Being the youngest headliner in Coachella history at the tender age of 20 is no easy feat. But Billie Eilish rises to the challenge and absolutely kills her in the role on stage. Well, for the most part. The singer had a slight hiccup during her final performance at the festival, when she fell on her face in front of attendees and viewers of the event’s YouTube live stream. True to form, however, Eilish owned the snafu with a hilarious response.
The fall took place on Saturday night, April 23, amid the second week of the Coachella Music Festival. According to The Independent, Billie Eilish had just performed “Getting Older” from her second studio album, Happier Than Ever. After the lights went out, the performer was heard falling. Eilish immediately told the crowd that she “ate ass up here.” She also jokingly said:
Guys, I seriously ate shit. Seriously. It was pitch black. do you see the square This damn thing? I went de-de-de-de and fell on my face!
Apparently, the incident prompted viewers to chant “Fuck the Square,” and the headliner herself tuned in (an obvious pain at the moment.) The Grammy-winner is no stranger to cracking jokes at her expense in this manner. During Coachella’s opening weekend, she actually ended her set by apologizing for not being an icon like Beyoncé.
She’s also just as good at serving it as she is taking it. The 20-year-old gave one of her signature deadpan responses to a reporter who called her an “emo teenager” to his face in March. Not to mention, a few weeks later, Billie Eilish (almost) literally gave a fuck to TikTok users for her comment on her allegedly poor Oscar fashion. And (that wasn’t a dig, but I love to remind everyone) Eilish also once called Daniel Craig a DILF.
Falls and f-bombs aside, it’s another great year in Billie Eilish’s career. She’s co-headlining Coachella alongside Harry Styles, so she’s alongside idols like Paramore and Gorillaz’s David Albarn (the latter was hilariously mistaken for Eilish’s father by unsuspecting viewers). She also garnered a smattering of 2022 Grammy nominations (not counting wins) and took home the Oscar for Best Original Song for her James Bond hit ballad, “No Time To Die.”
Now all she needs is Emmy and Tony to become an official EGOT. Perhaps her foray into the Simpsons universe can help in some way in that regard. Personally, I’d be very interested in seeing her in a Sweeney Todd-style musical on Broadway, but maybe I’m stretching it too far…
All in all, Billie Eilish made quite an impression in her first gig headlining Coachella — and likely picked up some bruises for her trouble. Tonight is the final performance list, with full sets from Doja Cat and The Weeknd to wrap things up at 10:00 p.m. and 10:55 p.m. PT respectively. Fans can watch the live stream replay on Coachella’s official YouTube channel.