Billie Eilish brings fans to tears at a listening party for her new album
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Plus, what critics are saying about the singer's latest, "Hit Me Hard and Soft."
Some hardcore fans of Billie Eilish were beyond excited to hear songs from her new album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, at an exclusive listening party. And then their idol surprised them with a video call.
BBC Radio 1 shared video on social media of the three young fans — Laura, Bower, and Grace — obviously loving the music, when Eilish's face popped up on their screen.
There were screams and shakes and serious happy tears.
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"I actually don't have any words to say right now," Grace said. "I cannot explain how much I love everything that you f---ing do."
Laura told Eilish, "You saved my life!"
The fans said their favorite songs from the album are "Lunch" and new single "Chihiro."
Related: Billie Eilish says she 'couldn't have been less inspired' creatively before writing Barbie song
Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty
Billie EilishWhat critics are saying about Billie Eilish's new album Hit Me Hard or Soft
Fans aren't the only ones raving about her new music. Reviews began hitting the internet on Thursday, the day before the album's release.
Boasting an early Metacritic score of 95 on reviews from four UK media outlets, Hit Me Hard and Soft is wowing critics.
"The production, as ever by Eilish and brother Finneas O’Connell, deals in subtlety and hidden detail: muffled backing vocals and sound effects are buried so deep in the mix that they’re only really noticeable if you’re wearing headphones, like the aural equivalent of catching something out of the corner of your eye," wrote The Guardian reviewer Alexis Petridis.
Related: Watch Billie Eilish duet with Lana Del Rey in surprise Coachella 2024 appearance
NME critic Thomas Smith gave the album 4 of 5 stars and wrote of her track "Skinny": "It finishes with a gorgeous orchestral flourish akin to her work on Bond song ‘No Time To Die’ with Hans Zimmer. It’s a superb song, one of her best ever."
In a review in the UK's The Independent, critic Helen Brown wrote: "Eilish lifted the title of Hit Me Hard and Soft from the name of a sound effect in ProTool’s audio software kit. It’s a perfect fit for a record that whispers its way through a marvellous maze of music to deliver some big emotional wallops."
On the other side of the pond, Variety's Chris Willman wrote that the 10-track record "happens to contain 13 excellent songs."
“'Lunch' is the album’s obvious and unabashed banger," Willman wrote, "and something that will be stirring up lots of fights as it comes up for request on family driving trips all summer long."
And CNN writer Alli Rosenbloom noted: "Perhaps emboldened by the two Oscars or nine Grammys that she’s won, or the fact that her first two albums have hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, the young entertainer has a proven track record of success doing things her way. And why should she change now, if it’s working?"
Eilish's Hit Me Hard and Soft is released on Friday, May 17.
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