In honor of the one-year anniversary of the release of Happier Than Ever, Billie Eilish, accompanied by her brother and producer/co-writer Finneas, hosted an intimate concert for fans and friends at Amoeba Music in Hollywood on Friday (July 29). Released July 30, 2021, Happier Than Ever marked the 20-year-old’s second studio album and hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200, just as her debut When We All Fall Asleep Where Do We Go? did back in 2019.
Fans waited in line outside the independent record store for hours for the chance to see the free acoustic show, many of whom arrived in Billie Eilish tour merchandise and gave Eilish a warm welcome as she came onstage. She and Finneas went straight into “Billie Bossa Nova,” one of the album’s fan favorites. Though the stripped-back, guitar-only performance was intended to honor the one-year of Happier Than Ever, it also was a nod to Eilish’s suprise two-song EP Guitar Songs, which she dropped on July 21.
After “Billie Bossa Nova,” Eilish played her debut performance of “TV,” a sobering and timely ballad from the new EP that discusses topical matters like the overturning of Roe v. Wade and “movie stars on trial,” likely an allusion to the highly publicized defamation trial of Johnny Depp and Amber Herd. Though the song was less than a month old, fans were already joining in for the bridge, singing the refrain “maybe I’m the problem” along with Eilish.
The young star admitted to fans she planned to end the set with a third song, “Happier Than Ever,” but instead, she polled the crowd, asking what bonus song everyone wanted to hear. After shouts from all directions, Eilish and Finneas played “Getting Older,” the first track from the record.
“Not only is this the anniversary of the album,” Eilish announced to cheering fans after the song. “It’s also [Finneas’] birthday tomorrow. He’s going to be 25!” The crowd erupted. Then the set ended, like many of her concerts do, with the album’s title cut, which peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 last year. A perfect finale, fans screamed the popular lyrics like “you made me hate this city” along with Eilish, leaving the room with a feeling of catharsis afterward.
