Billie Eilish announces new album, Hit Me Hard And Soft

The Popacalypse continues: on Monday, Billie Eilish announced her third studio album, Hit Me Hard And Soft, debuting May 17. This comes after weeks of teasing her mysterious new project, and on the heels of her Grammy- and Academy Award-winning run for Barbie’s “What Was I Made For?” It also comes amid a flurry of other releases from other major female pop stars—but given that Eilish is a favorite of both Gen Z and the industry at large, her next record (produced, as always, by her brother Finneas) is just about guaranteed to be a critical and commercial smash.

“‘HIT ME HARD AND SOFT’ MY THIRD ALBUMMMMMMMMMMMMM COMES OUT MAY 17THHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH AHHHHHHHHHH,” the 22-year-old posted on Instagram. “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.” Her post was accompanied by an album cover of the artist falling through a door into dark blue water (a visual that somewhat recalls the music video for “everything i wanted,” where Eilish and her brother drive a car into the ocean and it fills with water).

Though Eilish has put a moratorium on the music until the release date, she did post a teaser Sunday night with a video of herself underwater being pulled to the surface. Not much can be gleaned about the music beyond a brief bossa nova-esque beat. Previously, some mystery billboards popped up around the world with hints at apparent lyrics from the album, like “Did I cross the line?,” “I try to live in black and white” and “She’s the headlights I’m the deer” (via Variety).

Hit Me Hard And Soft follows Eilish’s previous records WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? and Happier Than Ever, in addition to her contribution to the Barbie album. Eilish has said that “What Was I Made For?” helped her shake a stagnant period of writer’s block. “Nothing was happening. It was the least creative,” Eilish said of working on her third album at The Hollywood Reporter Songwriters Roundtable. “Greta saved me, really, honestly. It brought us out of it and immediately we were inspired and wrote so much more after that.”

Eilish is just the latest heavyweight to announce a 2024 release. March saw new albums from Ariana Grande and Beyoncé; April will be another huge month with Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department; and Dua Lipa will drop her next album Radical Optimism earlier in May. It’s an embarrassment of pop riches, and is setting the stage for a juicy showdown at the 2025 Grammy Awards.