Photo: Greg Noire for iHeartRadio
Fans at the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Festival were happier than ever during Billie Eilish's set on Saturday (September 18) evening.
The 19-year-old artist opened up the second and final night of the festival alongside her brother and collaborator Finneas on backup vocals. While this was Billie's first performance of the weekend, Finneas previewed songs from his debut solo album on night one.
Billie's electric setlist consisted of fan-favorite songs from her 2019 album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? and her sophomore outing Happier Than Ever. The California native kicked things off with 'Bury a Friend' and then quickly followed up with 'Bad Guy.' Between the tracks, she encouraged the crowd to jump up and down, dance, and have fun since she's finally back at live events after such a long hiatus.
During the back half of her memorable performance, Billie sang 'Oxytocin' and 'Everything I Wanted.' She finished up with a rousing rendition of 'Happier Than Ever.'
Billie dropped Happier Than Ever back in July to rave reviews from fans and critics alike. Ahead of the album's release, she talked about what she hoped to accomplish with the project. “I wanted to make a very timeless record that wasn’t just timeless in terms of what other people thought, but really just timeless for myself,” she told Vevo. “I gathered a lot of inspiration from a lot of older artists that I grew up loving. Mostly Julie London and a lot of Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee.”
“The songs on the album are all over the place and very, I think, versatile and different to one another, but also are very cohesive, which is a big goal for me, is to make things feel like the same project but not like the same song over and over again,” she added.
The iHeartRadio Music Festival is one of Billie's first major live performances since dropping Happier Than Ever. Based on the crowd's enthusiastic reaction, it seems like she accomplished those goals.
If you missed any of the action this weekend, you can relive the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Festival by tuning in to The CW Network on Saturday, October 2nd and Sunday, October 3rd from 8-10pm ET/PT for a two-night television special.