LA native and universe-owning pop star Billie Eilish stages Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles ( Disney+ ) on the storied ground of …
LA native and universe-owning pop star Billie Eilish stages Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles ( Disney+) on the storied ground of the Hollywood Bowl, performing her second full-length album in its entirety and transforming into a cartoon avatar of herself for a string of accompanying animated sequences. This thing is sure to make her thriving fan base swoon. The Gist: Dubbed a “concert experience,” Love Letter features all 16 songs from Billie Eilish’s recent second album Happier Than Ever,56 minutes and change, performed chronologically onstage at an empty Hollywood Bowl by the Grammy Award-winning singer, her brother and regular musical collaborator Finneas O’Connell, and special guests including the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, Brazilian guitarist Romero Lubambo, and the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus. Accompanying the live footage, which was directed by Robert Rodriguez, are animated interstitials that feature a cartoon Billie cruising around LA in a live-action, mid-engine Porsche convertible, adding some noirish, Jessica Rabbit-style flair to the concert proceedings. (Disney-affiliated animator and Oscar winner Peter Osborne handled the direction of the animated sequences.) The subdued keys and lyrical self-reflection of album opener “Getting Older” purr to life, and we’re on our way. Reflection is key to Happier Than Ever; it’s the record where a worldwide star, a contemporary pop music phenomenon, reckons with her fame, image, mindset, and media perception, and Eilish was forced to make it with 18 and life to go. As introspective as it is, and with its promotional rollout curbed by COVID restrictions, Love Letter serves as a kind of visualizer for Eilish’s new material, and tides over fans and observers until the 60-date, globe-spanning tour to support Happier Than Ever begins this September. Those Eilish stans number in the zillions, of course, so they’re sure to eat up these performances with a giant spoon and a side of avocado.
