Maps of Music

Happier Than Ever (2021)

Where the lyrics of Happier Than Ever take you, and where it was really made.

Before release, Eilish said almost none of the songs on the album are joyful, despite its title.

Key places

Finneas's home studio in Los Angeles (2021)

Recording site Motown Recording Studios — The album was recorded at Finneas's home studio in the basement of his Los Angeles residence. The location here is confirmed only at city level. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Concert film shot at the Hollywood Bowl (2021)

Live show Hollywood Bowl — The concert film Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles was shot at the Hollywood Bowl without a live audience. Additional scenes were filmed at other Los Angeles landmarks. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Second studio album by Billie Eilish
• Released July 30, 2021 by Darkroom and Interscope Records
• Co-written with brother Finneas O'Connell, who produced it and played every instrument
• Eilish cited self-reflection during the COVID-19 pandemic as the biggest inspiration
• Mostly downtempo pop with sparse, jazz-influenced electropop arrangements
• Moves away from the upbeat, trap-led sound of the debut album
• Torch songs about the downsides of stardom

Background

• Debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? released March 29, 2019
• Debut produced the Billboard Hot 100 number-one single 'Bad Guy'
• Singles released in between include 'Everything I Wanted', 'No Time to Die' and 'Lo Vas a Olvidar'
• January 2020 interview: Eilish said she would begin work on the second album that year
• Eilish named jazz singers Julie London, Peggy Lee and Frank Sinatra as major influences
• Her stated goal was to make a very timeless record

Recording

• Recorded at Finneas's home studio in the basement of his Los Angeles residence
• Recording ran from April 1, 2020 to February 16, 2021, on weekly schedules
• Sessions began with 'My Future' and ended with 'Oxytocin'
• The title track was the first song written for the record, dating to the European leg of the debut album's tour
• The final listing has 16 tracks

Cover

• A new cover for the album was designed by American artist Lisa Yuskavage
• The limited Gucci edition has a 'psychedelic pattern' in the background

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Disc 1

Disc 2

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Born December 18, 2001, in Los Angeles, California, to musician parents Maggie Baird and Patrick O'Connell.
• Homeschooled by her mother; began playing ukulele at age six and joined the Los Angeles Children's Chorus at age eight.
• Wrote her first "real" song at age 11 for her mother's songwriting class.

Career

• Released "Ocean Eyes" in 2015, written and produced by her brother Finneas O'Connell; the song drew attention on SoundCloud and led to a deal with Darkroom and Interscope Records in 2016.
• Debut EP Don't Smile at Me (2017) reached number 14 on the US Billboard 200.
• Debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? (2019) debuted atop the US Billboard 200 and UK Albums Chart; "Bad Guy" became the first song by an artist born in the 21st century to top the US Billboard Hot 100.
• Second album Happier Than Ever (2021) also debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.
• Third album Hit Me Hard and Soft (2024) featured the number-one Billboard Global 200 single "Birds of a Feather".
• Won Academy Awards for "No Time to Die" (2022) and "What Was I Made For?" (2024).

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone called it a downright heroic, dark and painful confessional album
• NME critic El Hunt said the album proves Eilish is one of her generation's most significant pop artists
• Alexis Petridis of The Guardian noted uniformly great melodies and vocals and less flashy production
• Robert Christgau gave the album an A in his Consumer Guide column
• Metacritic weighted mean score of 86 from 27 reviews, indicating universal acclaim

Reappraisal

• Matthew Kent of The Line of Best Fit praised the lyrics and production but said the tracks often blur into each other
• Alex McLevy of The A.V. Club felt there are a few too many tracks, and the back half falters
• Tom Breihan of Stereogum wrote negatively, calling it a boring, shell-shocked product of the attempt to make a second album as triumphant as the first

Records

• Debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 238,000 album-equivalent units, Eilish's second US number-one album
• Topped the Billboard 200 for three consecutive weeks
• Number one on the UK Albums Chart with 39,000 units
• Number one in Germany, Australia and France, the French chart with 14,695 units
• Seven Grammy nominations for the album and its title track at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Apple Music pre-adds exceeded 1.028 million before release, and Eilish reclaimed the platform's record for the most pre-saved album
• The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry ranked Eilish as the third best-selling female artist of 2021
• The Gucci edition vinyl was pressed from leftover recycled materials gathered during the original pressing
• Eilish said 'NDA' was written outside her comfort zone, as she aimed to feel uncomfortable during the process
• 'Male Fantasy' was described by Eilish as a song that pretty much wrote itself
• The Hollywood Bowl concert film was shot without a live audience because of the COVID-19 pandemic

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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