In the ongoing smartphones at gigs debate, Billie Eilish has plonked herself firmly in the pro-phone camp.
In a new interview with NME to promote her James Cameron-directed 3D concert movie Hit Me Hard And Soft: The Tour, the 24-year-old singer-songwriter described using a phone as habitual for her generation. “I just think that’s what it’s like. My generation, and the generations below, we love to film stuff. All I do is film and take pictures of stuff – all of the time.”
“I guess some people do it for clout or whatever, but who cares?” she continued. “It’s like you want to share what you experience. And for me, I mean, when I would go to concerts or festivals, I would film every single minute of it, and you know what I would do? I would watch every single video that I took over and over and over and over until I had this audio of the crowd memorised.”
“It’s an important part of the culture that we are all on our goddamn phones and it keeps us connected, you know? It does. It’s like yes, there are huge cons and social media is dark, but we get to share through the internet - and I wouldn’t have a career without the internet. I wouldn’t have fans. I wouldn’t have the connection that I do without the internet to them.”
Many artists have complained about the overuse of smartphones at gigs, the argument being that instead of being in the moment and enjoying the music, punters are invariably holding their phones up to record the footage (two thirds of which doesn’t ever get watched, apparently). The likes of Bob Dylan, Jack White, Mitski and Ghost have all banned smartphones from their gigs.
However, some have argued against such a proscriptive approach. In a 2024 interview with the BBC, Damon Albarn asked: “If you start banning things where does it end? I think you’ve just got to turn up and do your thing. People won’t want to be on their phone if you’re engaging with them correctly.”
In her NME interview, Eilish did confirm that she was currently working on a follow-up to 2024’s Hit Me Hard And Soft. “We are working on new music. It’s happening. It’ll be a second but we’re deep in album mode and it’s really fun."
“We’re having a really good time which maybe means it’ll be really s*** because (it’s rare that I have) a good time (while making an album)… But we’re right in the middle of it and it’s feeling really good.”
