“HIT ME HARD AND SOFT”
Billie’s new album has been the talk of the town after being released May 17. The most popular detail is the ILOMILO theory which is the last single from her previous album named after the video game with the same name. The two characters, ilo and milo are blue and red and always seems to be getting torn apart. Within “Hit Me Hard and Soft” (the blue album) Billie addresses topics within being torn from a lover (or friend) and the feelings of losing someone. This theory includes the idea that there is a red album coming out soon, with a lot of Easter eggs being put into the blue album and advertising. Overall, this album expresses the different stages of being in and falling out of an all-consuming relationship as well as the fear of getting into a new one afterward.
“SKINNY” – The most emotionally draining song on the album happens to be first. This song explores the idea that fans think just because Billie has lost weight, she is “happy” but in reality, she is still human and still has feelings of her own. One of the most heart-wrenching lines is when she says “But the old me is still me and maybe the real me and I think she’s pretty.” So many young girls who look at others posting on the internet fail to understand that no amount of posts are someone’s full, true self, and struggle with body image and comparison that can harm them for the rest of their lives. Billie is expressing as someone who grew up in her fame that she thinks the “old her” is still just as beautiful and may even be who she truly is.
“LUNCH” – From “SKINNY” we jump right into a more upbeat, funky sounding song that you kind of just bop your head with and ride out. The song is about Billie exploring a relationship with a girl (maybe for the first time) and how it’s not just a crush.
“CHICHIRO” – Perfectly blended into from “LUNCH,” this song was one of the most anticipated. Billie heavily teased this song and some snippets have been floating around for quite some time. This song is another dancey song with a lot of rhythm and repetition. This song is almost breakup-like but feels more like the acceptance stage of grieving someone. There are a lot of open vocals and cinematic usages of instruments and drops.
“BIRDS OF A FEATHER” – One of the calmer songs, this one is about having someone in your life that you are so close to that you couldn’t imagine losing them. While some of these songs can be harder to relate to, this song is more universal with lines like “And I don’t know what I’m crying for/ I don’t think I could love you more.” These lines explore the feelings of both crying because you’re happy to be with someone and the innate fear of losing them. Absolutely nothing lasts forever and this realization can be really scary.
“WILDFLOWER” – Starting off much calmer with rain deep in the mix, this song is definitely more somber. The lyrics to this song are open to interpretation to being about another girl or a younger version of yourself and is extremely expressive. Some of the lines lean toward it being about someone else such as “I would never ask who was better” but then it could so easily be argued that someone may be referencing the younger version of you as a different person because people do change…sometimes in large amounts.
“THE GREATEST” – Transitioning into probably one of the saddest songs on the album, “THE GREATEST” explores the feelings of being strung along and refusing to be trapped in that situation any longer. One of the most powerful and underrated lines is “And we don’t have to fight/when it’s not worth fighting for,” which expresses the acceptance that the end is near and letting go is the better option than being unhappy. The song also delves into putting your all into a relationship and not being returned. Your “love and patience” is going unappreciated and unreciprocated.
“L’AMOUR DE MA VIE” – My favorite song on the album is a different kind of breakup song and almost the opposite point of view from “THE GREATEST”. The sound, the lyrics, the instruments. Everything melds so well together to make such a strong point. The absolute best part of this song is when it says, “You said you’d never fall in love again because of me/ Then you moved on, immediately” and directly after there is a BUM BUM BUM ad lib. The song addresses wanting an apology for being lied to and love bombed for an unexpressed amount of time. Because of the lies and manipulation, she was then trapped, felt obligated to be in the relationship and feel the ‘appropriate’ feelings, but looking back, it was a mistake. This song also has a crazy transition into a heavy-bassed 70s sound in which there is a more aggressive retelling of the situation.
“THE DINER” – This song starts off strong and feels like you’re entering a creepy circus. The lyrics are much like what you could imagine those of a stalker would be. There are lyrics right in the beginning like, “I’m waitin’ on your block/ but please don’t call the cops/ they’ll make me stop.” The instruments are haunting and feel like a prowl, the melody is aggressive and tragic. Out of all the songs, this is the most obsessive and funky, but it brings some life and flavor back into a pretty “normal” album with normal topics.
“BITTERSUITE” – This songs starts off strong like many of the others, but the sound at the beginning reminds me of an old video game sound. This song expresses the feelings of falling and being scared. She wants to run because of the past times she has been hurt. There is a repetition of “‘Cause I can’t fall in love with you/No matter how bad that I want to,” which feels like running and then we jump back into a similar sound to “THE DINER.” The second half of this song is like an alter ego designed to push someone away. It’s a darker, more foul sound that is jarring and beautiful at the same time. Then there is an effortless transition into the instrumental of the next song.
“BLUE” – Another one of the most anticipated songs on the album, “BLUE” is a combination of two unreleased songs teased years ago and one of them had been leaked. It starts off with the melody from “True Blue” which was written by 14 year old Billie and they rewrote it to fit who she is now. Throughout the entirety of the song she references the other nine songs on the album while expressing the core of the song, feeling blue. She uses pieces from the other songs to deepen the meaning of feeling sad from losing time and love that you gave up for someone. Then the song transitions into a rewrite of the second song “Born Blue” which no longer references the other songs on the album directly, but reverts back to a root feeling. It expresses how family ties can shape the entirety of your life and how you will feel emotions. The song, and therefore album, end on a more positive note saying that “I cant change you/ don’t hate you” saying that it incidentally just didn’t work out and hopefully they can learn and grow as humans after their tragic end to their relationship.
