To say Billie Eilish is having a moment this year (well, several moments) is a bit of an understatement. She racked in seven 2022 Grammy nominations – no wins, although it was no matter really because she earned the coveted Best Original Song at the Oscars for the fan-favorite James Bond ballad, “No Time To Die.” The 20-year-old then followed it up of late with her first-time headlining duties at Coachella. Not so surprisingly, she dropped an F-bomb in gratitude for the honor but apologized to fans for not being the one, the only, Beyoncé.
The singer had performed at the Coachella Music Festival back in 2019 and famously forgot her own lyrics to “all the good girls go to hell.” Nevertheless, she got the opportunity to make up for things when she took to the main stage last night as headliner. Addressing the crowd in between songs, Billie Eilish reflected on the import of the moment for her personally, saying (via Insider):
I should not be headlining this shit! But I'm so fucking grateful that I'm here and that you guys are all here. This is such a dream come true. I feel crazy.
Billie Eilish belted some of her best hits during the hour-long concert, including “everything I wanted” and “Getting Older.” No mishaps this time, and the online response was equally as ecstatic as those in attendance in-person at Coachella. One person who may not have been quite so ecstatic, though, is Kanye West. The rapper notoriously backed out of co-headlining alongside Eilish (and Harry Styles), after issuing an ultimatum that she needed to apologize to Travis Scott over previous crowd safety comments. (Scott has been embroiled in controversy ever since the Astroworld concert fiasco.)
It's like I can hear Kanye West now: "Yo Billie, I’m really (not) happy for you, I’ma let you finish, but Beyoncé was one of the best Coachella headliners of all time!" Which she was, and the "Bad Guy" singer seems to think so, too. At the end of her first 2022 set, she in fact remarked:
Thank you Coachella! I'm sorry I'm not Beyoncé. I love you, goodnight.
Beyoncé’s 2018 Coachella performance was certainly iconic, so much so that fans decided to rename the festival at the time as “Beychella.” The huge production was an ode to Black culture and HBCUs, made only more impressive by the additional Destiny’s Child, Jay-Z and Solange appearances and later Netflix BTS documentary. Still, Billie Eilish made her own mark at the live event as the youngest headliner in its history, as evidenced by one Twitter fan’s capture of her performing “Happier Than Ever.”
Harry Styles and Billie Eilish return as the main attractions again next weekend – on Friday and Saturday night, respectively. For today, April 17, though, the performances will be from the likes of Vince Staples, Run the Jewels, Doja Cat, and Eilish’s brother, Finneas. Those who didn’t get a ticket for in-person can check them out through the Coachella livestream on YouTube through the last day of the schedule, April 24.
Let me just say, though, that I, too, am sorry I’m not Beyoncé... And that I won’t be joining the Simpsons universe with Billie Eilish… And goodnight.
