Happier Than Ever is the second studio album by American singer and songwriter Billie Eilish, released on July 30, 2021, by Darkroom and Interscope Records. It followed her debut album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?. Eilish wrote Happier Than Ever with its producer Finneas O’Connell. She cited self-reflection as the biggest inspiration for the record.
Eilish dropped a thunderous new music video for the title track “Happier Than Ever,” which was released on the same day with the album.
Primarily a pop record, Happier Than Ever is characterized by subdued and sparse electropop arrangements set to slow tempos. It consists of torch songs built around the downsides of stardom, drawing from Eilish’s rise to fame. Music critics praised the album widely, underscoring its stylistic production and insightful lyrics. Five singles were released in promotion of the album: “My Future”, “Therefore I Am”, “Your Power”, “Lost Cause”, and “NDA”, all of which charted in the top 40 of the US Billboard Hot 100. To promote it further, a Disney+ documentary concert film, Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles, will be released on September 3, 2021, and Eilish will embark on Happier Than Ever the World Tour in 2022.
The reason the song is sticking out to so many people is that it’s divided into two very discernible parts. The first finds Eilish singing in her typical soft-voiced manner, sounding defeated as she sings “when I’m away from you, I’m happier than ever.” But the quiet of the first half is met with the burning rage of the second, as Eilish brings in distorted electric guitars and full-chest screams to send a major “screw you” to the person who hurt her.
“I screamed my lungs out when we recorded this song,” she said of the song in Spotify’s “storyline” feature. “I’ve wanted to get those screams out for a long time.”
Watch the music video for “Happier Than Ever” here.
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