After years of unfounded “queerbaiting” accusations and an unofficial red-carpet coming out, Billie Eilish is finally putting her queerness into her music.
It’s been a week since Eilish announced her upcoming third album, Hit Me Hard And Soft. At the time, she said she wouldn’t be releasing any singles before the album came out, so fans were expecting to go in blind when it dropped on May 17. But after making a surprise appearance at Coachella to perform in Lana Del Rey’s headline set, she previewed a snippet of a new track from the album. It’s called “Lunch,” and it is, indeed, all about eating.
In what sounds like the chorus, Eilish sings about eating a girl for lunch: “I could eat that girl for lunch / Yeah, she dances on my tongue / Tastes like she might be the one / And I can never get enough / I could buy her so much stuff / It’s a craving, not a crush.”
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This is arguably the most raunchy that Eilish’s lyrics have ever been, and by far the gayest. Unlike much of her previous music, it’s not up for debate the gender of the person she’s singing about: Eilish has it bad for a girl, and it’s beyond a crush.
In another section of the snippet, Eilish even name-drops the girl in question: “Call me when you’re there / I said, ‘I brought you something rare’ / And I left it under ‘Claire’ / So now she’s coming up the stairs / So I’m pulling up a chair / And I’m putting up my hair.”
RelatedThe “What Was I Made For?” singer’s use of a certain filter on Instagram has fans convinced she’s officially coming out.The plot thickens.
Fans have theories about who “Claire” might be. It could, of course, be a made-up name — but it could also be fellow pop star Clairo (aka Claire Cottrill), who was spotted having dinner with Eilish earlier this month. Could they be planning a collab? Just hanging out as friends? Or maybe even sparking up a romance?
the way she grabbed her face??? oh she’s not new to this, she’s true to this
— TORII the TYRANT (@t0rir0t) April 15, 2024
Previewing “Lunch” wasn’t even the gayest thing Eilish did while at Coachella. Videos of Eilish at festival show her dancing and grinding on other girls. She even kissed influencer Quen Blackwell, and the way Eilish grabbed her face has her sapphic fans swooning.
The era of gay Billie is upon us, and we hope it never ends. Hit Me Hard And Soft releases on May 17.