Billie Eilish covers the May 2026 issue of ELLE, on newsstands May 5. In an exclusive interview with Suzy Exposito, Eilish details codirecting her soon to be released concert film, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT: THE TOUR (LIVE IN 3D), alongside James Cameron, and filming intimate backstage moments. Eilish didn’t initially plan to shoot a concert film for this tour—much less one that follows her so closely behind the scenes as she hangs out with friends, does physical therapy, or cries in the greenroom. “We thought, ‘Why don’t we just film stuff backstage to have it?’ James was holding this enormous 3D camera this close to me,” she says, pinching her fingers in front of her nose. “He was the one interviewing me. He’s the one asking me questions. And then I thought, This really does add a lot!”
On embarking on her latest tour without her brother Finneas: “It was a few years in the making,” says Eilish of her decision to tour without her brother, who has released an EP and three albums on his own, including For Cryin’ Out Loud! in 2024. “We got so busy that we would only see each other right before going onstage,” Eilish says. “Finneas and Andrew [Eilish’s touring drummer], who were the only band members I had back in the day, performed on some sort of platform that was hard to leave. Finneas was stuck in a tower—like Rapunzel! He never said it, but I was feeling like, ‘You have more to be doing than being my band member in the back.’”
On fan speculation of a falling-out between her and Finneas: “I heard somebody say, ‘Did you guys hear Finneas and Billie had a falling-out?’” Eilish says. “Finneas and I have never and will never have a falling-out, ever in our lives. We’ll get in the biggest f**king fight you’ve ever heard of in your life…and five minutes later, we’re back, laughing and making music. It’s sibling s**t. There’s nothing else in the world like sibling relationships.” She later muses, “If I never saw Finneas at all, I might literally never make a song again….” She trails off, seemingly considering the flip side of that closeness. “But how do we move on and have separate lives?”
On advocating for herself during her first solo tour: “I advocated for not being gone for longer than four weeks at a time without a break,” she says. “Performing is my actual favorite thing in the world to do. So when I feel like I don’t like it? That’s when I want to recalibrate so I can enjoy it again.”
On initially hesitating to film Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour: “At first I was like, ‘I don’t want to do a documentary,’” she explains. “I shot a documentary when I was 15 to 18, just being filmed for three years straight.…I’m so private about my actual life now.”
On the emotional impact of capturing her tour on film: “Capturing a show that I can watch when I’m old and feel like I’m there again…it gives me chills,” she says. “And I’m so grateful that it’s going to live forever.”
On being her own most listened to artist on Spotify Wrapped: “My friends make fun of me,” she says, but “I’m sorry, I make the music I want to listen to. When I wrote the melodies for ‘Wildflower,’ I remember thinking, ‘These are f**king sick and I don’t know if people are gonna get it,’” she explains. “I’ve always been really inspired by Arabic singers—my dad and I have bonded over our love for Arabic music. Like, I freaking love [Lebanese singer] Nancy Ajram. She’s one of my favorite singers.”
On Wildflower winning Song of the Year at the Grammys: “It was a miracle,” she says. “Finneas and I thought it would be an underrated song. It was one of my favorites, but I was like, ‘This isn’t gonna be the hit. It’s a freaking guitar ballad!’”
On using her platform to speak out: “I was raised like this,” explains Eilish of her comfort with speaking out. “When you have this insane platform that you can use to advocate for people, but you’re not advocating for people because you don’t want to be controversial?” she says. “Why is it controversial to step in when someone’s getting bullied and try to stop it? Yeah, you’re probably gonna have to deal with some problems, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.”
Editor-in-chief: Nina Garcia
Photographer: Willy Vanderperre
Stylist: Paul Sinclaire
Writer: Suzy Exposito
Hair: Benjamin Mohapi
Makeup: Emily Cheng
Manicure: Erin Leigh Moffett
[Photo Credit: Willy Vanderperre for ELLE Magazine]
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