Billie Eilish Announces 3rd Album ‘Hit Me Hard And Soft’
Billie Eilish attends the 96th Annual Academy Awards on March 10, 2024 in Hollywood, California.
Award-winner Billie Eilish announces her new album after much anticipation. The 22-year-old announced on her social media Monday (April 8) the title of her upcoming third studio album and due date.
With a photo of the artist plunging into deep waters fully clothed in baggy black clothes with her black hair, a white door is at the water’s surface. She writes in her caption that the album title is HIT ME HARD AND SOFT. It is set to release on May 17th, and unable to contain her excitement, Eilish writes: “AHHHHHHHHHH [smiley teary-eyed emojis] so crazy to be writing this right now i’m nervyyyyy & exciteddd [hiding face emoji].”
(Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)
The talented musician made it clear that she isn’t giving fans one crumb of new music until the album is out. She says: “not doing singles i wanna give it to you all at once :PPP finneas and i truly could not be more proud of this album and we absolutely can’t wait for you to hear it. love you love you love you. [upside-down smiley face emojis].”
Prior to announcing the upcoming album’s details, Eilish teased an eerie clip of the same image plunging into the water. A man’s arm comes into view, grabbing her arm and pulling her to the surface. The distorted music turns into a little melody, and Eilish hums and sings along with the notes. Even though the clip was only a few seconds long, it received over 7 million likes overnight.
Pre-order for HIT ME HARD AND SOFT is now available here.
Leading up to the star’s album announcement, she has been teasing the new album via billboards appearing in major cities. Without showing images of Eilish herself, the Billie Eilish has started teasing her new era with billboards revealing lyrics:
“I try to live in black and white, but I’m so blue”
“She’s the headlights, I’m the deer” pic.twitter.com/k0fzX76nFa
— Pop Base (@PopBase) April 2, 2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">billboards featured her “blohsh” logo and what seems to be lyric snippets. Some lines featured in the advertisements include: “Did I cross the line?,” “I try to live in black and white.” and “She’s the headlights I’m the deer.”
Fans have been waiting for this major music news from Eilish since she revealed back in September how she was working on new music with her brother and collaborator, FINNEAS. Then, two months ago, Eilish revealed that her new album has been mastered, which is usually the last step before an album is manufactured and sent to streaming services.
The singer-songwriter just keeps racking up awards every year, growing as an artist. Last month, Eilish won her second Oscar, from the Barbie soundtrack: “What Was I Made For?” She broke several records that night — she became the youngest two-time winner in Oscar history. Her first win was at the 2022 Oscars for the James Bond film, No Time to Die, with the song of the same name.
Billie Eilish's 10 Best Music Videos
Billie Eilish has put out her fair share of music videos since 2016, starting with her breakthrough single, “Ocean Eyes.” Since then, the now 22-year-old singer-songwriter has created some of the most visually stunning videos any female artist her age has ever accomplished. Two of her music videos have received over 1 billion views on YouTube: her collaborative song “lovely” with Khalid and 2019’s hit, “bad guy.” She has 24 other music videos that have over 100 million views on the site alone.
Eilish’s first studio album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? released in 2019 as one of the best-selling albums of the year, which she received multiple Grammys for. The 14-song album featured such hits as “you should see me in a crown,” “all the good girls go to hell,” “bury a friend,” and “when the party’s over.” The following year, Eilish performed the theme song “No Time to Die” for the James Bond film of the same name, which is arguably one of her most moving songs to date. By 2021, Billie released her second studio album, Happier Than Ever, which featured the song of the same name, as well as “my future,” “Your Power,” and “NDA.”
As we previously reported, the musician thought her career was over before she got a big break in 2023 with the Barbie film soundtrack. Before she and her frequent collaborator and brother FINNEAS penned “What Was I Made For?”, Eilish was honestly concerned about her music career. “I was honestly like, ‘Damn, maybe I hit my peak, and I don’t know how to write anymore?’” she said during The Hollywood Reporter‘s songwriter roundtable in November. She credits the call from Barbie director Greta Gerwig for saving her and Finneas from the despairing slump. “It brought us out of it, and immediately we were inspired and wrote so much more after that.” The song has now been streamed over a billion times.
Below, we have ranked her best 10 so far, in celebration of the singer’s birthday today (December 18):
Laila Abuelhawa is the Top 40 and Hip-Hop pop culture writer for Beasley Media Group. Being with the company for over three years, Laila's fierce and fabulous red-carpet rankings have earned her a feature on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert!' Her favorite stories are those surrounding the latest in celebrity fashion, television and film rankings, and how the world reacts to major celebrity news. With a background in journalism, Laila's stories ensure accuracy and offer background information on stars that you wouldn't have otherwise known. She prides herself in covering stories that inform the public about what is currently happening and what is to come in the ever-changing, ever-evolving media landscape.