It’s one thing to inspire an audience to scream. It’s another to make them sit silently.
But that’s what Billie Eilish did on Sunday night, December 15th, as she asked all of her fans at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, CA to be perfectly quiet for one minute as she recorded live harmony loops to accompany herself on her 2018 track “when the party’s over.” Everyone eagerly fell silent as Eilish beautifully recreated her trademark whispering vocals in front of over 17,000 people… before exploding back into cheers, sing-alongs, and “I love you’s” afterwards.
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This moment was one of many across the one hour and forty minute set that answered the question I went in with: How do you bring bedroom pop to an arena? Would you lose the intimacy in favor of spectacle, or would the room’s energy lower to meet the tenderness?
Eilish’s answer to this dilemma was found in her latest album’s title: She hit us hard and soft.
Every element highlighted her unique ability to blend pulse-pounding beats with gentle vocals for a vibe I can only describe as “grandly intimate.” She immediately sets the tone with her arrival on stage, via a white box, its walls turned transparent to reveal the singer hidden inside. The lighting design highlighted the loud/quiet contrast of her songs: vivid lasers against fuzzy VHS footage for “CHIHIRO,” cold, black-and-white horror imagery against intense, actual flames for “bury a friend,” even creating the illusion of a flood on stage for “ocean eyes.” The giant, rectangular stage acted as Eilish’s canvas for striking images and visual metaphors (like how she was literally raised and lowered on a floating platform in sync with the crescendos of “THE GREATEST”). It all transformed Eilish’s music from confessional to cathartic.
The most impressive display, however, was Eilish’s uncanny confidence as a live performer. Not only in the context of her age or years in the spotlight, but compared to any artist. She is fearlessly in control on stage, guiding her audience as if by hand through every emotion, from a playfully mischievous take on “bad guy” to a sincere acoustic performance of “Your Power” with her childhood friends and back-up singers Eloise and Jane Horner.
The star even paused at one point to simply soak in the moment. For other artists, this could come off as cocky, but with Eilish, it read as her taking the time to connect with the audience. As she told everyone there, “You are safe here, you are seen, and I love ya.” We, the audience, returned the sentiment by going wherever Eilish asked, including lowering ourselves to the ground before “Oxytocin’s” explosive EDM ending.
The whole night—the first of five sold-out shows, capping a full year of touring—felt like L.A. native Eilish’s celebratory homecoming, down to her charming cover of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” Furthering this familial mood was the presence of Eilish’s parents, whom she called out and thanked, and her brother and collaborator Finneas. He joined Eilish on stage for the final three songs of the night: a moving rendition of Barbie ballad “What Was I Made For?”, an electric “Happier Than Ever,” and her current hit, the effervescently romantic, “BIRDS OF A FEATHER.” It climaxed with an exposition of feathers—okay, actually confetti—followed by Eilish waving goodbye from all four sides of the stage. Fans waved back because, by this point, it felt like we’d just spent the night at Billie’s house.
To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.
