Italian
Billie Eilish and the Forum are like birds of a feather. Since 2020, the Los Angeles native has performed in the storied concert venue multiple times, the latest stop being a five-night run that marks her triumphant hometown return.
Eilish kicked off her L.A. stint of the Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour on Sunday, Dec. 15, designating a different opener for each night — The Marías, Towa Bird, Nat and Alex Wolff, Ashnikko and Finneas, respectively. The 23-year-old began the trek in September, playing 36 dates on the North American leg, which wraps in L.A. Following the Grammy Awards on Feb. 2 (the singer is up for seven Grammy nominations), Eilish will head to Australia for the international leg of the tour.
But this week, it’s all about her homecoming at the Kia Forum. Here are highlights from her five-night run, which is scheduled to end on Dec. 21.
Eilish debuts trippy and experimental visuals The 23-year-old singer has always been ahead of the curve in terms of visuals – think of the early music videos for “Bury a Friend” and “All the Good Girls Go to Hell” – so it’s no surprise that Eilish brought that into her live show. She incorporated visual backdrops to most songs, making the Forum feel like a music video set. She also included a video of her skipping through a field of grass while she sang “Birds of a Feather,” an obvious troll to those online criticizing her creative direction for the song’s music video.
Childhood friends become background singers
Billie Eilish performs onstage for the Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour at The Kia Forum on Dec. 15. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images Eilish’s two background singers, Jane and Ava, joined the L.A. native center stage for part of her set. She confessed to the crowd that the three young women have been friends since childhood and that this was the background singers’ first tour. “We were friends in middle school then there were a few years [where] lives changes and things changed and then everything came back how it was supposed to be,” she explained.
Billie speaks up for abortion rights Eilish’s 2022 song “TV” has a rallying cry at her shows, and L.A. was no different. During those shows, along with the rest of the tour, the crowd listened to Elilish sing the lyrics “The internet’s gone wild watching movie stars on trial” before screaming the next line with her: “While they’re overturning Roe v. Wade.” The artist momentarily paused, taking the moment in, after the lyric. Eilish was very outspoken ahead of the 2024 election – she publicly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris and urged her fans to vote for the vice president during a stop at her concert.
Charli XCX, Kim Kardashian and more celebs spotted
Billie Eilish, Charli XCX at the Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour at Kia Forum on Dec. 17. Christopher Polk/Billboard/Getty Images The stars were out in full force during the run’s first three days. Charli XCX appeared at the first two L.A. dates in music video form before Eilish performed her verse on their “Guess” remix collaboration. Then, she surprised fans by bringing out the British singer at Wednesday’s show.
Eilish’s concert had plenty of celebrity guests in attendance. Kim Kardashian, broken foot and all, was spotted at Tuesday’s performance. Meanwhile, her sister, Kourtney Kardashian Barker, attended night one of the run.
Taking a moment to celebrate
FINNEAS and Billie Eilish at the Kia Forum. Christopher Polk/Billboard/Getty Images Eilish couldn’t help but get into the holiday spirit during her shows. The 23-year-old was joined onstage by her brother and collaborator Finneas. Donning a Santa hat, the artist performed various Christmas songs at different shows – “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” among them.
The singer’s 23-year-old birthday aligned with Tuesday’s concert, and Finneas led the crowd in singing Happy Birthday, bringing out a cupcake with a single candle for the singer to blow out.
Eilish is slated to continue her run of shows at the Kia Forum on Dec. 20 and 21.
