“Lunch” by Billie Eilish, Monday, May 27, 2024

Last December, Billie Eilish began to lose a number of fans from an article in which she simply told her truth. She told Variety in November of last year, “I have deep connections with women in my life, the friends in my life, the family in my life. I’m physically attracted to them. But I’m also so intimidated by them and their beauty and their presence.” In December, Eilish confirmed that statement was, in fact, a coming out. In December she confirmed with Variety, asking, “‘Wasn’t it obvious’? I didn’t realize people didn’t know.” Following the confirmation of her queer identity, Eilish began to lose Instagram and X followers.

CLOTHES ON THE COUNTER FOR YOU. Two weeks ago, Billie Eilish released her third album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, following up 2021’s Happier Than Ever. Even after cutting ties with a minority of homophobic followers, her meteoric star power had the album predicted to debut at #1 on Billboard’s 200 Album Charts, but the reigning queen atop the charts, Taylor Swift, wielded her merchandizing power, releasing three digital editions of The Tortured Poets Department the same day as Eilish released her critically-acclaimed third record. Swift and Eilish are rumored to be feuding after Eilish made comments on excessive merchandizing and the toll it takes on the environment, though later went on to clarify that she wasn’t targeting one artist in particular. Eilish’s simple 10-song masterpiece, which condenses the artist’s message into a manageable listen, stands in contrast to Drake-length anthology playlists released as albums, which gives fans the repetition of ideas. I’m more biased toward short albums unless the artist has a poignant, coherent message that cannot be expressed in a short album. Even if the lyrics stay fresh, the music becomes stale on a longer album.

IT’S A CRAVING, NOT A CRUSH. Since her coming out to Variety last year, Billie Eilish has talked candidly about her bisexuality. Talking to Rolling Stone on the launch of Hit Me Hard and Soft, Eilish revealed that she was “never planning on talking about [her] sexuality ever. However, since coming out, she decided to explore her sexuality in her music as well. Eilish has had relationships with both men and women and Hit Me Hard and Soft explores the singer’s sexuality in a personalized narrative context absent from Billie’s music thus far. Fans and critics have tried to pinpoint specific relationships referenced in Eilish’s latest offering; the specifics are unimportant to the listener. Generation Z is the most statistically queer generation and most statistically open generation, and Eilish has been called the voice of her generation. It makes sense that Eilish assumed her fans knew, but by bringing her sexuality to light, she can share even more honest songs. Today’s song, “Lunch” is one of the most standout tracks on the latest album. Mature listeners will connect what Eilish may have overshared in her Rolling Stone article, when she said, “Until last year, I realized I wanted my face in a vagina.” “Lunch,” though, is not graphic and could be well suited for pop radio. I think we’ll be hearing more of it this summer.