On May 17, Billie Eilish released her third studio album “Hit Me Hard and Soft” to the excitement of fans. Since her first EP “don’t smile at me” released back in 2011, when Billie Eilish was 15, the young artist has since made a name for herself. 

“Happier Than Ever” the artists last album had been released in 2021, so the announcement of “Hit Me Hard and Soft” sparked excitement in fans but also wonder of if the album would sound more like “Happier Than Ever”, “WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP WHERE DO WE GO” or something completely different. 

“To me this is what I expected” Happier Than Ever” to be like, don’t get me wrong I love “Happier Than Ever” no shame to that album, but I feel like I expected it to be more like this style when she had that switch originally,” junior Stella Colocino said.  

Students seem to agree on the new style but similar angle Eilish takes with this album.

“I expected more angst and grunge, more like “Happier Than Ever” and we still get some of that in “The Greatest” and “Bittersuite” with the beat changes. A lot of the songs seem to switch beats halfway through which is kinda new,” senior Gabi Todd said. 

Even if it wasn’t exactly what fans had in mind most enjoyed the album.

“I do really like it, I don’t know if it’s exactly what I was expecting it to be though, especially with a lot of the song titles. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting but I was pleasantly surprised,” Colocino said. 

Being the first album since the artists came out in 2023 fans expected songs that discussed and represented her sexuality. A song called “Lunch” that she played at a show, prior to the song being fully released, gave fans a glimpse into the album. The song describes Eilish’s feelings towards a girl she likes, living up to fans expectations of the album, representing Eilishes sexuality by having gay songs. 

“Lunch” its so obvious and its amazing and it’s her most streamed song or something and it might be because of her pr surrounding it but it’s also a really good song,” Todd said.

Eilish is most often known for her relatable but sad lyrics as well as the different beats she experiments with in her songs and how they intertwin together. 

“Her combination of lyricism and fun beats is one of the reasons I really like her as an artist because I feel like I can dance to her song but im also like this song has meaning, I’m not just singing random things. Some songs, no hate no shade I love stupid songs, but im like what does this mean it doesn’t mean anything, so I do like how Billie has it be fun but also have a meaning to her and to other people,” Colocino said.

The way she intersects two large parts of music are reasons her fans appreciate her so much.

“I noticed her mix of lyricism and beats with “Bittersuite” and “The Greatest” and the beats in those are mind blowing. As well as “L’AMOUR DE MA VIE” her writing is just beautiful,” Todd said. 

Those aspects of her music help add to what fans consider their favorite songs from each album. 

“I loved “Birds of a Feather” it was in the “Heartstopper” trailer and I posted on my private story and I was like I need this song to come out so I can put it on my prom post. Then everyone else put it on their prom post, because it is the perfect happy and sad song”  Todd added.

Since Eilishes music journey started at a young age her growth, both in and outside, of music has been publicly seen.  

“I think this album reflects her growth as an artist because she started her music journey young, I feel like she acknowledges a lot of things that have happened to her in it,” Colocino said.  “Like I think “The Diner ” is about her being stalked and she talks about different friendships she’s had and relationships. It’s also a different genre then what she’s done in the past because she’s done more alternative and more pop music and this one is more electronic than before. Also the way she been posting about it reflects the ways she’s grown too.”

Her growth can be seen not only in her lyrics but within the music itself.

“In “Blue” she sounds so much older and it’s kinda like a shift from her previous style, even just in the style you can tell she’s matured a lot,” Todd said. 

An unreleased song by Billie Eilish called “True Blue” had been leaked on Tiktok years prior with fans taking a liking to the songs, making it popular without ever being truly released. When fans saw the album tracklist they speculated that a song titled “Blue” could be “True Blue”, and to their anticipation it was. 

“I was kinda surprised ‘Blue’  was ‘True Blue’ I never expected her to release it honestly, I kinda thought it was just gonna be from ‘where are the avocados’. I expected that she just wouldn’t turn it into a song so my reaction was ohhh I know this song, so it was a good surprise,” said Colocino. 

Recently with fans believing little “hints” have been dropped they have started  speculating that “Hit Me Hard and Soft” could be a double album. The pieces leading to the idea of a double drop consist of Billie says “But when can I hear the next one” at the end of the last song on the album. As well as Billie’s eyes being both blue and red in the cover of “L’Amour De Ma Vie” adding to the “ilomilo” theory. Based on a song that describes two friends,one named ilo who is red and the other named milo who is blue, who always seem to get separated from each other and are always chasing each other around. The blue cover of “Hit Me Hard and Soft” that has red splatters on it on the inside of some vinyl covers of the album have led fans to speculate that another album is near.  After Taylor Swift shocked fans with “The Tortured Poets Department ” being a double album fans believe Billie is doing the same. 

“I like the double album theory because I think “ilomilo” is cute and I like the little guys, I don’t know if its real though. I feel like everyone wants every artist to be like Taylor Swift now and not everyone is and not everyone is dropping hints. I do think its possible I just don’t know if I entirely believe it because a lot of the stuff seems forged like the blue and red like maybe its just the color scheme of the album. I do think its not impossible,” said Colocino.

Many fans share the theories and excitement hoping there’s another album soon to come. 

“People talking about the red hair and the red bangs and the red splotch vinyl things, I hope there is another album. I would love it if there was a new album. “Hit Me Hard and Soft” is an album that i’ve had to listen too multiple times to like understand and its goof I just thought it would have more angst, so I hope there’s another part, but Ive also really enjoyed this album,” said Todd.

Whether or not a double drop is going to happen fans are excited to see what Billies future projects will be, especially with her upcoming tour.