Billie Eilish has opened up about the emotional experience of performing her new song “The Greatest” for the first time. Her latest album, Hit Me Hard And Soft, was released on May 17, and Eilish hosted listening parties in London, New York, and Los Angeles to celebrate. Speaking with Radio 1's Jack Saunders, Eilish shared that she became emotional during her performance of “The Greatest” at a Los Angeles show on 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.”

Eilish also reflected on the challenging process of creating the album, which she worked on with her brother Finneas over 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. Despite their initial struggles, the turning point came with the creation of the album’s first track, “Skinny.” Eilish explained, “We liked them but we were like… I don’t think we can do this any more.” Writing “Skinny” rekindled their inspiration, leading to the completion of the rest of the album.

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Hit Me Hard And Soft has received critical acclaim, with NME awarding it four stars. The review praised Eilish for creating a deeply personal and unique album, highlighting her exploration of young adulthood, queerness, and the emotional highs and lows of passion and love. “In trying to write an album for herself, she’s made one that will resonate harder than anything she’s done before,” NME noted. Following the album’s release, Eilish announced an extensive world tour for 2024 and 2025, including stops in the UK in July next year. Fans can purchase tickets for her upcoming shows in the US, UK, Europe, and Australia.

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