I Went To Billie Eilish's Hit Me Hard And Soft Listening Party In LA
More artists need to do this.
Billie Eilish wanted to celebrate the release of Hit Me Hard and Soft with a listening party for her fans — but on a major scale. With the help of American Express, Eilish took over Barclays Center in NYC on May 15 and Kia Forum in Los Angeles on May 16 to give lucky attendees a chance to listen to her third album, from start to finish.
“This album was the most amazing process to create and I’ve never loved anything more,” Eilish shared with a screaming crowd at the Forum on Thursday after entering the venue. Afterwards, the “Lunch” singer pressed play on Hit Me Hard and Soft to kick off a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, which I was very lucky to attend.
The night actually started way before the listening part of the party, with photo ops and exclusive merch available outside before you entered. It felt like an Eilish concert, minus all the stage production that is likely to come when she starts her Hit Me Hard and Soft tour at the end of September in Canada.
Since these special listening parties only happened in Los Angeles and New York, here’s a look inside for anyone who may have missed out.
There Was Exclusive Merch For Each City
The “Skinny” singer put together these listening parties with the help of American Express, which had a special booth at the venue. Unlike Harry Styles, BLACKPINK, and Ed Sheeran’s recent American Express pop-ups, the Eilish experience didn’t have a ton of photo ops for Instagram. Instead, the mysterious booth was there to hand out $25 gift cards to anyone who found one of the hidden QR codes located throughout the venue.
You could then use that gift card on exclusive merch, which IMO was very much needed. Everything was slightly more expensive than Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour merch, but equivalent to Beyonce’s Renaissance Tour merch: $50 shirts and $125 hoodies. With the discount, the shirts were definitely worth it — especially since a few were limited edition with “Los Angeles” printed on the back as a reminder of your special night with Eilish.
There was also one red zip-up hoodie that was an American Express member exclusive. Plus, with each purchase, you received a free Hit Me Hard and Soft poster.
The Actual Listening Party Was Full Of Surprises
After snapping some pictures of the different photo ops and grabbing snacks, we found our way to our seats for the show. Just after 9:15 p.m. — and when the album was officially out — Eilish began playing it. She had a couch on the side of the stage, but spent the majority of the time dancing around the fog-filled venue with her brother Finneas holding a camera and documenting the night.
It was really cool seeing Eilish’s excitement for certain songs, like “Lunch,” where she really got into it and was clapping along. At one point, she even fell to the ground to take in the moment of having her fans listen to her music for the first time together. This album is filled with the same emotionally raw lyrics of Eilish’s previous work, but also plenty of bangers that I can see inspiring TikTok dances and being played at parties this summer.
There are tracks you just have to get up and dance to, which is why this was the perfect place for a first listen. As a longtime Swiftie, I’m sad about never being chosen to participate in one of the Tortured Poets Department singer’s secret sessions, so this was like redemption.
My favorite part of the entire evening was when Eilish’s dog Shark came out to join her on stage for the last track, “Blue.” It was so cute seeing her, Shark, and even Finneas getting to enjoy this night with the rest of us. Now that I’ve gotten to experience a listening party like this, I hope more artists follow in her footsteps. It sure beats just pushing play on Spotify in my apartment right as midnight hits.
