Hit Me Hard and Soft is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish, released on May 17, 2024, through Darkroom and Interscope Records. It is her first full-length studio album release since 2021's Happier Than Ever. Eilish co-wrote Hit Me Hard and Soft with her brother and frequent collaborator Finneas O'Connell, who also produced the album. Stylistically, it has been labeled as an alt-pop[2] and bedroom pop album.[3]
Upon release, Hit Me Hard and Soft received universal acclaim from critics, praising the production, songwriting, and vocal performances. It topped the charts in over 20 countries, including Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. In the United States, Hit Me Hard and Soft debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, and charted all 10 of its songs in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. The track "Lunch" was released as the lead single concurrently. "Birds of a Feather" was released as the second single from the album to great commercial success, peaking at number two on Billboard Hot 100 and in the top ten of several charts. At the 67th Annual Grammy Awards, the album and its songs received a total of seven nominations, including Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, Song of the Year and Record of the Year.
To support the album, Eilish has embarked on her seventh concert tour, Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour, which commenced on September 29, 2024.
In December 2021, Eilish began formulating ideas for her third studio album with O'Connell.[12] In an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music, she mentioned that she hoped to start writing the album in 2023.[13] In December 2023, Eilish said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that the album was "almost done".[14] Three months later, she confirmed that the album had been mastered.[1]
The album art, which was shot by underwater photographer William Drumm,[15] depicts Eilish falling through a door frame into dark blue water. Eilish described the photoshoot, which took six hours to complete and involved her being repeatedly submerged for two minutes at a time with a weight attached to her shoulders and without goggles or nose plugs,[16] as being one of the most painful experiences of her life.[17][16]
Promotion and release
Various news articles reported billboards teasing snippets of lyrics for the album that appeared in multiple cities in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States in April 2024;[18] although it does not mention the artist's name, her signature "blohsh" was recognized.[19][a] The promotional billboards display cryptic lyrics, such as "She's the headlights I'm the deer" or "Did I cross the line?".[21] Eilish later changed her profile picture to a "blue circle" and shared another image with the caption saying "Do you know how to bend?".[22] Eilish added her followers to an Instagram feature that lets limited accounts see exclusive stories, called "Close Friends". The post features a "lo-fi" image showcasing the artist's hand,[23] and an image of her new midriff tattoo.[24] On April 29, 2024, Eilish announced Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour, her seventh concert tour, in support of the album. The tour started on September 29, 2024, at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City, Canada.[25] The 2025 leg of the tour is set to start on February 18, at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre.
Eilish previewed the songs "Lunch", "L'Amour de Ma Vie", and "Chihiro" during a surprise DJ set at Coachella on April 13, 2024.[26] In an interview published on April 24, she told Rolling Stone that she would not release singles prior to the album's release. She explained that she does not like singles from albums because she "really [doesn't] like when things are out of context" and compared Hit Me Hard and Soft to "a family", adding that she "[doesn't] want one little kid in the middle of the room alone".[27] In May, a preview of "Chihiro" was featured in a Fortnite trailer revealing Eilish's second in-game outfit. The song was also made available as a "Jam Track" to use in the Fortnite Festival mode alongside "Lunch" and "The Diner".[28][29] Furthermore, a snippet of "Birds of a Feather" was featured in a promotional clip for the third season of the Netflix series Heartstopper.[30] On May 15 and May 16, Eilish held a listening party events for fans respectively at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and Kia Forum in Inglewood, in both cases premiering the album in its entirety.[31]
Hit Me Hard and Soft was released on May 17, 2024. The album was available for cassette, CD, digital download, streaming and vinyl LP.[32] "Lunch" was released as the lead single in tandem with the album's release.[33] An extended version of "L'Amour de Ma Vie" (Over Now) was released as a promotional single on May 22, 2024.[34] On May 19 and May 22, Eilish released for digital download the isolated vocals, slowed & reverb and sped up editions of the album, respectively.[35][36] The music video for "Chihiro", directed by Eilish herself, was released on June 6, 2024.[37] "Birds of a Feather" impacted US contemporary hit radio as the album's second single on July 2, 2024.[38][39]
Hit Me Hard and Soft received widespread critical acclaim.[51] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized score out of 100 to ratings from professional publications, Hit Me Hard and Soft received a weighted mean score of 89, based on 22 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[41] In a five-star review, Helen Brown of The Independent praised how the album "whispers its way through a marvelous maze of music to deliver some big emotional wallops."[46]Neil McCormick from The Daily Telegraph agreed in his own five-star assessment, opining that the "heartbreak masterpiece" is "rich, strange, smart, sad and wise enough" to stand in comparison with Joni Mitchell's Blue (1971).[44]
Writing for The Guardian, Alexis Petridis complimented Hit Me Hard and Soft's "beautiful" melodies and "distinctive" lyrical touches, but wondered if some of its elements could be "a little too opaque" for its own good.[45]NME's Thomas Smith felt that although Eilish wrote the album for herself, she created a record that will "resonate harder" than anything she has done before.[48]
On its release day, Hit Me Hard and Soft received 72.7 million streams on Spotify globally, becoming her biggest streaming debut on the platform. It also debuted with over 500 million streams globally on its first week of release, marking Eilish's biggest streaming week ever.[106] In less than two months it surpassed 2 billion streams, becoming Eilish's fastest project to cross that mark.[107]
United States
Hit Me Hard and Soft debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with 339,000 album-equivalent units moved in its opening week, including 193.93 million on-demand streams and 191,000 album sales in its first week. Although it is her first studio album to not debut at number one, it marked Eilish's largest first-week units in the US, as well as highest pure sales.[108] Notably, 90,000 units of the first-week sum for Hit Me Hard and Soft are in vinyl sales, as it debuts atop the BillboardVinyl Albums chart. Eilish earned her fifth total and consecutive No. 1 on the list, following Happier Than Ever (2021), Live at Third Man Records (2020), When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? and Don't Smile at Me (both 2019).[109] She passed Lana Del Rey for the second-most No. 1s among solo women, after Taylor Swift, who leads all acts with 13, dating to the list's launch in 2011. Eilish has now spent 27 total weeks at No. 1 on BillboardVinyl Albums chart, second only to Swift's 52.[110] Aside of that, all ten of its songs debuted in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100.[110] On September 4, 2024, Hit Me Hard and Soft was certified Platinum by the RIAA, for moving a million units in the US.[111][112]
Internationally
In the UK, Hit Me Hard and Soft debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with 67,100 album-equivalent units, being her biggest opening week in the region surpassing her debut album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, which debuted with 48,400 album-equivalent units in 2019.[113] It also marks the second-biggest opening week for any album in the UK in 2024 and it was certified Platinum by the BPI.[114]
In Germany, the album debuted atop the German Albums Chart, becoming Eilish's second number one album in the country since Happier Than Ever topped the chart in 2021 and was certified Gold by the BVMI.[115][116] In Australia, Hit Me Hard and Soft debuted at the top spot on the ARIA Albums Chart, marking Eilish's third album in a row to accomplish this feat in the country.,[117] whereas three of its songs reaching the top ten on the ARIA Singles Chart; "Lunch", "Chihiro" and "Birds of a Feather" charted at numbers five, seven and nine, respectively.[118]Hit Me Hard and Soft topped the ARIA Albums Chart for five non-consecutive weeks.[119] In France, Hit Me Hard and Soft entered at the number one spot of France's SNEP albums chart with 27,710 units, becoming her second French number-one album and had since been certified platinum.[120][121]Hit Me Hard and Soft was also the biggest selling international album and 4th overall in France, selling 172,965 units in 2024.[122] In Spain, it debuted atop the albums chart published by Productores de Música de España, making it Eilish's second album to peak at number one in the country and was certified gold.[123][124]
On the New Zealand Albums Chart, Hit Me Hard and Soft arrived at number one,[125] aside four of its songs reaching the top ten of the New Zealand Singles Chart; "Lunch", "Chihiro", "Birds of a Feather" and "Skinny" charted at numbers three, six, nine and ten, respectively.[126]Hit Me Hard and Soft spent ten non-consecutive weeks atop the chart and was certified 2× Platinum by the RMNZ.[127]
^Wood, Mikael (December 11, 2024). "The 20 best albums of 2024". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 11, 2024. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
^ abAswad, Jem; Garcia, Thania; Horowitz, Steven J.; Willman, Chris (December 13, 2024). "The Best Albums of 2024". Variety. Archived from the original on December 13, 2024. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
^"Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 21.Týden 2024 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
