Billie Eilish: ‘The Greatest’ hit us hard

Billie Eillish is an American-born singer raised in Los Angeles, California. She started her career with her debut song “Ocean Eyes” in 2015 with her brother Finneas, then featuring it on her EP, Don't Smile at Me.  

In 2024, Billie Eilish released her third album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, which features 10 songs. One of the songs on the album is called “The Greatest.” “The Greatest” is a powerful emotional song that talks about how Eilish is the greatest for dealing with the neglect from a past lover and how she pushes through.  

 In most of her songs, she quotes a lot of powerful messages, some that a lot of teens relate to while experiencing heartbreak or depression. Most of her songs are sad but also feature some pump-up songs like “Guess” from Charli xcx.  This song specifically has touched a lot of teens with her story of a hard relationship since others can relate to Eilish’s experience.  

 In the beginning, she starts with “I’m trying my best to keep you satisfied.” From this, you can just feel the sadness coming through the lyrics. The soft singing continues through half of the song. 

 She sings, “I made it all look painless, Man, am I the greatest” when reflecting on the pain she was experiencing from her partner.  

  A couple minutes in, the beat grows as the chorus continues but in a different way. Instead of coming off soft and gentle to the person (the song is directed to) because she cares for them, she delivers the message more hard and direct because of the pain she's going through. 

 The tone then strengthens as she lets out all her emotions into this piece near the end of the song. Eilish sings, “I loved you, and I still do, just wanted passion from you, just wanted what I gave you” in a heavy rock beat, intensifying her voice.  

When listening to this song, I immediately get chills sent throughout my body as I can hear the pain through her singing. This song is one of her most powerful songs vocally because you can feel the tension change in the music; instead, her other songs stay in the same octave, if not a bit higher.  

The first time I listened to the song, I was left with tears because of how deep the lyrics go and the way she's expressing herself to her listeners. The song “The Greatest” has been one of the most touching songs I have heard from her. To hear it again for the first time would be amazing.