Billie Eilish isn’t the only one feeling “happier than ever.”
The Grammy Award-winning singer announced her new album “Happier Than Ever” with a short 15-second clip of Eilish turning to face the camera in an oatmeal-colored, seashell-shaped chair. Her soft, breathy hymns sing happier than ever and float effortlessly in the background.
The new album is a stark contrast to her debut album “When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go” which was released in 2019. Her debut presented her as an edgy performer with a preference for the unexpected.
But, despite the unconventional, the album gained Eilish prestige and critical acclaim. She won album of the year, best pop vocal album, record of the year, song of the year and best new artist at the 62nd Grammy Awards becoming the youngest person to do so.
Eilish didn’t stop there, among the many other accolades from different award shows, she also secured iHeart Radio’s Female Artist of the Year in 2020.
Eilish was only three shows into a world tour when the pandemic hit, forcing her to cancel the remaining dates and shutter inside in solitude like the rest of the world.
But Eilish told Stephen Colbert in a recent interview that without the pandemic, her new album would neither look the same nor have even happened. And that sentiment seems clear with the new aesthetic of her sophomore album.
The beige and brown tones of the 16-track album seem to signify a change in pace for Eilish. The cover features Eilish staring off into the distance, with a look of pure innocence, and sadness as a tear rolls down her cheek. It showcases a calm, sorrowful awakening of some sort. The album features dainty cursive writing and the cover exudes tranquility from Eilish in an unsteady year for many.
Steve Waksman, a professor of American studies and music at Smith College, said that “Eilish is the archetypal sad girl, and there’s definitely a way in which this is a sad girl moment. The clip that’s circulating has a lovely irony to it like, Billie, you don’t sound happy. But of course, that’s kind of the point.”
Based on recent songs like “Therefore I am” and “my future,” Bella Bright, a graduate student at the University of Southern California, and a major fan of Eilish, feels like the artist has found peace within herself.
“[It seems like] everything’s coming from within, and she has the freedom to cut out toxic people. And she’s able to act in ways that are serving her and kind of break free from people who aren’t serving her anymore,” Bright said. “I feel like our time during quarantine has reinforced how important self-care is. And I think that that’s reflected in this album. It seems like Billie Eilish has figured that out.
But Theo Cateforis, an associate professor of music history and cultures at Syracuse University, says that for an experimental artist like Eilish, he wouldn’t be too sure the album is only about a peaceful, pandemic awakening.
Eilish is known to think outside of the box. To announce her 2018 “1 by 1” tour, Eilish is seen sitting in front of a black background as a spider crawls in and out of her mouth. In 2019, Eilish set the American Music Awards stage literally on fire as she performed “all the good girls go to hell.”
While her new album may look to the future with a wave of optimism, Caterforis said it’s also likely, “There’s a certain kind of ironic cynicism and having survived so much of the past year, under the conditions that we have, I think both are possible.”
Liv Sigel, an acting major at USC, and huge Eilish fan said this new album is “absolutely a double meaning. I feel like in one way she is happier than ever because her career is going so well, and she’s doing great in terms of that, but then we’re still suffering from COVID.”
Cateforis described Eilish as an eclectic artist who plays with conventions, and Bright and Sigel are excited for the new album, even if it is different from the dark and breathy aesthetic of “When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go.”
“I want to hear an elevated Billie,” Sigel said.
“Her other work has been focused a lot on other people and kind of what they think or, revenge, feelings that stem from external sources,” Bright said. “Looking at other song titles, like ‘getting older,’ [or] ‘I didn’t change my number,’ all of that makes me feel like she’s just living her best life, and she’s really focusing on herself. I think it will definitely be different. And I think it’s for the best.”
And as vaccine rollouts continue, and the CDC loosened certain mask mandates for the fully vaccinated, it can be questioned whether Eilish will pick up where she left off on tour in 2020, with her new album in tow?
Other artists like Lady Gaga and Harry Styles have tour dates beginning in late summer. But Cateforis said a tour in 2021 is a bit aspirational for any artist. “Some people are cautious and some people want to jump right back in, I think the concert industry will be essentially the same,” he said.
No matter what avenue Eilish travels with this new album, Eilish is known for her eccentric behavior which draws in audiences before captivating them with her notes. Whether “Happier Than Ever” brings what would almost be too obvious in terms of Eilish this summer, or if she brings an ironic, idiosyncratic tone to the album, with what she earned from her debut, either tone will most likely be successful.
And it will be relatable to the past year audiences have had.
Waksman added that Eilish is “an artist that precisely gives voice to that sense that ‘you are not alone,’ that yeah we may all be sad but at least we can be sad together, even in our isolation.”
“Since a lot of us have spent a lot of time alone, during quarantine, I feel like a lot of us have been able to also find happiness within and we’ve gotten really comfortable sitting with ourselves and reflecting,” Bright said. “And now we can be the source of our own happiness. That’s why I think, you know, we’re going to come out of quarantine, and we’re going to be happier than ever.”
“Happier Than Ever” is set to release on July 30, 2020, with another single “Your Power” dropping April 29.