Billie Eilish and her brother, Finneas O’Connell, experienced a ‘big figҺt’ while recording her new album, Нit Me Hard And Soft.
The 22-year-old star and her frequent collaborator, 26, clashed over the ‘context and subject matter’ of the album. They discussed their disagreement on a new episode of The Zane Lowe Interview Series, where Finneas revealed he had to confront Billie about her approach to the album’s themes.
“We’d been writing these fragments, and I felt…I’ve been proven wrong many times, but that night I thought, ‘Subject-wise, I’m not being led into what you’re actually feeling. I think there are real guards up,’” Finneas recalled.
Finneas mentioned that Billie often remained vague about the meanings of her songs, advising her to ‘sɑy how you feel’ when explaining her lyrics, which sparked an argument. Billie found her brother’s reaction particularly unsettling.
She then discussed her love-hate relationship with making music. “I used to hate making music…I love performing it when it’s good, but I’ve always struggled with the process,” she said. However, she was ‘finally enjoying the process’ when she began arguing with her brother.
Billie recognized herself in Finneas’s frustration. “I was like, ‘I have felt that way and you have always kept things moving, and now you feel that way,’” she reflected.
Finneas concluded by noting that emotional connection with collaborators leads to better studio results. “My strength as a collaborator, especially with Billie, is understanding that person to feel like I’m contributing something,” he said.
Нit Me Hard And Soft follows Eilish’s previous albums, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? and Happier Than Ever, released in 2019 and 2021, respectively. The new album debuted last Friday along with its first single, “Lunch”, receiving positive reviews from critics.
Eilish will promote her new album on an upcoming tour starting at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City on September 29. The tour will continue into 2025, concluding with two shows at the 3Arena in Dublin on July 26 and 27.
