Last week, Billie Eilish fans were stunned to learn that the singer apparently considered them to be a close friend: On April 4, Eilish added all 110 million of her Instagram followers to her “close friends” list, a status usually reserved for, as the list’s name suggests, close friends, people you’re more familiar with than millions of strangers who just follow you online. The stunt worked out pretty well, as Eilish gained about 5 million followers in less than a day.
All of this attention Eilish generated, it turns out, was for a specific reason: Yesterday (April 8), as the United States was enamored by the eclipse, Eilish announced a new album, Hit Me Hard And Soft.
Now that the cat is out of the bag with the album news, it looks like the “close friends” stunt is done: Pop Crave noted this morning that Eilish has removed her Instagram followers from the list. All in all, the move seemed to accomplish what it set out to by generating attention for Eilish ahead of a major announcement. As of this morning, she has over 120 million followers, so she’s gained about 10 million since the start of the “close friends” stunt.
Hit Me Hard And Soft is out 5/17 via Darkroom/Interscope Records. Find more information here.
