Billie Eilish’s concert visit in Glendale, Arizona, brought an unwanted surprise. The artist was hit in the face with what appeared to be a bracelet while performing the song “What Was I Made For?”
The 22-year-old singer currently has to rely on her Hit me hard and soft world tour, went to work on the heartfelt song, which took home the award for Best Original Song at the Oscars last year for the film Barbie — the artist’s second time winning the Academy Award. However, just one line into the song, Eilish was interrupted when an object hit her in the face.
Eilish flinched, according to the video taken during the concert, and missed the next line in the song. However, after a brief pause, she continued singing as the audience booed the unwanted interruption.
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This isn’t the first time artists have been hit by overenthusiastic spectators. Last month, Zach Bryan stopped a concert after a fan threw something at him on stage. In 2023, Kelsea Ballerini was walking off stage when she was hit with an object during a show. After Bebe Rexha was hit by a cell phone during a show in 2023, she wore goggles at her next concert to drive home the importance of safety. And at the 2022 Rolling Loud music festival, Kid Cudi also left the stage after several people in the audience threw things at him.
While it’s unclear why these objects are thrown at artists, Morgan Milardo, the director of the Berklee Popular Music Institute at the Berklee College of Music, told NBC in July that such incidents may be motivated by the potential to go viral — as video of this incident with Eilish did.
“As a society, we need to work to overcome these attention-grabbing moments, and look beyond and really get back to the core of why we go to concerts,” Milardo said. “And it’s not like we can have a viral moment for ourselves on TikTok. Concerts should provide a community where people can come together to share in the magic of live music.”
Eilish has not yet responded. However, she did speak out about this trend in an interview with the Hollywood reporter last July, at the world premiere of Barbie.
“I’ve been getting hit with things onstage for six years. I don’t know why this is new,” Eilish said. “People just get excited, and that can be dangerous.”
