Billie Eilish defends ‘phone culture’ at gigs and teases new album: ‘We’re deep in it’
Billie Eilish says constant filming is “part of the culture”, credits the internet for her career, and reveals she’s “right in the middle” of making her next album.
Billie Eilish has insisted there’s nothing wrong with fans watching gigs through their phones, arguing it’s simply how her generation experiences music.
In her new 3D concert film Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour, the 24‑year‑old pop powerhouse is surrounded by fans filming every second — and she insists that’s simply the modern concert experience.
Speaking to NME, the singer said: “I just think that’s what it’s like. My generation, and the generations below, we love to film stuff. All I do is film and take pictures of stuff – all of the time.”
She said she grew up doing exactly the same thing, long before she was headlining arenas.
Billie continued: “When I was young and would go to concerts or festivals, I would film every single minute of it – and then I would watch every single video that I took over and over until I even had the audio of the crowd memorised.
“I think that’s not to be pooh-poohed. An important part of the culture is that we are all on our goddamn phones! It keeps us connected. It does!”
Billie also stressed that the internet is the reason she has a global fanbase at all after going viral with her song Ocean Eyes in 2015.
She said: “I wouldn’t have a career without the internet. I wouldn’t have fans. I wouldn’t have the connection that I do without the internet.”
Away from the debate over phone use, the 22‑year‑old confirmed she’s already deep into her next album, the follow-up to 2024’s Hit Me Hard and Soft.
She revealed she is “right in the middle” of the new project and has been spending most of her time in the studio.
She teased: “We are working on new music. It’s happening. It’ll be a second but we’re deep in album mode and it’s really fun."
Billie admitted the sessions have been unusually smooth so far.
She explained: “It’s actually really fun. We’re having a really good time which maybe means it’ll be really s*** because [it’s rare that I have] a good time [while making an album]… But we’re right in the middle of it and it’s feeling really good.”
