Not many people can make an arena go silent. Billie Eilish can.

MUSIC
Billie Eilish ★★★★★
Rod Laver Arena, March 4

If you’ve ever been to a Gen Z pop show, you know how loud they can get. So it’s something of a miracle that, halfway through the first of four sold-out Melbourne shows, Billie Eilish commands total silence from the crowd.

All is still, and then the American singer-songwriter begins to hum and multiply, looping her voice to create a luscious, echoing tower of sound for When the Party’s Over. It’s sublime stuff, but the reverie is broken as a lone voice from the crowd cries out, “I love you!”

One of the world’s biggest pop stars, Eilish has more of an edge than most: a wickedness in her grin, flirtations with sonic weirdness. There is a fervent worship among her fans: many are dressed in Eilish’s uniform of an oversized sports jersey and a bandana wrapped around the head.

Performing on a 360-degree stage gives a concurrent sense of intimacy and expansiveness. The three-piece band and two backing singers are sunken into the floor, leaving the rest of the stage for Eilish to run laps around, a boundless explosion of energy. Literal explosions, too – on Therefore I Am, flames shoot out of the stage, so intense that the heat can be felt from the stands.

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The dazzling lights are everywhere from the floor to the ceiling. Large screens box the stage, allowing a more holistic view than the usual pop rig. Eilish’s bass-heavy music thumps through the speakers, sometimes becoming distorted – but her vocal chops more than make up for it, whether singing ballads (she takes to the piano for Ocean Eyes, and of course airs her Barbie hit What Was I Made For?) or thudding bangers such as Bad Guy and her hypersexual verse on Charli xcx’s Guess, a recording of the British star appearing on the screens to deafening shrieks.

Eilish is an excellent performer, but she’s also genuinely charming, keenly observing her surroundings and finding magic there: at one point, she picks a moth up off the floor, proudly showing it to her 15,000 new friends before setting it free again. She’s also staunch and passionate, acknowledging the state of US politics and making a promise before performing the 2021 ballad Your Power: “To all the women in this room, you’re safe here and I love you.”

By the time confetti rains down for Eilish’s finale of her lovestruck megahit Birds of a Feather, there’s a communal sense of ecstasy. This is a masterclass in pop showmanship.
Reviewed by Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen