Billie Eilish Superstar: This is what the concert at the ZAG Arena Hannover was like
Hanover. Billie Eilish asks for quiet, for absolute silence. She says it's her favorite thing in the world when her audience goes wild, but now she needs a moment. And then, sitting cross-legged, she layers vocal track after vocal track, using the loop station to build a song, "When the Party's Over." And for 30 or 40 seconds, not a peep can be heard in the otherwise very loud ZAG Arena, which is sold out with 12,000 people.
It's a particularly magical moment on an evening that's not exactly short of magical moments. It's a moment that says a lot about an artist who works on her music with great stubbornness. Billie Eilish, just 23 years old, cements her status as a superstar of the 2020s in Hanover, especially for those born in this millennium.
Since releasing "Ocean Eyes" as a 13-year-old in 2015, landing a viral megahit, she has garnered ten Grammys and two Oscars (for the James Bond song "No Time to Die" and "What Was I Made For" from the "Barbie" soundtrack). Together with her brother and congenial songwriting partner Finneas O'Connell, she has built a song catalog worthy of any ecstasy in the arena.
Now she's playing the first of only five German shows on her "Hit Me Hard and Soft" world tour. As quickly as the tickets sold out, she could have easily filled stadiums.
The journey through Billie Eilish's magical land begins with "Chihiro." A TV slowly rises from the stage. At first, the musician's image becomes vague, then increasingly clear, and then, as the entire box is raised, Eilish leaps onto the stage itself.
She had a tennis court-sized rectangle built right in the middle of the arena. You can't get any closer to the fans than this in a venue like this. The ZAG Arena becomes a living room, so incredibly intimate that it never seemed possible in this venue. The band is spread out in two recesses. The entire structure becomes a multicolored projection surface; that's what Billie Eilish is all about.
In her songs, she repeatedly addresses her struggles—depression and Tourette's syndrome. She is openly bisexual, an icon of the queer scene, and struggles with ever having spoken publicly about her sexual orientation. In her art, she confidently explores the insecurities that are not only hers, but those of a generation struggling with their psyche, their own sexual orientation, and, above all, their recognition. When Eilish floats toward the ceiling of the arena on a platform to "The Greatest," she rises as if by proxy above the hardship and pain.
When Eilish smiles triumphantly during "Therefore I am," it speaks less of vanity than of certainty: They've made it, Eilish and her fans, all together. That's exactly what she's here for. It's an evening like a safe space. The song ends with pyrotechnic effects – and flows almost seamlessly into the ballad "Wildflower."
There's a darkness and grandeur in their songs, but also a great lightness. The electronic beats and analog drums thunder powerfully. Between songs like the disco-blasting "Bad Guy" and the folky, acoustic "Your Power," the entire history of pop fits in.
With "Oxytocin," she touches on electro-punk and moves to a small, second stage at the end of the hall. Green lasers blast into the room. Basic programming language flickers across the screens.
The finale includes "Happier than ever," "Birds of a feather," and a gigantic shower of confetti. With arms outstretched, she lets herself be celebrated, a scene of biblical power on this church conference weekend: Billie Eilish, superstar.
rnd
