Billie Eilish's concert stop in Glendale, Ariz., included an unwelcome 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, who is currently on her Hit Me Hard and Soft world tour, sat down for the heartfelt track, which took home the Best Original Song award last year at the Oscars 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, per video taken at the concert, and missed the next line in the song. After a brief pause, however, she continued singing, as audience members booed the unwelcome interruption.
This is hardly the first time performers have been hit by over-eager audience members. Last month, Zach Bryan stopped a concert after a fan threw something at him onstage. In 2023, Kelsea Ballerini walked off stage when she was hit with an object during a show. After Bebe Rexha was struck by a cellphone at a 2023 show, she wore protective goggles at her next concert to make a point about the importance of safety. And at the Rolling Loud music festival in 2022, Kid Cudi also left the stage after multiple people in the crowd threw things at him.
While it's unclear why these objects are thrown at performers, Morgan Milardo, the managing director at the Berklee Popular Music Institute at the Berklee College of Music, told NBC in July that such incidents may be motivated by the potential for going 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 that and really get back to the root of why we go to concerts,” Milardo said. “And it’s not so that we can have a viral moment on TikTok for ourselves. Concerts are supposed to offer a community where people can come together to share in the magic of live music.”
Eilish has yet to respond. 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 onstage with things for like, literally, six years, I don’t know why this is like new,” Eilish said. “People just get excited, and it can be dangerous.”