Being the youngest headliner in Coachella history at the tender age of 20 is no small task. But Billie Eilish is rising to the challenge and absolutely killing it on stage in the role. Well, for the most part. The singer had a slight hiccup during her last performance at the festival when she fell on her face in front of the attendees and those watching the YouTube livestream of the event. True to form, though, Eilish totally owned the snafu with a funny response.
The tumble took place Saturday night, April 23, amidst Week 2 of the Coachella Music Festival. Per The Independent, Billie Eilish had just performed “Getting Older” from her second studio album, Happier Than Ever. After the lights went out, the performer was heard falling down. Eilish immediately told the crowd that she “ate ass up here.” She also jokingly recounted:
You guys, I seriously ate shit. Seriously. It was pitch black. You see that square? This fucking thing? I went de-de-de-de-de and fell onto my face!
Apparently, the incident incited the spectators to start chanting “fuck the square,” with the headliner herself joining in. (Just to note, the singer wasn’t seriously injured by the fall and had admitted that she was all “good” despite the obvious pain in the moment.) The Grammy winner is no stranger to cracking jokes at her expense in this way. During Coachella’s opening weekend, she actually ended her set with by apologizing for not being an icon like Beyoncé.
She’s also just as good at dishing it as she is at taking it. The 20-year-old leveled one of her signature deadpan responses to a reporter who called her an “emo teenager” to her face back in March. Not to mention, a few weeks later, Billie Eilish (almost) literally took a shit on TikTok user over their commentary on her supposed bad Oscars fashion. And (this wasn’t a dig, but I just love to remind everyone) Eilish also once called Daniel Craig a DILF.
Falls and F-bombs aside, it’s yet another tremendous year in Billie Eilish’s career. She’s co-headlining Coachella alongside Harry Styles and as a result, getting to perform side-by-side with idols like Paramore and Gorillaz’s David Albarn (the latter of whom was hilariously mistaken for Eilish’s dad by unaware onlookers). She likewise garnered a few 2022 Grammy noms to boot (no wins) and took home the Academy Award for Best Original Song for her James Bond smash ballad, “No Time To Die.”
All that’s left now is the Emmy and Tony for her to become an official EGOT. Perhaps her foray into The Simpsons universe can somehow help in that regard. I, personally, would be very interested in seeing her head to Broadway for a Sweeney Todd-esque musical, but maybe I’m getting ahead of myself…
All in all, Billie Eilish made quite the impression in her first time headlining for Coachella – and probably got some bruises for her trouble. Tonight is the last slate of performances, with full sets coming from Doja Cat and The Weeknd to close things out at 10 p.m. and 10:55 p.m. PT, respectively. Fans can check out the livestream rebroadcast on the Coachella official YouTube channel.
