Narrowing down Billie Eilish’s best live performances is no easy feat! Billie Eilish is as much a force of nature as a musical superstar. At only 17, she has had an astonishing output of songs. This includes one studio album, 20 singles, two EPs, and a whopping 16 music videos!
In some ways, her connection to the world of streaming was the key to her meteoric rise. When Eilish was only 13, she and her brother Finneas practically broke the internet by uploading the catchy “Ocean Eyes” to SoundCloud. This helped her gain both studio attention and a groundswell of fan support.
Her songs are typically a blend of toe-tapping pop and otherworldly goth. This goes along with the personal aesthetic of her music videos which are simultaneously giddy, irreverent, rebellious, and profound.
She takes all of that energy and aesthetic and turns out some of the most amazing live performances the world has ever seen. Here are the eight best Billie Eilish live performances.
‘Bad Guy’ on Saturday Night Live
Billie Eilish’s September 2019 Saturday Night Live performance helped her reach even more potential fans. Rather than play it safe, she played it loud and weird!
Her “Bad Guy” performance captures much of the vibe of the original music video. With loud green hair and louder clothing (black clothing with colorful lettering), Eilish did her best Spider-Man imitation. She literally moved along the walls and the ceiling as she sang!
It’s a performance worth watching twice, if only because you’ll spend the first viewing trying to figure out how they pulled this camera trickery off.
‘Ocean Eyes’ on The Late Late Show
https://youtu.be/5ounwnkYpnM
The song “Ocean Eyes” is what put Eilish on the map. And her performance of the song on The Late Late Show in 2017 helped introduce her to the rest of the world that didn’t catch her initial SoundCloud debut.
It’s tamer than some performances (no Spider-Man wall-crawling, for instance). But the simplicity of the neon set helps focus all attention on Eilish and her absolutely hypnotizing voice.
After watching this video, you’ll understand why the world fell in love with her!
‘Bellyache’ on The Tonight Show
The essence of a good performance is not the stage or set pieces; instead, it’s the singer. And that’s what Eilish helped prove with her 2018 performance of “Bellyache” on The Tonight Show.
While the set decorations didn’t extend far beyond yellow lights, Eilish helps to bring the song to life. It’s tough to resist this insane beat when you see her practically vibrating with energy on stage.
As performances go, this is downright infectious. You may just find yourself singing and dancing along with her!
‘You Should See Me in a Crown’ on Ellen
If you only have time for one Billie Eilish video, make it this 2018 Ellen performance. While Ellen has a reputation for being safe and family-friendly, Eilish went out of her way to bring a weird song and an even weirder performance.
It all comes down to Eilish wearing a onesie and singing in a throne and dancing on the stage. Oh, and there’s a bizarre electric spider dancing behind her.
Ultimately, this is like having Eilish’s entire aesthetic condensed down to a single performance.
‘Bury a Friend’ on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
In the mood for more “spooky monster vibe” from Eilish? In that case, her March 2019 Jimmy Kimmel Live! performance might be right up your alley.
The song is all about seeing things from a monster’s perspective. To enhance that effect, her band takes on a ghostly appearance midway through the performance thanks to a simple white sheet.
Whimsical, freaky, and catchy: this performance can help you stretch that Halloween feeling all throughout the year.
‘You Don’t Get Me High Anymore’ on Radio 1
Another hallmark of a good artist is that they can elevate the music of other people. For example, Billie Eilish did an amazing cover of Phantogram’s “You Don’t Get Me High Anymore” on Radio 1 in February 2019.
As performances go, this is another scaled-down one. But it forces you to pay attention to Eilish and the gallons (and gallons) of emotion she is putting into every lyric.
After watching this, you may say “move over, Weezer” and demand a whole album of cover songs from Eilish!
‘My Boy’ for Vevo Dscvr
It’s not always fair, but fans often compare live performances to music videos. It’s like a gauntlet fans throw down for musicians: “How well can you recreate that awesome video in a live performance?”
When Eilish performed “My Boy” live for Vevo dscvr’s “Artists To Watch” in November 2017, she answered that question: pretty damn well! Everything about this performance is so polished and professional that it’s easy to mistake it for a lost music video.
This is Eilish at her core. In a single take, she creates the kind of iconic performance that would take another musician days or even weeks to pull off.
‘I Love You’ at The Greek Theatre
If there was only one word to describe Eilish, “extra” would be it. Nonetheless, she knows when to keep things simple and let the music speak for itself.
The best example of this is her July 2019 performance of “I Love You” at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. The performance is nothing but her and her brother singing a tender song while atop a floating bed. Nonetheless, it was so powerful and emotional that it reduced the entire crowd to ugly crying.
If she has this much power and range at 17 years old, it’s insane to imagine what Billie Eilish will do in the future!