Hit Me Hard and Soft
2024 studio album by Billie Eilish
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hit Me Hard and Soft is the third studio album by American singer and songwriter Billie Eilish, released on May 17, 2024, through Darkroom and Interscope Records. She co-wrote the album with her brother and frequent collaborator Finneas O'Connell, who also produced the record. Stylistically, it has been labeled as an alternative pop[2] and bedroom pop record.[3]
(Los Angeles, California)
| Hit Me Hard and Soft | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 17, 2024 | |||
| Recorded | October 2022 – February 2024[1] | |||
| Studio | Finneas' home studio (Los Angeles, California) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 43:45 | |||
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| Producer |
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| Billie Eilish chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Hit Me Hard and Soft | ||||
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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 the Billboard Hot 100 and in the top ten of several charts. To support the album, Eilish embarked on her seventh concert tour, Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour, from September 2024 to November 2025. A concert film, Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D), was filmed at the Manchester show of the tour and is set to be theatrically released in May 2026.
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. At the following ceremony, the single "Wildflower" won Song of the Year, making Eilish and Finneas the artists with the most wins in the category. The siblings also tied with Adele, Bruno Mars, and Paul Simon for the most wins in the General Field, with seven wins each. The song was also nominated for Record of the Year.
Background and recording
Eilish co-wrote and recorded her second studio album, Happier Than Ever, at her brother Finneas' home recording studio, located in the basement of his Los Angeles residence.[4] Recording took place weekly between April 2020 and February 2021, with the track listing finalized by the duo during the album's creation.[5][6] Released on July 30, 2021,[7] Happier Than Ever was met with critical acclaim and commercial success, topping the Billboard 200[8] and receiving two nominations at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.[9] Eilish surprise-released her second extended play (EP) Guitar Songs in July 2022. The following year, she released "What Was I Made For?" for the soundtrack to the fantasy-comedy film Barbie (2023); she was inspired to write the song after seeing unfinished scenes of the film during its production.[10] The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Best Song Written for Visual Media.[11]
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 it 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
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In early April 2024, various news articles reported that billboards teasing snippets of lyrics for the album had appeared in multiple cities in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States;[18] although they did not mention the artist's name, her signature "blohsh" was recognized.[19][a] The promotional billboards displayed cryptic lyrics, including "She's the headlights I'm the deer" and "Did I cross the line?".[21] Eilish later changed her profile picture to a "blue circle" and shared an image with the caption "Do you know how to bend?".[22] Eilish added her Instagram followers to her "Close friends", a feature that allows limited accounts to see exclusive stories. 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 North American leg of the tour started on September 29, 2024, at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City, Canada.[25] The 2025 leg of the tour, covering Europe and Oceania, started 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 before album releases 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] Eilish held listening party events for fans at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on May 15 and Kia Forum in Inglewood on May 16, 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] On May 19 and May 22, Eilish released for digital download the isolated vocals, slowed & reverb, and sped up editions of the album, respectively.[33][34]
Singles and music videos
"Lunch" was released as the lead single in tandem with the album's release, along with a music video directed by Eilish herself.[35] The song debuted and peaked at number five on the US Billboard Hot 100.[36] It also saw international success, peaking within the top five in the UK,[37] Germany,[38] Australia and New Zealand,[39][40] and various European countries.[41][42][43]
An extended version of "L'Amour de Ma Vie", subtitled "Over Now", was released as a promotional single on May 22, 2024.[44]
The music video for "Chihiro", also directed by Eilish herself, was released on June 6, 2024.[45] The song debuted at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and charted for 20 weeks due to its streaming success, despite not receiving an official single release in the US.[46] It was sent to Italian radio on January 16, 2025.[47]
"Birds of a Feather" impacted US contemporary hit radio as the album's second official single on July 2, 2024.[48][49] The music video for the song, directed by Aidan Zamiri, was released on September 27, 2024.[50] The song was initially a fan favorite, debuting at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and organically rising into the top ten in subsequent weeks.[51][52] It eventually grew into a worldwide success, peaking at number two on the chart and number one on the Global 200.[53][54] The song also became Spotify's most-streamed song in a calendar year in 2024, surpassing Sabrina Carpenter's "Espresso".[55] It was nominated for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards in 2025.[56]
"Wildflower" impacted US contemporary hit radio as the album's fourth single on March 4, 2025.[57]
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 8.4/10[58] |
| Metacritic | 89/100[59] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [60] |
| Clash | 8/10[61] |
| The Daily Telegraph | [62] |
| The Guardian |  [63] |
| The Independent | [64] |
| The Line of Best Fit | 9/10[65] |
| NME | [66] |
| Pitchfork | 6.8/10[67] |
| Rolling Stone | [68] |
| Slant Magazine | [2] |
Hit Me Hard and Soft received widespread critical acclaim.[69] 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".[59] 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."[64] 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).[62]
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.[63] 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.[66]
Year-end rankings
Hit Me Hard and Soft appeared on several publications' rankings of the best albums of 2024. It was placed second by Mesfin Fekadu of The Hollywood Reporter[70] and Page Six.[71] Top five by BBC,[72] Billboard,[73] Entertainment Weekly,[74] Rolling Stone,[75] Complex,[76] DIY,[77] FLOOD,[78] Hot Press,[79] The Boston Globe,[80] The Guardian,[81] Slant,[82] and The Forty Five,[83] and within the top ten by The New Yorker,[84] NME,[85] Los Angeles Times,[86] Mondo Sonoro,[87] The Sunday Times,[88] KCRW,[89] People[90] Esquire[91] Les Inrocks,[92] and Dork.[93] Publications that featured Hit Me Hard and Soft in the top fifteenth of their lists include Dazed,[94] and The Independent[95] The record was also mentioned in unranked lists by AllMusic,[96]The Associated Press,[97] Cosmopolitan,[98] HuffPost,[99] Uproxx,[100] Hypebeast,[101] Vogue,[102] Evening Standard,[103] and Toronto Star.[104]
On individual critics' lists, while The Philadelphia Inquirer's Dan DeLuca numbered Hit Me Hard and Soft at the seventh position,[105] The album was ranked fourth by Variety's Willman,[106] and respectively fourth and twelve by The New York Times' Jon Pareles and Jon Caramanica.[107]
| Publication/critic | List | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| BBC | Best Albums of 2024 | 4 | [108] |
| Billboard | The 50 Best Albums of 2024 | 5 | [73] |
| Business Insider | The Best Albums of 2024 | 3 | [109] |
| Complex | The 50 Best Albums of 2024 | 5 | [110] |
| Entertainment Weekly | The 10 Best Albums of 2024 | 4 | |
| Hot Press | 50 Best Albums of 2024 | 4 | [112] |
| People | Top 10 Albums of 2024 | 6 | [113] |
| Rolling Stone | The 100 Best Albums Of 2024 | 5 | [75] |
| Slant Magazine | The 50 Best Albums of 2024 | 3 | [114] |
| The Boston Globe | The 50 Best Albums of 2024 | 3 | [115] |
| The Guardian | The 50 Best Albums of 2024 | 3 | [116] |
| The Hollywood Reporter | The 10 Best Albums of 2024 | 2 |
[117] |
| The Inquirer | The 15 Best Albums of 2024 | 7 | [118] |
| The New York Times | Jon Pareles' Best Albums of 2024 | 4 | [119] |
| Variety | Chris Willman's Best Albums of 2024 | 4 | [106] |
Accolades
In 2026, Spotify listed Hit Me Hard and Soft as one of the 30 classic pop albums of the streaming era, as part of their Spotify Classics, a program which highlights albums and songs whose influence extends beyond charts, trends, and momentary success. The audio streaming service added: "In a streaming era built on shuffling and cherry-picking, Eilish pushed against the norm, hosting arena-sized listening parties so fans could experience the record as intended. The album broke pop release rules by dropping without a lead single, letting audiences discover their own favorites organically."[120]
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Los 40 Music Awards | Best International Album | Nominated | [121] |
| ARIA Music Awards | Best International Artist | Nominated | [122] | |
| Danish Music Awards | International Album of the Year | Nominated | [123] | |
| 2025 | Grammy Awards | Album of the Year | Nominated | [124] |
| Best Pop Vocal Album | Nominated | |||
| GLAAD Media Awards | Outstanding Music Artist | Nominated | [125] | |
| GAFFA Awards (Denmark) | International Album of the Year | Won | [126] | |
| GAFFA Awards (Sweden) | International Album of the Year | Won | [127] | |
| iHeartRadio Music Awards | Album of the Year | Won | [128] | |
| American Music Awards | Album of the Year | Won | [129] | |
| Favorite Pop Album | Won |
Commercial performance
Streaming
On its release day, Hit Me Hard and Soft received 72.7 million streams on Spotify globally, becoming Eilish's biggest streaming debut on the platform. It also debuted with over 500 million streams globally on its first week of release, marking her biggest streaming week ever.[130] Upon release, the album soared to number one on Apple Music's all-genre albums chart in 138 countries worldwide. Eilish was also named Artist of the Year for 2024.[131] It surpassed 2 billion streams in less than two months, becoming Eilish's fastest project to cross that mark.[132] It was the second most-played album globally on Spotify in 2024, only behind Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department.[133] On Deezer, Hit Me Hard and Soft was the most streamed album of the year worldwide.[134] In 2025, Hit Me Hard and Soft was the third most streamed album globally on Spotify, becoming her first album to stay in the top three for two years in a row.[135] "Birds of a Feather" was the most-streamed song in 2024 and the second most-streamed song in 2025.[136] The song also broke the record for the fastest song to hit both 2 billion and 3 billion streams on Spotify at the time (later broken by "Die with a Smile").[137] On March 1, 2026, the album crossed 10 billion streams on Spotify, becoming the fastest album by a female artist to reach the mark in the platform's history. The milestone makes it Eilish's third project to cross that threshold after When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? and Don't Smile at Me.[138]
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.[139] Hit Me Hard and Soft also debuted atop the Billboard Vinyl Albums chart, earning 90,000 units in its first week. It was Eilish's fifth consecutive number one, 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).[140] She becomes the solo woman with the second-most number ones, surpassing Lana Del Rey. With this, Eilish has also spent 27 weeks atop the chart, the second-most overall behind Taylor Swift (52 weeks).[141] All ten of the album's songs debuted in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100.[141] On March 14, 2025, Hit Me Hard and Soft was certified double Platinum by the RIAA, for moving two million album-equivalent units in the US.[142][143] It finished as the fifth best-selling album of 2024 in the US with 2,259,000 equivalent album units, of which 570,000 are pure sales, and also the second biggest-selling vinyl album of the year with 340,000 copies. On top of that, Eilish was the year's second biggest-selling vinyl act, selling 520,000 copies.[144] In 2025, Hit Me Hard and Soft was the fifth biggest-selling vinyl of the year, with 192,000 copies.[145]
Internationally
In the United Kingdom, Hit Me Hard and Soft debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with 67,100 album-equivalent units. It marked her biggest opening week in the region, surpassing When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? (48,400 units), and also the second-biggest opening week for an album in 2024.[146] It was certified double Platinum by the BPI.[147]
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 Platinum by the BVMI.[148][149] 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.[150] Three of its songs reached the top ten on the ARIA Singles Chart; "Lunch", "Chihiro", and "Birds of a Feather" charted at numbers five, seven, and nine, respectively.[151] Hit Me Hard and Soft topped the ARIA Albums Chart for five non-consecutive weeks in 2024.[152] In March 2025, following the sold out Australian shows of the Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour, the album returned to number one on the ARIA Albums Chart for a sixth non-consecutive week, marking the first time since mid-July 2024.[153] In France, Hit Me Hard and Soft entered at the number one spot on the SNEP albums chart with 27,710 units, becoming her second French number-one album. It has since been certified triple Platinum.[154][155] The album became the biggest selling international album and fourth overall in the country, selling 172,965 units in 2024.[156] It was also the biggest selling vinyl of the year, with 42,085 copies sold.[157][158] In 2025, Hit Me Hard and Soft sold 151,107 units in France and was once again the biggest selling vinyl of the year, ahead of Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl.[159][160] In Spain, it debuted atop the albums chart published by Productores de Música de España, making it Eilish's second number-one album in the country, and was certified Platinum.[161][162]
On the New Zealand Albums Chart, Hit Me Hard and Soft arrived at number one,[163] and four of its songs reached 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.[164] Hit Me Hard and Soft spent ten non-consecutive weeks atop the chart and was certified triple Platinum by the RMNZ.[165]
In Brazil, all ten tracks from Hit Me Hard and Soft debuted on the Billboard Brasil Hot 100.[166] Additionally, Eilish became the first international artist to top the Artistas 25.[167] The album was certified Diamond by the Pro-Música Brasil.[168]
According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), Hit Me Hard and Soft was the second most-consumed album of 2024 worldwide; it also ranked second in vinyl sales, with 612,000 sold, and fifth in streams.[169] In 2025, Hit Me Hard and Soft was the eighth most-consumed album of the year according to the IFPI, becoming her second album to stay in the top ten for two years in a row, after When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?. The album also ranked fifth in vinyl sales, with 428,000 sold, and sixth in streams.[170]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Billie Eilish O'Connell and Finneas O'Connell.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Skinny" | 3:39 |
| 2. | "Lunch" | 3:00 |
| 3. | "Chihiro" | 5:03 |
| 4. | "Birds of a Feather" | 3:30 |
| 5. | "Wildflower" | 4:21 |
| 6. | "The Greatest" | 4:53 |
| 7. | "L'Amour de Ma Vie" | 5:33 |
| 8. | "The Diner" | 3:06 |
| 9. | "Bittersuite" | 4:58 |
| 10. | "Blue" | 5:43 |
| Total length: | 43:45 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "L'Amour de Ma Vie" ("Over Now" extended edit) | 4:31 |
| 12. | "The Greatest" (live acoustic) | |
| 13. | "Wildflower" (live acoustic) | |
| 14. | "Birds of a Feather" (live acoustic) |
Personnel
- Attacca Quartet – strings
- Amy Schroeder – violin
- Domenic Salerni – violin
- Nathan Schram – viola
- Andrew Yee – cello
- Dale Becker – mastering
- Thom Beemer – string engineering
- David Campbell – string orchestration
- Jon Castelli – mixing
- Billie Eilish – vocals, keyboards, synthesizer, glockenspiel, vocal editing, engineering
- Finneas – vocals, keyboards, synthesizer, glockenspiel, drums, guitar, bass, programming, arrangement, orchestration, production, engineering, vocal editing, string arrangements, scoring
- Aron Forbes – mixing, engineering
- Katie Harvey – mastering assistance
- Brad Lauchert – mix engineering
- Andrew Marshall – drums, percussion
- Noah McCorkle – mastering assistance
- Chaz Sexton – drum engineering
- Sharif Shannon — mix engineering
Charts
Weekly charts
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Monthly charts
Year-end charts
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Certifications and sales
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[257] | 2× Platinum | 140,000‡ |
| Austria (IFPI Austria)[258] | Platinum | 15,000‡ |
| Belgium (BRMA)[259] | 3× Platinum | 60,000‡ |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[260] | Diamond | 160,000‡ |
| Canada (Music Canada)[261] | 4× Platinum | 320,000‡ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[262] | 4× Platinum | 80,000‡ |
| France (SNEP)[154] | 3× Platinum | 300,000‡ |
| Germany (BVMI)[148] | 3× Gold | 225,000‡ |
| Iceland (FHF) | — | 6,007[263] |
| Italy (FIMI)[264] | Platinum | 50,000‡ |
| Netherlands (NVPI)[265] | Platinum | 37,200‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[165] | 4× Platinum | 60,000‡ |
| Poland (ZPAV)[266] | 3× Platinum | 60,000‡ |
| Portugal (AFP)[267] | 3× Platinum | 21,000‡ |
| Spain (Promusicae)[161] | Platinum | 40,000‡ |
| Sweden (GLF)[268] | 2× Platinum | 60,000‡ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[269] | 2× Platinum | 40,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[147] | 2× Platinum | 600,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[142] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000‡ |
| Streaming | ||
| Central America (CFC)[270] | Platinum | 7,000,000† |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Release history
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Edition(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | May 17, 2024 | Standard |
|
[32] | |
| United States | May 19, 2024 | Digital download | Isolated vocals | [33] | |
| May 22, 2024 | [271][272] | ||||
| Various | November 29, 2024 | Vinyl LP | Isolated vocals | [273] | |
| Japan | August 1, 2025 | CD | Japanese Anniversary Edition | [171] |
See also
- List of 2024 albums
- List of number-one albums from the 2020s (New Zealand)
- List of number-one albums of 2024 (Australia)
- List of number-one albums of 2024 (Belgium)
- List of number-one albums of 2024 (Canada)
- List of number-one albums of 2024 (Finland)
- List of number-one albums of 2024 (Ireland)
- List of number-one albums of 2024 (Poland)
- List of number-one albums of 2024 (Portugal)
- List of number-one albums of 2024 (Spain)
- List of Spotify streaming records
- List of UK Albums Chart number ones of the 2020s