On Wednesday night (Oct. 16), Billie Eilish beamed with pride as tens of thousands of birds of a feather stuck together and relished in the cinematic world of her Hit Me Hard and Soft LP. The nine-time Grammy winner played her first of three sold-out shows at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, the most times she’s ever graced the iconic venue on a headlining tour.
Anchored by the still-permeating tracks of Hard and Soft, Eilish’s latest trek displays her remarkable growth as a musician, vocalist, and performer, as well as her almost singular ability to cultivate intimacy in spaces that are diametrically opposed to that feeling. Dressed in her now-trademark ensemble of an oversized t-shirt, baggy shorts, sneakers, and a Yankees snapback, Eilish sprinted around the stage, spent some time with fans on the floor, and treated The Garden two hours to some of the best and most adventurous pop music of the last half-decade.
The morning of the show, Eilish launched a SoHo pop-up in collaboration with American Express featuring exclusive merchandise and interactive stations inspired by the world of Hard and Soft. Before she took the stage, pop-rock sibling duo Nat & Alex Wolff — who some fans fondly remember as The Naked Brothers Band from Nickelodeon — warmed up the arena, delivering spirited renditions of tracks like 2020’s “Glue” and “Soft Kissing Hour,” an unreleased Eilish-produced cut. At one point, Alex Wolff ran an entire lap on the floor around the stage before kicking off the final song in the duo’s set — a particularly impressive feat considering what a busy weekend the multihyphenate has ahead of him. The Line, his new film in which he stars alongside Halle Bailey, Denise Richards and the late Angus Cloud, opens on Friday (Oct. 18).
Wolff’s affinity for a quick lap was just a teaser for Eilish, who frequently sprinted around the stage during her livelier songs. With the stage in the center of the arena and a setup that prioritized her band and incredibly intricate lighting design over backup dancers and elaborate set pieces, Eilish offered up a show that played on the minimalist bent of her music. The sparseness of the stage created scenes that were as enthralling and they were harrowing, particularly during ballads like “When the Party’s Over,” “Lovely” and “What Was I Made For?” Of course, eye-popping pyro and dizzying lasers played up the spunky, electronic undertones of hits like “Bad Guy,” “Therefore I Am” and “Guess.”
Ultimately a gorgeous presentation of her latest Billboard chart-topping album, Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour was also a commendable victory lap for a pop star who only seems to know how to level up. Here were the eight best moments from Wednesday night’s show.
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Billie Builds “When the Party’s Over” From Scratch
From Ed Sheeran’s famed loop pedal to Ariana Grande’s Mi.Mu gloves — courtesy of live vocal layering OG Imogen Heap — recording and layering vocals live isn’t necessarily a new schtick for pop shows. But few artists make the process feel as inclusive and intimate as Billie Eilish.
Before she began the process, she kindly asked the crowd to remain completely silent for just one song, stressing that she wanted to hear them scream as loud as possible and “do what they do best” after the song was over. She then sat down in the center of the stage — which was lit up entirely in white light — and proceeded to record the foundational vocal stacks of the intro to “When the Party’s Over,” her No. 29-peaking Hot 100 hit. Miraculously, New York was able to remain (almost) completely silent for the duration of the live stacking moment, which displayed both Billie’s ear for harmony and her ability to captivate a sold-out arena with literally nothing but her voice.
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MSG Meets Billie’s Middle School Besties
Before the first ballad section of the show, Billie joked that a couple of sections — particularly the suites in the 100 level — “really like to sit.” But she allowed that to happen, allowing the crowd to get comfortable as she introduced her backup singers.
Billie introduced Ava and Jane Horner as not just her backup singers, but her close friends from “middle school age” with whom she had been singing for fun for years. Across their gorgeous, haunting renditions of “Male Fantasy,” “Skinny” and “TV,” their vocal chemistry was palpable. The sisters’ slightly more robust timbres beautifully complemented Billie’s whisper-laden delivery, as the band expertly played each song’s sweeping arrangement. Bi
llie is undoubtedly a larger-than-life figure, but this was one of serval moments throughout the show where all pretense of celebrity seemed to disappear; MSG was simply Billie’s bedroom, and we were there to enjoy an unfussy jam session between friends.
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Lighting & Stage Design Steal the Show
At the Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour, every seat was a good seat. Why? Billie opted for a 360° stage design where the main stage was placed in the middle of the arena, as opposed to one end of the venue. Not only did that make for a viewing experience with less obstruction than normal, but it also cultivated a special fan experience — because you could see entire sections be overcome with emotion when Billie made her way over to their side of the stage.
The band was split between two on-stage pits that kept them both visible and out of Billie’s warpath as she sprinted around the stage. For the quieter moments of the show, certain band members came onstage with acoustic guitars — to, only if for a moment, scale down the innate grandiosity of an arena show. On the other hand, Billie’s pyro and lighting design were absolutely gorgeous — and smart additions to a show that doesn’t have much present on the stage itself. Between the lasers timed to different beat drops, the animated projections that contoured the mobile structure in the middle of the stage, and the swinging platform that served as the home for a winning rendition of “The Greatest,” Billie delivered a visual feast that added to the show’s aesthetic without completely overwhelming her presence.
One fear fans have with certain stage designs is where the artist ends up spending the most time during the actual show. To her credit, Billie was extremely cognizant of how much time she was spending in different areas of the show, so the short sides of the rectangular stage served as different stations for ballads while she lapped the whole stage during more uptempo moments. Of course, there was also an elevated B-stage, adjacent to the main stage, where she got to live out her very own Brat moment.
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Billie Nails Her Own Club Classics, Led by ‘Guess’
When Billie guested on Charli XCX‘s panty-dropping “Guess” remix, the pop duo broke the Internet and delivered the perfect song to push through the final week of Brat Summer. An undeniable dance-pop banger, “Guess” was a standout moment during Billie’s set, particularly because of how she contextualized it with the rest of her catalog.
On its face, “Guess” is worlds away from the sound Billie usually resides in, but when played after brooding, industrial synth-pop hits like “Bury a Friend,” “Oxytocin” and “You Should See Me in a Crown,” it feels like a natural extension of the sounds she was playing with on her Billboard 200-topping debut LP. With the B-stage lit up in a Brat-nodding shade of green and the crowd going absolutely wild when the first second of the song dropped (they also reacted wildly when Charli’s “360” played before Billie took the stage), “Guess” was easily one of the most unforgettable moments of the show.
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‘Ocean Eyes’ Takes Us Back to the Beginning
Many Billie fans first encountered the otherworldly talent through “Ocean Eyes,” a lush, somber ballad that peaked at No. 84 on the Hot 100 back in 2019.
In the show’s back half, Billie parked herself in front of a keyboard and sang “Ocean Eyes” and “I Don’t Wanna Be You Anymore,” two cuts from her debut EP that instantly transported the crowd back to the beginning of her career. For those two songs, it felt like we were in Billie and FINNEAS’ childhood home, watching them create a work of art that would change both of their lives forever — while also charting a new path forward for pop music. Few could have predicted (with absolute certainty, at least) where Billie would end up six years after “Ocean Eyes,” so to see her still give that song so much love and reverence was a beautiful moment.
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Billie Thee Multi-Instrumentalist
Not only did Billie layer her voice live, but she also played multiple instruments throughout the show. She played keys for “Ocean Eyes” and “I Don’t Wanna Be You Anymore,” broke out her acoustic guitar for “Male Fantasy” and “TV,” and shredded an electric guitar for “Happier Than Ever,” the penultimate song on the setlist.
From writing to acting, the world has been getting familiar with Billie’s countless talents for years — but seeing her flaunt most of them in one setting never gets old.
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‘Barbie’ Impact Takes Center Stage
Before Billie delivered a moving rendition of her Oscar-winning “What Was I Made For,” she gave a routine thank you speech that ended with her giving her thanks to all the parents in the room, including her own. It was a moment that really showed Billie’s knack for world-building.
Her two-time Grammy-winning Barbie track means a lot to hundreds of thousands of people for a plethora of reasons — the song’s emotional placement in the billion-dollar-grossing film, its message of finding one’s life purpose, and the quietly resilient note it ends on. As soon as those opening piano keys started twinkling, the arena lit up with phone lights and all the young girls in the audience immediately rose to their feet and tugged on their parents’ sleeves in excitement. It’s not often an artist gets to see the impact of a single song in real-time to this degree, and the moment resonated with Billie deeply, her voice dodging a few cracks as she fought to keep her emotions under control for the song’s duration.
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Eilishes of a Feather Stick Together
FINNEAS has been a key part of Billie’s creative process and stage show for years now, so it wasn’t really a surprise when he popped out to help his sister close the show.
Playing guitar for both “Happier Than Ever” and “Birds of a Feather,” FINNEAS served as a marker of time more than anything. In her recent Vogue cover interview, Billie confirmed that the Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour is her first without FINNEAS backing her up on guitar every night, as well as her first trek without her parents. To see Billie absolutely dominate MSG on her own and opt to close out such a career-defining moment with her closest collaborator was like watching a scene out of a Disney Channel original movie — it really was that precious!
Simultaneously an acknowledgment of a new era in the sibling duo’s relationship and a full-circle moment that commemorated all they’ve already accomplished together, the Hit Me Hard and Soft tour finale was a pitch-perfect ending to one of the year’s best pop shows.
