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Finneas O'Connell, Billie Eilish's brother and frequent collaborator, expressed his outrage at online music publication Pitchfork's low rating of Eilish's latest album Hit Me Hard and Soft, released on May 17, 2024. On May 21, Pitchfork gave the album a 6.8 out of 10, having previously rated When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? and Happier Than Ever 7.2 and 7.6 respectively.
The Pitchfork review, written by Hannah Jocelyn on May 21, dubbed the album "certainly tasteful, and arresting" but refrained from calling it a masterpiece.
"Every song on this big album has some detail worth hearing, but the insistence on multipart epics and ballads kills the momentum. When “Wildflower” and “The Greatest” crescendo back to back, it gets aggravating," she wrote.
Following this, Finneas responded to the low rating while replying to a fan on TikTok, calling the online music publication company a "whole hater-a** bag."
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“Nothing cool about writing a positive review of an album everyone likes – they’ve gotta have an angle. They gave [Lana Del Rey’s] born to die a 5.5 – it’s their whole hater-a** bag," he wrote.
Billie Eilish called Hit Me Hard and Soft "the most genuine thing" she's ever made
In her interview on The Late Night With Stephen Colbert on May 21, Billie Eilish called Hit Me Hard and Soft "the most genuine thing" she's ever made.
“It feels very, very me and it feels like all of the music is exactly who I am,” she explained.
In an April interview with Rolling Stone, Billie Eilish expressed that the new album was taking her back to the girl she was during her When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? era. The new album also sheds light on the 22-year-old singer's struggle with depression, understanding her sexuality and attraction to girls.
Finneas also expressed his admiration for the album, calling it his "favorite thing" he has ever been a part of.
Since its release, the album has been topping the Billboard charts. Billie EIlish's Hit Me Hard and Soft debuted at No. 2 on Billboard 200 and later hit No. 1 on the UK charts, with the second-biggest opening week for any album in the U.K. in 2024, following Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department.
According to Billboard, three songs from Hit Me Hard and Soft reached the top 10 list in the UK, with Lunch at No. 2, Chihiro at No. 7, and Birds Of A Feather at No. 9. Following the album's success, Eilish and her brother released a statement thanking their fans, saying:
“Thank you, guys, so much for all of your support on this album. This week has been so surreal and insane, and we truly could not be more overwhelmed with joy. Love you all until we die. Thank you for everything. Forever.”
Billie Eilish will kick off her world tour for Hit Me Hard and Soft in Quebec on September 29, 2024, following which she will tour North America until December.
The international leg of the tour will begin in Australia in February 2025. Billie Eilish will also travel through Europe and the UK, with her final show in Dublin on July 27, 2025.
