Billie Eilish surprises the 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 a trick I’ve never seen in 20 years of reviewing concerts at the downtown St. Paul hockey arena.

Sitting cross-legged in the center of her massive stage around, the Los Angeles native — speaking with quiet, but steely, confidence — explained to the roughly 18,000 fans who ringed the entire arena that she would need silence for the first 30 to 40 seconds of her next song, “When the Party’s Over”, to record some vocals, which she then looped to create a base that she sang over. She loves the noise of the crowd otherwise, she explained, imploring them to continue making as much of it as they wanted, just give her the few moments of silence.

Not a single person in the room seemed to move as she sang some wordless vocals that sounded gospel-inspired and a bit like synthesized strings. With the looped bit ready to go, the audience roared in approval as the first actual lyrics came out of Eilish’s mouth and proceeded to scream and sing along to the rest of the track, which on record sounds so delicate and fragile that it seems like the most unlikely arena anthem. She spent most of the song on the stage floor and yet it felt like the last song of any other show.

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

One of the most unusual pop superstars of her era, Eilish was home-schooled by free-spirited, artistic parents and began writing and recording music with her brother Finneas O’Connell at the age of 13. She has since released a string of global smashes, received nine Grammys, two Golden Globes and two Oscars.

The couple’s songs lift freely from several genres, including dance pop, hip hop, folk and goth. They may come across as somber and subtle, but Eilish has long since figured out how to make them work in a concert environment. Eilish made her local arena debut at X in March 2022 and proved to be an animated and energetic performer who knew how to work a full house of screaming young women.

On Sunday, Eilish still had the audience in the palm of her hand, but she showed a newfound maturity and awareness of what it takes to create an intimate, engaging experience in such a large space. Considering the crowd sang along all night, and not just to the hits, it brought to mind a Taylor Swift. In fact, Eilish is probably the most savvy artist to create such a close connection with her listeners since Swift.

After “Therefore I Am,” she spent a few moments moving around the stage with a wide grin on her face, basking in the applause. It didn’t seem like arrogance, but more like a triumphant “we did it” moment. And during her slick 2019 hit “Bad Guy,” Eilish stepped into two sunken pits on stage to interact with her live band. She ended by indulging in some crazy dancing that perfectly matched the chaotic yet infectious song.

With its impressive lights and video projections, Eilish’s stage offered an immersive and dazzling experience. But despite all the work and preparation it certainly took to achieve, Eilish wasn’t afraid to unplug from all the technology when necessary. At her concert Wednesday in Nashville — the day after the election — she added a new song to the set, which she also played Friday in Cincinnati and Sunday at X.

She introduced the stripped down, mostly acoustic “Your Power” as such: “It’s been a really hard week and I think we all know why. If you’ve ever been, you know, taken advantage of by anybody in the world , I love you and I feel like you and I hope the person who did that to you wouldn’t become president,” she said, pausing to let the audience cheer anyway this song goes out to you.”

On Monday, Eilish will perform another show at X to another capacity crowd. Given the path her career has taken thus far, don’t be surprised to see her in a stadium the next time she comes through town.