This year has been amazing for pop music. From Charli XCX’s “Brat” to Dua Lipa’s “Radical Optimism,” Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” to Sabrina Carpenter’s “Short n’ Sweet” and even Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!,” no pop fans have been left wanting. Yet, even with so many popular releases, one album takes the crown: Billie Eilish’s “Hit Me Hard and Soft.” Released in May to widespread critical acclaim, all 10 of its tracks are mesmerizing.
Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour does full justice to the album. Having begun in September, the North American leg is wrapping up at the end of this month. Next year, Eilish will commence the Australian and European legs of the tour. I was happier than ever to attend a concert on Nov. 8 at the Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati—and it was everything I wanted.
Walking toward the arena, I was met with throngs of Eilishes. With bandanas, beanies and backward caps adorning their heads, concertgoers were clad in oversized jerseys, baggy merchandise, knee-high socks and chunky sneakers, emulating Eilish’s signature style. The interior of the arena was bathed in an electric blue glow to match the cover of “Hit Me Hard and Soft,” and classic ’90s and ’00s hits played as we waited for the show to begin.
The opener, Towa Bird, revved up the crowd during the wait for the headliner. With her high-energy, pop-punk songs and catchy guitar riffs, there was never a dull moment. She even played “Hollaback Girl” and had us all stomping along to the beat. After her performance, the screens showed a video narrated by Eilish describing how she is reducing her environmental impact while touring and how we can too. She partnered with Reverb, an environmental association, to install recycling bins and water refill stations, reduce single-use plastic waste, offer vegetarian food and connect fans to nonprofit organizations in each of the tour’s venues. She also partnered with Google Maps to help concertgoers find eco-friendly and fuel-efficient routes to her concerts and highlight vegetarian restaurants in every city where she performs. The video ended with a QR code for us to get more involved. Her commitment to environmental causes and use of her platform for good were a great way to start the concert and really touching as well.
Not long after that, the show began. Starting with “CHIHIRO,” Eilish gave us a one-and-a-half-hour masterpiece filled with beautiful music and fantastic visuals. She sang, bopped and sprinted around a rectangular stage in the center of the arena, giving fans on all sides a chance to see her. Her band and backup singers performed in pits in the middle of the stage. The stage itself was a massive screen, changing to different colors and patterns for each song, from the blue zigzags of the opening to bright neons for “LUNCH.” Various four-sided screens hung from the ceiling in addition to a central cube that doubled as a screen and a platform, enhancing the experience for those of us in the stands.
The lighting changed to match the mood of each song, including “Brat” green for her surprise performance of “Guess featuring billie eilish” and Barbie Pink for “What Was I Made For?” Flames burst from the stage during her edgier tracks such as “Therefore I Am” and “bury a friend,” and arrays of lasers even flashed around the arena to intensify the atmosphere for her harder-hitting songs. Her softer songs featured more stripped-back visuals, with dark blue lighting for a medley of “lovely (with Khalid)” and “idontwannabeyouanymore” and crashing waves for “ocean eyes” as she played the keyboard.
The best moments from the show were also the most intimate. One of my favorites was when Eilish asked for complete silence from the crowd. Then, for 30 seconds, she layered her voice in real time, singing the beginning of “when the party’s over.” Hearing her voice in the quiet arena was simply magical. It was also touching when she acknowledged that it had been a rough week due to the results of the presidential election and promised to be an advocate for us. She then proceeded to sing “Your Power,” “SKINNY” and “TV” while playing the acoustic guitar. You could feel our collective sorrow and rage when, during “TV,” the crowd yelled the lyric “they’re overturning Roe v. Wade” with Eilish.
Another highlight was Eilish’s performance of “bad guy.” It was full of fun as she filmed herself singing and her band playing with a GoPro-like camera connected to the arena’s screens. Later in the show, she even hopped down into the audience and high-fived any fans she could reach. But, as always, all good things must come to an end—Eilish ended the show with the joyful “BIRDS OF A FEATHER,” skipping along the multicolored stage as confetti rained down.
Billie Eilish’s “Hit Me Hard and Soft” concert was truly the greatest.