Billie Eilish is a name almost everyone knows, and her most recent Hit Me Hard and Soft tour has sold over 800,000 tickets and grossed over 128 million dollars.
But there used to be a time when few people recognized her.
Eilish’s first song, “Ocean Eyes,” was released in 2015 when she was 13; the track quickly gained popularity online and led to widespread attention.
A few years later, her career took off. She released her debut album titled “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” in 2019. Its success led to “Happier Than Ever” in 2021 and, most recently, “Hit Me Hard and Soft” in 2024. Eilish has won nine Grammy Awards for her albums and singles.
To promote her latest album, Eilish added all 110+M of her Instagram followers as close friends and released previews of her new music and behind the scenes takes; this caused her popularity to spread even more. I, personally, have been a fan since I was a ten-year-old, after hearing her song “bad guy” at a neighborhood pool party.
Six years later I was finally lucky enough to see Eilish in person at her “Hit Me Hard and Soft” tour stop in Tulsa.
Billie Eilish is known for going above and beyond with her concerts, and she did not disappoint. The gigantic LED video stage created dynamic visuals that went along with the music and enhanced the performance. In addition, there was a floating platform and huge luminescent cube where Eilish first appeared as the concert opened. Fire dramatically erupted from the stage, and you could feel the heat on your face.
The set list included many songs from her most recent album such as “Skinny”, “Lunch”, her concert opener “Chihiro” and a good selection of hits from her catalogue such as “NDA” & “Therefore I Am”, “bad guy”, “Happier Than Ever”, “The Diner” and more. My favorite performance was “When The Party’s Over”. She recorded her voice live and sang over it. Since Eilish was recording her voice live, the entire crowd (The BOK Center holds over 19,000 people) had to be silent so it would work. The effect was powerful.
Many performers have elaborate costume changes and backup singers and dancers. Eilish, however, performed solo almost the entire time (with her band in the pit) and wore her signature baggy shorts and a jersey throughout the concert. Her performance was still electric. Eilish connected with the crowd by having conversations and embracing emotional moments, holding out her hands to her fans. She literally ran from end to end of the stage, hyping up the crowd into a frenzy.
Additionally, the opener for Eilish was Men I Trust, and the songs were amazing, but with the mellow nature of this band’s vibe, they got swallowed up by the BOK Center to the point that I couldn’t hear the lead singer very well. The band would likely be better suited for a smaller venue.
The wait between the opening act and when Eilish began was pretty long. If there was a countdown, you would be able to grab a snack or go to the bathroom without worrying about missing Eilish’s entrance. However, the unexpected start to Eilish’s show was awesome, and the crowd truly went wild.
I absolutely got my money’s worth…well, actually, my mom got her money’s worth. She and I look forward to Eilish coming back so we can see her perform again.
Tell us in the comments if you went to her performance and what you thought of it.
