Billie Eilish performed to 25,000 fans at the National Stadium Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur on Aug 18. Photos: Jinson Chee
In Malaysia’s first large-scale concert since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in 2020, US singer-songwriter Billie Eilish entertained fans for one-and-a-half hours at the National Stadium Bukit Jalil in Kuala Lumpur yesterday (Aug 18).
The youngest artiste to receive nominations and win in all the major categories at the 62nd Grammy Awards (Best New Artiste, Album Of The Year, Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year, and Best Pop Vocal Album) did not disappoint as she served up a slew of songs for frenzied concert-goers.
The 20-year-old’s compelling performance was a combination of slow and relaxed tunes.Accompanied on stage by her brother and producer Finneas O’Connell on guitar and drummer Andrew Marshall, Eilish performed tunes from her latest album, Happier Than Ever, and her debut studio album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
The Kuala Lumpur show, which is one of the stops in her Billie Eilish Happier Than Ever, The World Tour 2022, kicked off with the infectious, groove-worthy, head-bopping tracks Bury A Friend, I Didn’t Change My Number, NDA and My Strange Addiction.
This was followed by the slower tunes idontwannabeyouanymore and You Should See Me In A Crown, before the set picked up again for Billie Bossa Nova, a smooth, laid-back track using the Brazilian music style bossa nova.
Eilish’s husky, ethereal voice was in top form as she worked her way through songs that show off her vocal range such as The 30th and Oxytocin, where she glides effortlessly from top soprano notes to lower ranges.
Her pure, perfectly pitched tone was both breathy and powerful, and paired with sometimes macabre but often tongue-in-cheek lyrics, made for a compelling performance that evoked tears, screams and singalongs from the young audience.
The show was a crowd-pleaser as the 20-year-old served up a combination of slow and relaxed tunes as well as upbeat and foot tapping groovy tracks. There's even an acoustic bit with O’Connell on guitar. There was also plenty of crowd interactions where Eilish referred to the audience as “cute” and thanked them profusely for attending.
Other songs performed from the Happier Than Ever album - which she has described as a sort of “diary” - were Getting Older, Halley's Comet, Goldwing and Your Power.
The multiple award-winning artiste performed for one-and-a-half hours.The penultimate song, the supremely catchy song Bad Guy got the audience on their feet for a few minutes of dancing before a massive confetti explosion signalled the night was ending.
Eilish ended the show with the title track from her second album, Happier Than Ever.
While there were screams of delights and some even shedding tears of joy getting the chance to watch their idol on stage and attending live shows once again, was everyone "happier than ever"?
Several netizens have flooded social media voicing their frustrations and anger about the show. Some concertgoers who said they paid over RM500 for their tickets found that their seats were too far away from the stage for them to fully enjoy the experience or had an obstructed view of the stage. Others complained about the poor audio system in the venue that marred the concert experience.
