Billie Eilish & Khalid Join Forces On Lush New Single “Lovely”

Billie Eilish recruited Khalid for her striking new single, “Lovely.” Released today (April 19), it is a stripped back ballad. With production from the 16-year-old’s brother, FINNEAS, the collaborators deliver some of their most soulful vocals over heartrending strings and atmospheric production. Despite its uplifting title, the lyrics allude to the duo attempting to overcome a serious depression. “Thought I found a way. But you never go away,” they lament on the opening lines. Things get even more hopeless as they move into the chorus. “Isn’t it lovely, all alone? Heart made of glass, my mind of stone. Tear me to pieces, skin and bone. Hello, welcome home.” The pair managed to channel the pain into something beautiful, and they may have a serious hit on their hands.

In an interview with Zane Lowe on Beats 1, Billie explained the inspiration behind the track’s title. “We called it that because the song was sort of really freaking depressing so then it’s like oh, how lovely,” she said. “Just taking everything horrible like you know what this is great. I’m so happy being miserable.” She also opened up about working with Khalid and how the track organically came together. “One thing that I’ll say is that when we wrote this actually song what was cool about it was that it wasn’t like we’re going to the studio and going to write a hit, you feel me. It was like hey come over, let’s hangout. He just came over and we hung out. Me and my brother hung out with Khalid in our house and it was literally this is us hanging out as friends and we ended up writing a song.”

“Lovely” is the latest in a string of winning releases from the pair. After going viral with his breakout hit “Location” last year, Khalid has popped up on a string of high-profile collaborations. He contributed his slinky Normani Kordei duet “Love Lies” to the Love, Simon soundtrack. More recently, he teamed up with Sabrina Claudio on “Don’t Let Me Down.” Meanwhile, Billie has delivered hits to the 13 Reasons Why soundtrack and recently unveiled her bass-heavy “COPYCAT.” With any luck, the pair will storm the charts with their soulful new duet. Give the track a spin below!

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