“Water used to be my biggest fear-I was terrified of drowning and having my head stuck underwater. Aliqueįor the title song’s video, Eilish was filmed in a dreamlike sequence escaping from a flooding house. Boots, Junya Watanabe Comme des Garçons, $1,490. I would swim up to somebody, talk to them, and then swim away and talk to somebody else.” “I love big parties, but they can be a little overwhelming because everyone wants to talk to you. The Gatsby-like soiree was meant to be an immersive experience of her album, and the impromptu aquatic rave allowed Eilish to direct the experience-both for herself and others. “I kept pulling them in,” she says with a laugh. Almost all her friends eventually got in with her.
“One of the many great qualities she possesses is her appetite for fun.” Eilish stayed in the pool for most of the party. “I was like, ‘Oh, there she goes!’” says her brother, noting that it was classic Billie behavior. I was standing on the edge of the pool singing, and my friend Carly was like, ‘Billie, get in the pool!’ And I don’t know, I was just feeling in the moment, so I got in, wearing four-inch-high platform boots!”įrom the side of the pool, Finneas watched the joyful spectacle with bemused appreciation. It was amazing!” says Eilish, reflecting back on that wildly spontaneous moment one week after the party. Without missing a beat, her two best friends, Zoe and Drew, jump in with her, and they all start singing the lyrics together at the top of their lungs.Ĭoat, Balenciaga. And as the lush, melancholy ballad explodes into a cathartic blast of hard rock, Eilish executes a perfect rock-star move-she jumps into the pool fully clothed. Fifteen minutes into the listening session, the title track begins to play. PDT, the album bursts through the sound system. “It’s my favorite thing I’ve ever created.” After thanking her brother and collaborator, Finneas, she throws her head back and lets out a gleeful whoop. “I just love this album,” she says, leaning over the wrought iron balcony. “I am so happy to see people in person and get hugs and see smiles…and my album comes out in two minutes!” As she shakes her microphone triumphantly in the air, the crowd bursts into wild cheers. “This is fucking nuts!” she says with a throaty cackle. Wearing vintage Prada sunglasses, a copper Miaou corset with a sheer, long-sleeve black Maison Margiela shirt, and vegan TLZ L’Femme black vinyl strappy pants, she addresses the crowd from the top of a staircase overlooking an illuminated cerulean pool. Eilish is both excited and nervous about the world finally listening to her new album, which she likens to letting other people taste her “favorite cookie” she’s been baking in secrecy for the past year. On a warm July evening in the backyard of a private Beverly Hills mansion secured by Spotify, a crowd of A-list stars including Olivia Rodrigo, Ben Platt, Willow and Jaden Smith, Amanda Kloots, and Khalid is counting down the minutes until the official release of Billie Eilish’s sophomore album, Happier Than Ever.