Billie Eilish’s Happier Than Ever album tour is taking the world by storm. With her incredible vocals, impeccable setlist and unbeatable charisma, the seven-time Grammy award winner has launched the expectations into the clouds.
The 20-year-old artist began her tour this year on Feb. 3 in New Orleans. She traveled across the United States, Europe and New Zealand before ending her performances in Perth, Australia.
Stage setup
One of the many highlights of the show is the inventive stage layout. Eilish spends the majority of her performance on the main stage. Her drummer, Andrew Marshall, sits on a raised platform on the right, while her brother, Finneas—playing guitar and piano—stands to her left. Between the two platforms sits a ramp that leads down to the main stage. A long runway extends from the main stage into the pit area, so Eilish can easily interact with her fans. All sections of the stage flash lights and images throughout the show.
Like the stage, large screens directly behind her, as well as to her left and right, display clips of Eilish’s music videos, live footage of the singer performing and colorful graphics designed for each song.
Photo courtesy of Nicole Brandy
Across from the main stage (Stage A) rests another, smaller one (Stage B). Stage B is made up of a circular cage. During the middle of the set, the cage lifts the singer into the air. After Eilish runs from Stage A to Stage B, with “Not My Responsibility” playing in the background, the artist rises into the air and sings a mashup of “Happier Than Ever” songs and ones from previous albums. Fans unable to afford general admission get the opportunity to interact with the artist while she sings her heart out.
Visual effects
The visual effects and colorful lighting helps bring the show together. The night kicks off eerily with “Bury a Friend”. Skeletal monsters crawl and contort behind the artist while she sings the sinister song.
A couple songs later, as Eilish sings “NDA”, the runway and ramp light up to imitate a moving road. The artist struts down the ramp as cars speed into the dark behind her; the entire scene is haunting.
After running to Stage B and performing a couple songs, Eilish returns to the main stage to perform “Getting Older”. As she sings this coming-of-age song, pictures and videos from her childhood flicker in the background. Audience members see baby Eilish singing into a microphone, banging the keys of a plastic piano and duetting with a toddler Finneas. Each video seems to foreshadow her record-breaking music career.
Later in the set, as Eilish sings the powerful fan-favorite “All the Good Girls Go to Hell”, all areas of the stage flash pictures of climate destruction. Photos of polar bears on melting ice, skies colored gray by smoke and burning forests accompany the singer’s insightful lyrics. Images of protests—many led by the same young people attending her concerts—follow them, giving her fans some hope for the future.
One song later and audience members take over the screen as the cameras swing their way. Eilish’s achingly beautiful “Everything I Wanted” fills the venue while fans wave excitedly at their pixelated reflections.
Vocals
For an artist often accused of whispering more than singing, Eilish’s tour vocals bring the house down. From her quiet, contemplative tunes to the more upbeat, danceable ones, this young artist never fails to deliver impressive performances.
While the majority of Eilish’s songs include high-intensity dancing on both the singer’s and the audience’s part, she does pause her jumping to sing some of her slower songs. Mid-set, Eilish takes to center stage with Finneas—the pair seated on stools—as the duo strums out “Your Power”, “Male Fantasy” and the long-awaited “I Love You”.
The combination of her darker songs with the more evocative ones creates an incredible atmosphere. She leaves audience members on the edge of their seats. One can’t help but wonder what comes next.
Setlist
As far as song choice goes, Eilish manages to choose the perfect medley of her music for the tour. She includes almost every new song from “Happier Than Ever”, minus “My Future” and “Everybody Dies”. Additionally, songs from her two previous albums, “Don’t Smile at Me” and “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” make an appearance.
The first part of the show begins with a few newer songs, then transitions into “My Strange Addiction”, “idontwannabeyouanymore”, “Lovely” and “You Should See Me in a Crown”.
Fan favorites, “Ocean Eyes”—the song that launched then 14-year-old Eilish’s music career—“Bellyache” and “Bored” are performed while the singer swings over the audience in the lift.
Not only does she include a variety of previous album’s songs, but she sings her Oscar-award-winning James Bond song, “No Time to Die”. It’s clear, as the young singer belts out the powerful lyrics, why she now holds an that award.
Much to her fans’ excitement, Eilish brought back one of her most beloved songs mid-tour: “I Love You”. The haunting melody, sung on her previous tour while the brother-sister pair sat in a bed suspended from the ceiling, continues to touch her millions of fans. Its readmittance into the setlist made many people happier than ever.
The balance between her latest hits and nostalgic beats creates a truly dynamic show.
Outfits
Outfit-wise, Eilish hits the mark every time. She wears a variety of upcycled and custom-made clothing during this tour, including oversized t-shirts by Skoot Apparel. Each outfit manages to remain within the same theme. Her go-to look includes large, oversized graphic tees with matching biker shorts, ankle socks and sneakers.
Although accessories seem to vary each performance, the singer is most often seen wearing layers of necklaces, bracelets, rings and even the occasional fingerless glove.
Eilish tends to stick to the same few colors for this tour. So far, fans have watched her perform in black, white, pink, red, tan and gray. Each night, her shirt comes splashed with new pop culture references, all of which reflect the artist’s own interests. She’s worn tops with characters from Pokémon, Sailor Moon and Fire Force—all popular animes—illustrated on them.
Early into the tour, Eilish added another staple to her wardrobe. After bloodying her knees the first few nights of touring, Nike volleyball knee pads became a performance must. Also switching up colors between shows, the artist now requires knee pads to keep her patellas safe and sound while she entertains.
No outfit can be complete without an iconic hairstyle though, and that’s exactly what Eilish’s pigtails have become. Eilish has been known for her fun hair colors in the past, and the singer did not disappoint when she dyed her hair jet black immediately before touring.
For the majority of the show, Eilish keeps her hair half up in two pigtail-buns. Her bangs, as well as a few loose strands, remain down. This fun hairstyle stays in for the majority of the show until the “Lost Cause” to “when the party’s over” transition. At this point, Eilish frees her pigtails and gets ready to wow the audience with the last few songs in her setlist.
Audience interactions
One attribute that sets Eilish’s shows apart from other concerts is her emphasis on the audience. Not only are audience members encouraged to sing along with the artist’s hits, but they become an integral part of the show experience.
The beginning of the show starts with Eilish’s golden tour rules: to have fun and let loose (usually accompanied by an expletive). Her interactions let the audience do just that.
During “Goldwing”, Eilish invites her audience to join in as she breathes out her iconic “da-da-down-down” that makes up the chorus. Singing along to the music, she directs them to chant at varying levels. They begin softly before reaching a crescendo that leads back into Eilish’s vocals.
Just two songs later, during “Oxytocin”, Eilish warns fans that they will be crouching soon. Halfway through the song, immediately following her iconic “Copycat” walk, the singer asks everyone to get as low as possible. They sit there for a few moments before, as the beat drops, everyone springs to their feet and jumps around.
Fans are also asked to dance around and let loose during the penultimate song of the evening, “bad guy”.
Another standout in terms of audience-singer-communications is the singer’s care for her fans. Repeatedly during each concert, Eilish will ask everyone in pit to take several steps back. She’ll then order everyone with seats to sit down for a couple sets. Additionally, she’ll call for water bottles to be dispersed throughout the show to overheated pit members.
Her care for her fans shines through with each performance.
Finale
There is no better way to end a showstopper of a concert than with the singer’s critically-acclaimed, title song, “Happier than Ever”.
Billie Eilish stan or not, all audience members stomp their feet for the angry rock anthem of the year. As confetti rains down on Eilish, the stage colors change to a pale pink that reflects the softness of the song’s beginning lines.
As her last “I wish it wasn’t true” trails off, the guitar picks up and the stage begins to darken. The beginning twangs of the first few, noticeably darker chords send the crowd up into shouts. Eilish whips her microphone around and begins belting the same angry lyrics that have bumped car stereos for the past year. Audience participation is insane at this point. In a classic call and response, the thousands of fans scream Eilish’s lyrics back at her as the tempo picks up and clouds dim, all leading up to the final beat drop.
Belting out her last lyric of the night—”just f—— leave me alone”—Eilish sings along with thousands. As the final few drums are crashed and strings hit, Eilish jumps and headbangs with both drummer and guitarist.
Take a bow
Eventually, the last few notes trail off and the young singer is left, hands raised, standing in front of a mob of screaming, clapping fans. The show closes with the classic “goodbye” song. Eilish, Finneas and Marshall slide down the ramp into their final bows, and the three soon make their way from the stage. Eilish stalls to say one last goodbye to her fans before making her final exit.
The room brightens, the tech crew begins disassembling the stage and the night draws to an end. Not for long though. Audience members leave with notes ringing in their ears and lyrics in their hearts, knowing they’ve just experienced a concert like no other and waiting eagerly for the next Billie Eilish album tour.
