Earlier this year, Billie Eilish shared The World’s A Little Blurry, an Apple TV + documentary that followed the premiere of her debut album. When we all fall asleep where do we go? and the celebrity whirlwind that followed its release. In the film, the 19-year-old singer’s success is visually portrayed with images of sold-out concerts filled to the brim with passionate fans shouting at her every word of every song. In his latest live concert film, Happier than ever: a love letter to Los Angeles, Now on Disney +, Eilish performs her second album from top to bottom without a single passionate audience member physically present – and yet her star power on stage still shines.
Directed by Robert Rodriguez and Patrick Osborne, Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter To Los Angeles finds Eilish paying homage to her hometown through each other’s performances Happier than ever track reinvented in a live setting for the first time. The album is performed with his brother and close collaborator Finneas, the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by musical and artistic director Gustavo Dudamel, Brazilian guitarist Romero Lubambo and drummer Andrew Marshall. The performances featured were filmed at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
Putting your talents in the spotlight
Throughout the hour-long film, Eilish does not overload her performances, allowing her to focus solely on her vocal performance and her live presence as an artist. From the grim opening track of the album “Getting Older” to the revealing single “Your Power”, the singer exposes her full vocal range, effortlessly traversing the most vocally demanding performances on Happier Than Ever. Sometimes Eilish is supported by the lush orchestral sound of the Philharmonic. To others, it’s just his bare voice and Finneas on the acoustic guitar. Even for the fastest songs on the album, like “Oxytocin” and “So I amThe film matches Eilish’s pace with camera movements that mimic the frenzied production of each track.
Interspersed throughout Eilish’s performance are brief clips of an animated avatar of the singer exploring Los Angeles. During “Oxytocin”, the reproduced figure walks the streets of the city in an elegant convertible and during “My Future”, she overlooks these same streets from the roof of the Roosevelt Hotel. It’s a subtle yet deep visual choice, using an animated figure to explore Eilish’s hometown in a way she probably doesn’t have the luxury of anymore.
The singer documented the milestone of getting her driver’s license in The World’s A Little Blurry, enthusiastically leaving home on her own for the first time in an all-new Dodge Challenger. It’s a more secretive vehicle than the convertible its lively counterpart sits in, but the real Eilish got her license at the same time she was headlining major music festivals and changing the music landscape. pop. Even going to the grocery store turned out to be difficult for her at one point, let alone wandering the crowded streets of Los Angeles with her basic blonde hair blowing in the wind. In Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter To Los Angeles, she chooses to live vicariously through her 2D avatar.
“It’s so exciting to be able to do this in my hometown of Los Angeles, a place that really informed me of who I am and I think I took it for granted,” Eilish said in a voiceover. the film. animated self sits in an empty restaurant. “The older I get, the more I love Los Angeles so much and the more grateful I am for my childhood and my growth as a person. LA really got me there. From there, the film seamlessly switches to a magnificent performance of the Sintra-esque “Halley’s Comet” with the help of the magnificent brass section of the Philharmonic Orchestra.
” alt=””/>
A full loop
The film showcases a number of subtle highlights of the city and all it has to offer. During “Goldwing,” Eilish shouts the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, which is the same choir she grew up in. During the song, the singer interpolates “Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda, 3rd Group, Op. 26: No. 3. Hymn to Vena” by composer Gustav Holst, a song she used to sing when she was in the choir. “I just fell in love with him then and knew I wanted to put him in a song,” she says. “I thought it would be really cool to get them to come and sing here.” One of the most heartwarming moments in the film is making the full circle.
During a moving performance of “Happier Than Ever” later in the film, Eilish comes face to face with his animated counterpart. During the song’s stripped first half, a spotlight follows the cartoon Eilish down the stairs of the Hollywood Bowl to the front row where she lovingly watches herself play. “I don’t relate to you / I don’t relate to you, no / Because I would never call myself that shit / You made me hate this town,” Eilish sings passionately in a touching moment where the The emotion of the song is juxtaposed with the singer falling in love with LA.
Animated Billie also can’t escape the singer’s stardom, walking past billboards promoting Happier Than Ever and arriving at a premiere with flashing cameras and adoring fans, so the two versions of the singer have a special understanding of each other. Even when not able to perform in front of a crowded audience, she can still count on herself to show up, front and center, in her hometown’s most iconic location and as her own biggest fan.
Stream or buy Happier Than Ever.
–
