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Billie Eilish released her long-awaited third album Hit Me Hard And Soft last month, and she didn’t release any advance singles ahead of it. That’s the classic rock-star signal that you want people to hear the record in full. Since the release, that’s led to a funny situation where different tracks from the LP are getting attention for different reasons — sometimes driving by Eilish and her people, sometimes not. Thus far, the crashing power ballad “The Greatest” hasn’t gotten a ton of attention, but maybe that’ll change after Eilish’s performance on last night’s Colbert.
The big single from Hit Me Soft And Hard was supposed to be the playfully horny “Lunch,” which got the first video and which Eilish performed when she went on Stephen Colbert’s Late Show a few weeks ago. That one initially got the highest chart debut, but right now the public has moved on to “Birds Of A Feather,” which hasn’t been pushed by Eilish’s team at all. On this week’s Hot 100, “Birds Of A Feather” is charting above “Lunch,” and it seems poised to break into the top 10 next week. Meanwhile, Eilish directed a video for “Chihiro,” and now she’s performed “The Greatest” for the first time in front of TV cameras.
On last night’s Colbert, Billie Eilish was shown wearing the same outfit that she wore when the show devoted an entire episode to her last month, so she presumably taped both performances at the same time. “The Greatest,” like a few other Eilish tracks, starts out as a lullaby before building into a crashing rocker, and that always makes for great live spectacle. Eilish’s brother Finneas backed her up on acoustic guitar, and she started out seated on a stool. At the climactic moment, she stood up, and strobe lights started going off. Her voice sounded great, and I’m sure that’ll be an electric moment at her future live shows. Watch the performance below.
Hit Me Hard And Soft is out now on Darkroom/Interscope. I like how much affection Stephen Colbert shows for Billie Eilish.