Less than a month after she released her new album Hit Me Hard and Soft, Billie Eilish took the stage on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Monday night and delivered her first live performance of “The Greatest.”
Dressed in a striped button-down collared shirt decorated with a different-patterned striped tie, Eilish launched into the song while sitting on a stool in the dark, moodily-lit room. “I’m trying my best/To keep you satisfied/Let you get your rest/While I stayed up all night,” she softly crooned.
As the song continued to build, Eilish stood on stage as she belted the lyrics, “Just wanted passion from you/Just wanted what I gave you/I waited/And waited,” while her brother and producer Finneas moved from acoustic to electric guitar.
Hit Me Hard and Soft landed at Number Two on the Billboard 200 chart when it debuted, also leading to Eilish’s best week to date for album sales.
In Eilish’s May cover story for Rolling Stone, she said she didn’t want to release a single for Hit Me Hard and Soft because doesn’t like singles from albums. Plus, her latest project is intended to be a cohesive set of songs that she and Finneas hoped people would listen to all together.
“Every single time an artist I love puts out a single without the context of the album, I’m just already prone to hating on it,” she said. “I really don’t like when things are out of context. This album is like a family: I don’t want one little kid to be in the middle of the room alone.”
Finneas added, “I love being dropped into a universe on a person’s album. When you find a whole body of work that you love to listen to, top to bottom. I’m so much happier than when I hear a great song, when you’re like, ‘Oh, wow, I get to cook my whole dinner listening to this album.’”
Last week, Eilish dropped the new self-directed music video for “Chihiro.”
