the occurrence of a Halley's Comet. This song is an emotional melody about falling in love and seeing a future with someone, and the rarity of that. If I had to call it... Probably my most favourite song on the album which hadn't been released as a single before this album was released. Absolutely love it!
Happier Than Ever: Wow. This one blew me away, and I understand why this was the title of the album now! This song starts off very much like an 80's song, all calm and gentle with Billie's soft voice singing that she is happier than ever. Once it got to the bridge... wow. The song completely changed into more of a rock ballad, and I am here for it. This song is about toxic relationships and being "happier than ever" once out of them. The anger, hurt and frustration of being in a toxic relationship is represented by the rock ballad, and the harmonious tones at the beginning of song reflects the way these relationships are portrayed to outsiders. Completely understand why this was the title of the album from the song itself, and the transition is phenomenal.
Not My Responsibility: This is definitely more like a speech than a song, a hard-hitting speech about people judging others for their clothes and body with a strong message. This one is definitely a raw one, where you can definitely feel the emotion from Billie as this is something she has gone through and put up with for years. It is a great, powerful speech full of emotion that is about an issue close to Billie's heart which listeners can relate to. It is such a powerful message and for Billie to put this on her album and release it on her album was such a bold move. Realistically though, in my personal opinion, this isn't really a song with a melody therefore I would most likely skip this track out of all the tracks on this album.
Overheated: This is definitely another track about body shaming and beauty standards in society. This track has the exact same backing as Not My Responsibility but Overheated brings self-confidence amd positivity more than anything. Plus, it is an very catchy song! So many people out there struggle with their body image and I feel like this track and Not My Responsibility are perfect songs which encapsulate this very current social issue. Not My Responsibility is the more raw, emotional side of body shaming whereas Overheated is the more positive, empowering side of just accepting you for you, with being undefeated and can't be deleted. I love that there are opposing two tracks on this album to a massive social issue which Billie really stands for.
Everybody Dies: This is definitely a more emotional track where Billie expresses the concept of the inevitability of death and losing her loved ones through to death. Death is something which will happen to everyone at some point, it is inevitable. However this song is also comforting in the sense of the reiterating the fact "you are not alone." It is something we will all have to go through at some point in our lives, and our experiences surrounding the inevitability of death on our loved ones only make us stronger through our days. The song really reflects the message of enjoying your life whilst you still can, and I love that mentality as I always try and enjoy life to the fullest, and the days I have with my loved ones as we never know when our last day is. You might as well just enjoy life and do whatever you want to do! This track conveys that message perfectly, and I love that.
Your Power: This song is such a powerful track, which sends out a strong message which calls out abusers who exploit young girls and the sexual misconduct perpetuated towards young girls and woman. This is a soft accoustic ballad, however you can also hear the frustrations through Billie's vocals throughout parts of this song. I also think that this track was such an important one for Billie to release as a single as it is such an empowering track where she encourages people to take back their own power, do whatever makes them comfortable and happy and showing off their own power, whilst not letting others define you or take advantage. Billie has done just that through this album with producing all the tracks with her brother, taking control of her body image presented to the media and doing whatever makes her happy.
Going a bit off-tangent but the main reason why I love Billie Eilish is that she refuses to let the media or the music industry dictate her as a person, or her music. To me, this makes her music much more personal in comparison to many mainstream artists out there who just sing what the musical industry feeds them in order to sell hits. Listening to Billie Eilish is hearing her own personal experiences, which makes the album feel so much more genuine. She is in control of everything, she writes and produces her own songs, she isn't afraid to write about the tough times, the darker side of fame, she also controls her own body image through the media. She has developed her own power, and I think that is the reason why she stands out and how she has managed to build up such a large fan base. This song is definitely one to remember from this album, and from the meaning of this track, I can definitely see why this was chosen as one of the first singles to be released from this album!
Lost Cause: This track is about being in a romantic relationship where there is an unequal balance between the efforts of each person in the relationship. Billie goes on to direct these inbalances in this song, calling the partner a "Lost Cause", and putting themselves across as a bigger and better person, presenting a perfect life. I love this song as it is one of the songs on the album which you can dance along to and enjoy! The music video caused a bit of controversy when released as Billie was accused of queerbaiting. The video is Billie surrounded by a group of girls at a slumber party, enjoying a sleepover with snacks however I can believe the video has been misinterpreted by people and blown out of proportion even further by the media.
GOLDWING: This one is incredible. The song starts as a gospel song, and Billie's voice fits the heavenly tones perfectly. The choir featured on this song was actually the choir Billie attended when growing up, which is a great and more personal addition to the song. This is song is all about the purity of innocence, which is really shown through the church hymn likeness of the song. Then the best drops and it sounds like a per classic Billie Eilish tune. Absolutely love the transition, it is similar to Happier Than Ever when the song starts slow and then the beat drops, but I absolutely love the transitions and it goes to show that Billie isn't afraid to try something different!
Oxytocin: Probably the most fun song on the album, this one also comes with the beat to match. The song is about the hormone which is responsible for all things love and pleasure. Oxytocin is released when people fall in love, have sex or gives birth to a child... All those situations make people feel loved, happy and closer to their partner. This is a track that is purely chaotic, and very different compared to the rest of her previous tracks.. but it is also a song which you would want to jump up and down to, and dance along to the infectious beat!
Male Fantasy: This song for me is definitely a grower... It wasn't really a standout song on the album for me. The song itself is about being at home and critiquing pornography as a distraction to a break up. I do love the fact that she chose to end on this song though, by ending on this heartbreaking ballad it shows that life doesn't always have a happy ending, we are constantly riding on a wave of emotions and going through good and bad times. I love the song however for me personally, I would say it is one of my least favourites on the album as it doesn't stand out to me in comparison to the other songs on this album!
This album is a rollarcoaster of emotions, and from the songs on the album, it also feels like an extremely personal album as well. It has angry songs, songs that make you sad, songs that make you happy, songs people can relate to, songs that touch on social issues in today's world. Billie draws upon her own experiences with fame, body shaming and is incredibly honest throughout the whole album, which people really respond to as it makes the album feel more genuine, it gives the album such a personal feel to it. It was quite overwhelming listening to all the new songs in one go however it was also great!
In my opinion, Happier Than Ever is a 21st century masterpiece and I think it is an absolutely incredible second album from Billie.
Believe it or not, I wouldn't say I am a Billie Eilish super fan (you may believe it after seeing I have wrote another Billie Eilish post) however I love her music, the messages behind her music and think she is definitely a musical artist to stay. Hence why I spontaneously booked tickets a few weeks ago to see her perform live on the Happier Than Ever world tour in June 2022, and I really can't wait to see her perform all these incredible songs live next year!
I have been drafting this blog post on / off for around four months so it feels great to finally hit the publish button on this one today!
So yeah, it's all good...
Amy
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