Billie Eilish Partners With Soundcloud for New Album Release
Billie Eilish partnered with SoundCloud, marking a full-circle moment for the artist and her fans, who can stream HIT ME HARD AND SOFT first on the platform.
The music streaming platform that launched Eilish’s career announced a campaign honoring the release of her new album.
HIT ME HARD AND SOFT is available for unlimited streaming on SoundCloud for any user, even those without paid subscriptions. This campaign slogan is, “Day-one access for day-one Billie Eilish fans. Hear her new album on SoundCloud first.”
On May 16, the day before the much-awaited release of Eilish’s highly anticipated third album, SoundCloud teased this collaboration with the singer. The company tweeted, “@billieilish should we tell them,” which caused a wave of fan speculation about the cryptic statement’s meaning.
Before the announcement, some fans believed the tweet referred to an alleged double album release theory. Fan theories may have been misleading for this particular announcement, but Eilish and SoundCloud’s surprise did not disappoint her curious fans.
Alongside the release of her third studio album, SoundCloud announced that Eilish’s music would once again be available on its platform. The streaming platform celebrated this announcement with a drastic aesthetic change; the iconic orange SoundCloud logo turned blue, which coordinates with the HIT ME HARD AND SOFT cover art.
In addition, SoundCloud’s campaign celebrates Eilish’s devoted “day-one” fans. The SoundCloud website also displays the profiles of users who streamed “Ocean Eyes” before the song achieved mainstream success.
Eilish’s career started when she uploaded her first hit song, “Ocean Eyes,” to SoundCloud in 2015. The song went viral on the platform overnight and amassed thousands of streams. Additionally, a year later, Darkroom Records and Kobalt Music Publishing officially released the song as a single. Therefore, this full-circle partnership tugged at the heartstrings of her fans, who have followed the artist’s growth over the years.
soundcloud changing their logos color for billie’s album is so full circle it makes me sick to my stomach like i CAAAAANT think about it
— khalia made billie eilish laugh (@OOFAFEATHER) May 18, 2024
A timeline compiled by SoundCloud depicts her rise to stardom. From building a SoundCloud following in 2015 to sweeping the 2020 Grammy Awards, Eilish rapidly developed into the mainstream artist she is today.
The timeline also includes Eilish’s quote, “SoundCloud is the only reason I’m anything. 100%.” Releasing singles and building a loyal following on SoundCloud paved the way for Eilish’s successful career, in which she reached number one on the US Billboard charts and broke the record for being the youngest female artist to top the UK album charts.
i literally used to go on soundcloud every single day to try and find more billie music/remixes/covers to listen to and now they're honoring the release of her third studio album to critical acclaim. this is insane https://t.co/tk6MOxkJt5
— lilly || 140 (@prayonsunday) May 17, 2024
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Eilish stated, “This whole process has felt like I’m coming back to the girl that I was. I’ve been looking for her in everything, and it’s almost like she got drowned by the world and the media.”
Eilish’s statement about finding her past self again is reflected in her partnership with SoundCloud. She reminisces on the beginnings of her career, the new artist she once was, and the seasoned artist she is now. Eilish returns to her roots to thank her fanbase and her past self, who she searches for in her artistic endeavors.
HIT ME HARD AND SOFT is available for all listeners on SoundCloud, stream it here.
