Fans React To Billie Eilish’s New Album ‘HMHAS’

It is May 17th, AKA Billie Eilish Hit Me Hard And Soft release day! Fans of the award-winning, record-breaking singer-songwriter flocked to social media to share their thoughts on the artist's highly-anticipated third studio album.

With album release parties on the East and West coast prior to Friday's HMHAS release, Eilish, 22, shared her feelings about her third album on social media. She wrote on Instagram: "dude 'HIT ME HARD AND SOFT' my third album is f---ing out now i don’t even know what to SAAYY… @finneas and i put so much into this album and have never ever ever loved something more. we hope you enjoy it so much and i’ll see you on the other side EEEEEEEEEEEEEK HMHAS OUT NOW EVERYWHERE LOVE YOU ALL TO DEAAAAATH!!!![crying emojis]."

Prior to the album's release, Eilish announced to her fans that she was "not doing singles i wanna give it to you all at once." Though the singer didn't release any singles ahead of the release, she did give some insight to what was to expect in the album, as well as the tracklist.

Last month, Eilish said in her Rolling Stone cover story that her second track of the album, "Lunch," is a racy tune about crushing on a girl. Cheekily called “Lunch,” she told the publication the song helped her become more accepting of her sexuality. “That song was actually part of what helped me become who I am, to be real,” she said. “I wrote some of it before even doing anything with a girl and then wrote the rest after.”

With the release of her music video for "Lunch" at noon ET Friday, Eilish shared an old-school pop-inspired music video. While wearing baggy outfits in the over-saturated music video, Eilish plays with cards and dice as she struts around the all-white studio set.

As the song gets into its full groove, the background changes into colors of blue, red, and yellow into the mix as Eilish dances and has fun while making eye contact with the camera.

Watch the music video for "Lunch" below:

With the release of the ten-song album that she worked on with her brother and collaborator, FINNEAS, fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to share their thoughts.

One fan commended the way Eilish set up her tracklist, writing, "She’s so insane for putting 'WILDFLOWER' and 'THE GREATEST' back to back." With an ethereal photo of Eilish from one of her recent listening parties, another fan wrote: "She’s like Jesus for gay people." A third hilariously pointed out: "this album is so bipolar. i don’t know whether to cry or shake my a--. i love it."

Getting into the specifics of what song they liked, one fan writes: "i love the whole album but for now im gonna say she made the diner FOR ME it’s literally my fav type of song. my mouth dropped when it started playing." Sharing a dark humor video of a video game character getting kicked around, one fan said: "this is what listening to THE GREATEST by billie eilish for the first time felt like." Another fan said about the fifth track, "Wildflower:" "… ok billie take a minute girl come sit down and tell us what’s been happening!"

Many loved Eilish's closing track, "Blue," with one user writing, "thinking about how billie references back to all the tracks on hmhas in blue the same way she did on wwafa with goodbye." Another shared a screenshot of "Blue" and her debut album's closing track, "goodbye," and said: "one thing about billie eilish is that she knows HOW TO CLOSE AN ALBUM."

It is quite baffling that 2019 was five years ago! Time really does fly by, and it seems like it wasn't that long ago that these pop songs dropped. Billie Eilish's debut studio album, WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? released in March of that year, with her gorgeous vocals shining on tracks like "bury a friend," "ilomilo," and "i love you." That same year, Lizzo's third album, Cuz I Love You, was released the following month. She took radio waves by storm with bangers like "Truth Hurts," "Tempo," and "Juice." Taylor Swift also released new music in 2019 with her seventh studio album, Lover. It was the singer-songwriter's first album after her departure from Big Machine Records. The album featured such tracks as "Cruel Summer," "Lover," and "The Archer." According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, it was the global best-selling studio album of 2019, with sales of 3.2 million copies.

Ariana Grande's fifth studio album, thank u, next, was released six months after her fourth studio album Sweetener. It was Grande's most personal album recorded up to this point in her career, following the death of her ex-boyfriend Mac Miller and the end of her engagement to Pete Davidson. Songs like "thank u, next," "fake smile," and "7 rings" reflect on the artist's personal flaws, grief and denial, as well as independence and self-empowerment. A newcomer to the pop music scene this year was Lil Nas X, who had major success the year prior with his collaboration with Billy Ray Cyrus on "Old Town Road." His EP, 7, featured the award-winning track and the remixed version. The song went 17 times platinum in the US alone, and the music video has over 1.2 billion views on YouTube.

Take a look below at five songs that turn five in 2024:

We love this synth-pop track, with dark and violent lyrics Eilish sings so well from the perspective of a monster under someone's bed. She said, "Anything could be the monster — it could be someone you love so much that it’s taking over your life. I think love and terror and hatred are all the same thing." And yeah, we know "bad guy" is on that album and yes, that's a classic too. Don't come at us! We just love "bury a friend." 

Besides Lil Nas X's 2021 track, "MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)," all his versions of "Old Town Road" continue to have classic status. The song initially gained popularity on TikTok and later that year, was certified diamond by the RIAA for selling ten million units in the US, making it the fastest song to be certified diamond.

The title track is so timeless and it will surely be played at weddings for years to come. Swift said while recording, she imagined the production to sound like "just the last two people on a dance floor at 3 a.m. swaying." The music video is just as romantic, but with a playful idea of Swift and her lover living the ups and downs of their life within a dollhouse.

In this iconic pop R&B track, Ariana sees a guy at a club and is attracted to him, only to realize that he has a girlfriend who looks just like her -- high ponytail and all. By lingering as a third wheel to the couple, he keeps looking back at Ariana. But by the end, she pushes him away and goes for his girlfriend. The video's climax was seen as "queerbating" by some, but her choosing her lookalike insinuates she would rather love herself.

Lizzo's funky pop song was the lead single from Cuz I Love You. The self-esteem empowering track has an equally fun and empowering music video showcasing Lizzo's self-love. In the video, the singer takes part in an '80s-style workout program, late-night talk show, and selling products on an infomercial.