On Monday, April 8, Billie Eilish finally announced that she will release Hit Me Hard And Soft on May 17 — not only among Uproxx’s “Most Anticipated Albums Of 2024” but also among the most anticipated albums of the past few years. Eilish is aware of the stakes every time she does anything, and that’s especially true with this album.
“I feel like every time you put anything out, it feels like your nudes leaked a little bit, and I think this one, specifically, is like that,” Eilish told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe in an interview aired on Friday, April 12.
She continued, “Something that Finneas and I said to a couple of people when we were starting to play it for people was that we kind of made the album that if somebody had said, you know, ‘I want you to make an album, and no one is gonna hear it. You don’t have to worry about anybody else’s ears and their opinion and anything at all. It’s just that you have to make an album. For some reason, it’s in your contract to make one, but no one can hear it.’ We pretty much, with exceptions, made that album. We made an album without really any — or much — thought of other people.”
Eilish’s original announcement was an Instagram post of the album’s cover art alongside the caption, “‘HIT ME HARD AND SOFT’ MY THIRD ALBUMMMMMMMMMMMMM COMES OUT MAY 17THHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH AHHHHHHHHHH so crazy to be writing this right now i’m nervyyyyy & exciteddd not doing singles i wanna give it to you all at once :PPP finneas and i truly could not be more proud of this album and we absolutely can’t wait for you to hear it. love you love you love you.”
Watch the Apple Music clip above, and see Eilish’s post below.
Hit Me Hard And Soft is out 5/17 via Interscope. Find more information here.