Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish on the O2 in London, England, July 14th, 2025
Jul 18, 2025
I genuinely consider that if Billie Eilish had been making music once I was teenager, I may need disregarded quite a lot of my adolescent self-hatred. Seeing the singer-songwriter take the stage for the third of her six exhibits on the O2 Enviornment in London, England, felt like a victory lap for anybody who has ever felt othered. Wearing his signature dishevelled denims and outsized jersey, she may have been any one in every of my highschool associates (superior), albeit with the form of voice and songwriting expertise that repeatedly earns Oscars and Grammys (clearly additionally superior).
Vainness requires that I don’t disclose my age on-line. (Though it ought to be famous I’m about to have a birthday, I’ll take one in every of Billie’s jerseys if anybody is shopping for, thanks.) However I’ll say that I grew up in an age the place journal quizzes helped me decide my good pores and skin (plot twist—we’re all flawed now, now purchase merchandise!), and celebrities Eilish’s age have been requested about their our bodies, not their beliefs. What would we’ve got fabricated from a live performance beginning with a name to care? Eilish’s set began with a brief video, calling out local weather change (actual!), and calling in her followers to assist make a distinction by way of actions, together with taking public transit pledging to eat one vegan meal per day for a month—an motion that might save 7 million gallons of water. (If the concept we must always all take private accountability resonates with you, you possibly can be taught extra about her Overheated venture on Instagram.)
As for the present itself? Eilish has been writing anthem pop since earlier than she had an anthem to play—it ought to come as no shock that the 23-year-old continues to personal her outsized venues. The big flat stage, positioned within the middle of the sector was the right playground for her to run, skip, and even leap into the effectively the place her brother/co-writer Finneas and backing band have been holding it down. There have been lasers, a glowing dice, and even fireplace (a pleasant contact to “unhealthy man.”) Mixed with giant overhead displays that captured her each motion (Typically on a hand-held digital camera Elish pointed at herself and the viewers), and it was an Instagramable occasion second.
It could have been sufficient if Elish had thrown a dance occasion. Her followers, my internal youngster, the mom subsequent to me frantically taking video so her son may dance—everybody sang alongside to the purpose it was typically exhausting to listen to her voice over din. (Her cowl of Charli XCX’s “Underwear,” below the requisite Brat-green lighting was a powerful rave-queen second.) However over the 90-minute set, the musician confirmed off her vary, notably throughout 2018’s “When the Get together’s Over,” when she requested silence to loop her voice right into a heavenly backing monitor. Her cowl of Henry Mancini’s “Moon River” was additionally a stand-out. Audrey Hepburn, who volunteered with UNICEF as a Goodwill Ambassador along with her high-profile day job, would have liked Elish’s soulful tackle the Breakfast at Tiffany’s basic.
In brief: Billie Eilish’s O2 efficiency was a communal act low-key revolution. Sure, it’s enjoyable to collect with all followers of all ages and scream, however for individuals who by no means noticed ourselves within the pop stars of our youth, it felt like a much-needed correction. And because the ultimate notes of “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” floated out into the humid summer season night time, it was clear that Eilish isn’t simply talking to her era—she’s rewriting the foundations for all of us.
Setlist:
1. CHIHIRO
2. LUNCH
3. NDA
4. Subsequently I Am
5. WILDFLOWER
6. when the occasion’s over
7. THE DINER
8. ilomilo
9. unhealthy man
10. THE GREATEST
11. Your Energy
12. SKINNY
13. Moon River (Henry Mancini cowl)
14. BITTERSUITE
15. bury a buddy
16. Oxytocin
17. Guess (Charli xcx cowl)
18. every part i wished
19. BLUE
20. beautiful / BLUE / ocean eyes
21. L’AMOUR DE MA VIE
22. What Was I Made For?
23. Happier Than Ever
24. BIRDS OF A FEATHER
