It was a long awaited appointment by fans of Billie Eilish. At the end of a hot and entertaining sold-out day in Osheaga, the pop star spared no effort (stage, vocals) to captivate festival-goers.
Osheaga announced in the morning that Saturday was sold out. No wonder then that the reception for Billie Eilish has been so colossal. The sea of people in front of the main stage set up in Parc Jean-Drapeau became even more gigantic just before the arrival of the young pop star. Tens of thousands of festival-goers gathered for the highlight of the evening.
After a postponement due to health restrictions, the American artist’s concert scheduled for Montreal last year had simply been canceled. It was therefore a long-awaited evening for fans of the Californian, whose most recent album, Happier Than Ever, was released in the summer of 2021.
So, after an introduction that was received with roars from the excited crowd, Billie Eilish gave her audience yet another reason to shout their affections at her. For an hour and a half, she enthusiastically delivered about twenty of her songs, almost flawless, sometimes perfectly imperfect.
We know that she pays particular attention to the images that accompany her music, in her music videos as well as in her concerts.
Onstage, a raised platform at the back accommodated its drummer, Andrew Marshall, and his brother, Finneas, on keyboards and guitars. Behind, on all sides and in front of the platform, screens made the musical performance an equally pleasing moment for the eyes.
Dressed in a large t-shirt, equally baggy shorts, her hair tied in two pigtails, Eilish jumped and ran on stage, moved on the catwalk bringing her closer to the crowd. If her voice seemed somewhat muffled at the start of the performance, the singer was quickly able to better demonstrate that she has an angelic, crystalline voice.
This year, Eilish released the song What Was I Made For?, for the soundtrack to the ultra-popular Barbie movie. She also offered one of the first live interpretations of her ballad on the Osheaga stage, in the middle of the performance. Before and after, the artist has given several of his best pieces, from bury a friend to Your Power, passing through Bellyache and, of course, Ocean Eyes (the one that started his career with a bang, in 2015).
After I Didn’t Change My Number and NDA (hard-hitting!), she launched a shortened version of idontwannabeyouanymore.
“I forgot we were doing this song,” she then laughed when the first piano chords of My Future rang out.
“All I’m asking tonight is that we lose our minds a bit,” Eilish told festival-goers, before asking them, without music, to jump in place, wave their arms, move their heads. head all over the place, then scream. An explosive rendition of You Should See Me in a Crown then ignited the crowd.
From the height of her 21 years, the one who has been singing and performing on stage since the age of 15 is completely in her element. The energy flows from the stage to the crowd, from the crowd to the stage.
When she asked us if we knew about this ultra-viral song on social media (especially TikTok) that says: “Black top, big t-shirt, Billie Eilish”, the crowd answered in the affirmative. What was our surprise when Armani White, the performer of said song called Billie Eilish (which will be performing this Sunday at Osheaga), came to perform it on stage!
Osheaga’s audience is exactly who this kind of moment is aimed at. It was perfect.
This new crowd favorite was sung in chorus by the audience as the singer delivered an emotionally charged and righteous performance.
While she seemed on the verge of tears the second before, Billie then instantly went into party mode for Oxytocin. A real beast of the stage, she drew on the full range of emotions during the hour and a half allotted to her and transmitted them to her conquered audience.
Another highlight of the show was the acoustic rendition of the songs I Love You, Your Power and TV. Sitting on a stool, accompanied by Finneas (“the reason I’m still alive”), the singer was excellent.
The second part of the show allowed for even more moments where fans were delighted to hear the chords of their favorite songs, like Bellyache, when the party’s over and Happier Than Ever, for the explosive finale.
After a convincing Baby Keem and The National, always excellent, Billie Eilish, probably the youngest headliner of the festival, has shown that she is one of the greats of pop.
