Why fans think Billie Eilish’s ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft’ will be a surprise double album
Billie Eilish. (Getty)
Billie Eilish is set to drop her third studio album Hit Me Hard and Soft on Friday (17 May), but some fans have a sneaky suspicion that she’s about to break the internet with a surprise double album.
A fair few fans were left feeling a little disappointed when Eilish revealed in April that Hit Me Hard and Soft would contain just ten songs.
Though the record already has some certified queer anthems – including steamy sapphic song “Lunch” and “Birds of a Feather”, which was used on a recent clip from the upcoming third season of Heartstopper – some fans were hoping for a lengthier tracklist.
Yet as the release date approaches, it appears that the singer and LGBTQ+ icon could be about to send her fanbase into a frenzy with a shock double album, à la Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department.
According to fans who have already got their hands on a copy of the vinyl version of the record, Eilish reportedly ends the credits section with: “But when can I hear the next one?”
In addition to the cheeky little nod to her fandom’s never-ending demands, some Eilish stans have noticed that she’s playing a lot with the colour blue this era – while also slyly teasing some red visuals.
Track ten on Hit Me Hard and Soft, the final track, is entitled “Blue” and the album cover is also blue, while Eilish previously told Rolling Stone that the colour was on her mind during the album’s creation, due to her synesthesia.
Synesthesia is a common phenomenon which sees sensory information routed through multiple senses, such as someone seeing words as specific colours or shapes when hearing music.
Yet fans have noticed that alongside posting photos wearing blue items of clothing, she’s also shared photos of her wearing red.
In a photo carousel post on Instagram yesterday (14 May), Eilish wears a blue cap in one photo, and a red cap in another.
Another photo shows her wearing a blue and red fleece.
Fans have also picked up on the fact that “ilomilo”, a song from Eilish’s first studio album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, references the puzzle video game of the same name – which has both a blue and a red leading character.
Of course, there’s also the fact that blue and red are two of the main primary colours.
Keen for the idea of two Billie Eilish albums dropping on one day, her fans have run with the theory, and are already getting very excited.
Hit Me Hard and Soft – and maybe its sister record? – is out on Friday 17 May.
