With ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft,’ Billie Eilish is contiuning to do things her own way. It keeps paying off

Billie Eilish has always done things her own way. With her third studio album “Hit Me Hard and Soft,” which drops on Friday, she’s remained consistent.

Billie Eilish has always done things her own way. Whether it be releasing her 2016 viral hit “Ocean Eyes” onto Soundcloud, a DIY music streaming site, or writing and recording her record-breaking debut album “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” with her collaborator and brother Finneas O’Connell in her childhood bedroom, Eilish, 22, has never been shy about straying from industry norms – and it seems to be working well for the two-time Oscar-winner. With her third studio album “Hit Me Hard and Soft,” which drops on Friday, she’s remained consistent. The sound of the album is sure to be a surprise to all, because Eilish intentionally chose to not release a single prior to launching the album – again, a rather unorthodox move. “I wanna give it to you all at once,” she wrote on her Instagram page last month when announcing the album. Her 2019 debut album “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?,” along with 2021’s “Happier Than Ever” and the new record, were all co-written and produced by O’Connell. It follows Eilish and O’Connell’s Oscar win in March for their original song for the “Barbie” movie, “What Was I Made For,” which was one of 2023’s biggest hits. The duo previously won the Oscar for original song in 2022 for “No Time to Die.” However “Hard and Soft” sounds, which we shall soon find out, Eilish hinted in an interview with Rolling Stone last month that she found herself harkening back to her roots with this record, bringing to mind a time in Eilish’s musical journey where she first set her own precedent for being in control.