Billie Eilish stuns sold-out Xcel Energy Center with her confidence and strength – Twin Cities

Half an hour into her sold-out concert Sunday night at the Xcel Energy Center, Billie Eilish pulled off a trick I’d never seen in 20 years of reviewing concerts at the downtown St. Paul hockey arena.

The Los Angeles native sat cross-legged in the middle of her huge, round stage and, with calm but steely confidence, explained to the roughly 18,000 fans surrounding the entire arena that she needed to be quiet for the first 30 to 40 seconds of her next song “When the Party’s Over” to record some vocals, which she then repeated to create a base to sing over. Otherwise, she loved the noise of the crowd, she explained, begging them to continue making as much of it as they wanted, to just allow her a few moments of silence.

Not a single person in the room seemed to even move as she sang wordless vocals that sounded gospel-inspired and a little like synthetic string instruments. When the looped portion was finished, the crowd roared in approval as the first actual lyrics came out of Eilish’s mouth, and continued to scream and sing along to the rest of the track, which sounds so delicate and fragile on the record that it seems like the most unlikely arena -Anthem that exists. She spent most of the song on the stage floor and yet it felt like the closing song of any other show.

Oh, and did I mention that Eilish is only 22 years old?

One of the most unlikely pop superstars of her time, Eilish was homeschooled by free-spirited, artsy parents and began writing and recording music at the age of 13 with her brother Finneas O’Connell. Since then, she has released a string of global hits, received nine Grammys, two Golden Globes and two Oscars.

The pair’s songs come from numerous genres, including dance-pop, hip-hop, folk and gothic. They can seem dark and subtle, but Eilish has long since figured out how to work them in a concert setting. Eilish made her local arena debut at the X in March 2022 and proved to be a lively and energetic performer who knew how to handle a full house of screaming young women.

On Sunday, Eilish still had the audience in her grasp, but she showed a new maturity and awareness of what it takes to create an intimate, immersive experience in such a large space. Given that the audience sang along throughout the night and not just to the hits, it reminded me of a certain Taylor Swift. In fact, Eilish is probably the most adept artist to forge such a close connection with her listeners since Swift.

After “Therefore I Am” she strolled around the stage for a few moments with a big grin on her face and enjoyed the applause. It didn’t seem arrogant, but more like a triumphant “we did it” moment. And during her uptempo 2019 hit “Bad Guy,” Eilish entered two lower stage pits to interact with her live band. Finally, she indulged in some crazy dancing that perfectly matched the chaotic but infectious song.

With its impressive lights and video projections, Eilish’s stage provided an immersive and dazzling experience. But despite all the work and preparation it certainly required, Eilish wasn’t afraid to part with all the technology when necessary. At her concert in Nashville on Wednesday – the day after the election – she added a new song to the set, which she also performed in Cincinnati on Friday and at the X on Sunday.

She introduced the stripped-down, mostly acoustic “Your Power” as such: “It’s been a really tough week and I think we all know why. If you have ever been taken advantage of by anyone in the world, I love you and I feel you and I would hope that the person who did this to you does not become president. But sometimes,” she said, pausing to let the crowd cheer. “Anyway, this song goes out to you.”

On Monday, Eilish will perform a second show at the X to a sold-out crowd. Given the trajectory of her career so far, it won’t be surprising to see her at a stadium next time she comes through town.