With about a month to go until the official start of summer, the competition to create the season's signature song may already be over thanks to Kendrick Lamar, whose upbeat, meandering Drake “Not Like Us” speech seems sure to hit the airwaves. open car windows until September. Behind Lamar in the race are Sabrina Carpenter with the bonkers “Espresso,” Tommy Richman and his viral “Million Dollar Baby,” and Post Malone with not one but two superstar duet partners: Taylor Swift on “Fortnight” and Morgan Wallen on “ I had some help.”
But wait, here comes Billie Eilish with a song from her new album that she suggests she wants to perform.
“Birds of a Feather,” an upbeat neo-new-wave song, is one of 10 songs from Eilish's “Hit Me Hard and Soft,” which the 22-year-old pop singer debuted Wednesday night at a party. public listening at Barclays in Brooklyn. Center. She will host a second event Thursday night at the Kia Forum in Inglewood before the LP hits streaming services at 9 p.m. PDT. And although it's not even out yet, “Birds of a Feather” seems to be on its way to becoming a hit.
Should we be surprised that Eilish is joining the fray? Statistically speaking, he's had warm-weather hits before, including the Grammy-winning “Bad Guy,” which topped Billboard's Hot 100 in August 2019. Almost exactly a year later, “My Future” climbed to No. 6 on the chart. same list. . And then there's “What Was I Made For?”, the somber, beautiful piano ballad she released last July as part of the overwhelming cultural juggernaut that was “Barbie.”
But we've never really gotten a super summer bop from Eilish, and that's precisely what “Birds of a Feather” is. Between dreamy guitars and a ticking rhythm, she addresses a lover (“my baby,” as she says) for whom she is crazy. Being Eilish, she can't resist framing the romance in somewhat lurid terms: “I want you to stay until I'm in the grave,” she sings, “Until I'm rotting, dead and buried / Until I'm in the grave.” the coffin you carry.” Good pics!
It's easy to imagine this song finding an immediate home on Top 40 radio, although Eilish herself has said she doesn't plan to release a proper single from “Hit Me Hard and Soft.” “This album is like a family,” she told Rolling Stone last month. “I don't want a little boy to be alone in the middle of the room.” Programmers can play it anyway, of course, and the citizens of TikTok will do what they do with it.
Watch out, Kendrick.
