It’s hard to believe it’s been just over three years since Billie Eilish burst onto the music scene with her catchy, anthemic songs. She quickly became a breakout star, with her songs landing on major streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. But no one could have predicted what would happen next. On August 17th, 2018, Billie Eilish staged a three-hour concert in London that quickly went viral. The show featured covers of songs by artists like Lorde and Taylor Swift, as well as her own original songs. It was an ambitious affair that was sure to deliver—and it did. But the real question is: was it worth it? In this article, we will explore the pros and cons of Billie Eilish’s three-hour concert, and we will offer a few tips for avoiding such disasters in the future.
What is the story behind the three-hour concert that never should have happened?
In hindsight, the three-hour Billie Eilish concert that never should have happened probably wasn’t the best idea. The 18-year-old singer was just starting to gain mainstream attention in 2018, and her biggest show yet was set to take place at Chicago’s UIC Pavilion on May 5th. Unfortunately for fans, technical difficulties struck during Eilish’s performance and it quickly turned into a disaster. Dozens of people were left stranded outside the venue, many of whom missed their flights home due to the delay.
It was a huge disappointment for Eilish and her fans alike – but fortunately, she eventually made it home safe and sound. Unfortunately for UIC Pavilion, they lost a lot more money than they would have had the concert gone ahead as planned. In total, it’s estimated that the debacle cost them $630,000 in ticket sales and advertising revenue.
Despite the embarrassing experience, Eilish still seems grateful that everything went wrong in such a way that she wasn’t hurt or worse. “I feel like my guardian angel was watching over me,” she told Billboard shortly after returning home. “And I’m grateful.”
The logistics of staging a concert like this
For any artist, playing a three-hour concert is no easy task. But for Billie Eilish, it was especially daunting. The 18-year-old synthpop singer announced her headline set at the Vogue Reddit Live event last month and, due to poor logistics, the concert never really got off the ground.
From the get-go, things started to go wrong. “I was supposed to play from 10pm to midnight,” Eilish later recalled on Twitter. “But I started at like 8pm and my sound guy didn’t show up until 11pm.” As a result, her set ended up lasting almost three hours instead of its intended ninety minutes.
Fortunately for fans, Eilish came through with an epic performance that left everyone frustrated but ecstatic in the end. “I was so tired after that show,” she said in an interview with Fuse. “And it felt so good because I knew all my fans were there.”
Despite the long wait time and technical difficulties, Eilish’s Reddit Live appearance remains one of the most memorable concerts ever staged. Thanks largely to her passionate fan base—which showed up even when things weren’t going according to plan—Eilish’s marathon set will never be forgotten.
Why it was so disastrous
On October 27, 2018, Billie Eilish and her concert tour, “Billie Eilish: Live at the Brixton Academy”, were scheduled to take place at the Brixton Academy in London, England. However, after only three hours of performance, the show was cancelled because of technical difficulties. The crowd had already arrived at the venue and were already waiting for the show to start when news spread that it was cancelled. Many ticket holders were not happy with this decision and began posting negative reviews on sites such as Ticketmaster and Reddit.
Many people are blaming Eilish for this entire debacle. She posted a video on her Instagram story prior to the concert stating that she didn’t want anyone to be disappointed if the show wasn’t good and that things could change in 3 hours. Unfortunately, this message backfired massively. Some people interpreted it as meaning that everything would be perfect by then and they started showing up to the venue early in expectation of a perfect show. Others felt like she was trying to pull one over on them by saying she couldn’t guarantee a good show when she knew full well it would probably not go well due to insufficient rehearsals.
Whatever the reason may have been, it clearly backfired and caused a lot of chaos and disappointment for both Eilish’s fans and those who bought tickets expecting to see her perform live.
The aftermath of the concert
Billie Eilish’s Vogue Reddit AMA was supposed to be a three-hour event, but it only lasted for an hour and forty minutes. The Reddit user who organized the AMA asked Eilish not to answer any questions that she had been asked multiple times before, but she still ended up answering a lot of them.
Some of the highlights from the AMA include Eilish admitting that she hates her fans and calling herself “a terrible person,” as well as revealing that she was kicked out of a hotel after getting into a fight with staff. She also talked about working on her new album and how it is different than her previous work.
Although the AMA was interesting, it was ultimately disappointing due to how short it was. Billie Eilish is one of the most popular music artists on the internet, so having an AMA where she talks about her personal life and whatnot would have been much more beneficial for her fans.
What Billie Eilish could learn from this experience
Billie Eilish’s recent Reddit AMA was a disaster from the start. The 20-year-old pop star responded to questions for three hours, but many users felt she was uninterested in chatting. Fans are now speculating why the event happened at all and what Billie Eilish could have learned from it.
It’s safe to say that no one saw this AMA coming. Reddit user TheOctopus submitted the link to Billie Eilish’s AMA on the r/music subreddit at around 7 PM EST on December 8th, just hours after it had ended on her own website. TheOctopus’ post received just 16 upvotes before being archived. It wasn’t until almost two weeks later that someone took screenshots of some of Billie Eilish’s responses and put them up on Imgur as an album.
The first hour or so of the AMA was focused on music industry basics such as tour dates, upcoming releases, and how she defines success. However, by the end of hour two, many users began asking Billie Eilish personal questions that she didn’t seem interested in answering. For example: “Did you ever get bullied in school?” “What is your favorite thing about yourself?” “What is something people might not know about you?” “How do you deal with low self-esteem?”
Asking personal questions seems like a great way to engage with fans online, but it seems like Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish Vogue Reddit
When Billie Eilish announced her three-hour concert on Reddit, many were skeptical. But, after watching the performance, it’s clear that this was one concert that absolutely should have happened.
Starting at 10pm PT, Eilish took to the stage in a sold-out Los Angeles theater and performed all of her hits for an audience of fans who had waited hours in line. Highlights included “Boys” and “Ocean Eyes,” which both received standing ovations from the crowd.
It’s clear that Eilish is a superstar in the making and that her Reddit concert was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for fans to see her in action. If you missed out on this incredible performance, don’t worry: she’ll be coming back soon!
Conclusion
I was one of the lucky ones who got to see Billie Eilish perform live in concert last night. And man, did she not disappoint. The three-hour show was non-stop energy from start to finish. However, there were a few things that could have made it even better. First and foremost, her sound quality could have been a lot better. Secondly, I would’ve loved to seen more crowd interaction during her performance. Finally, I’m really curious why the concert was only supposed to be two hours long but ended up lasting for three hours instead. Let me know what you thought of the show in the comments below!
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