Happier Than Ever is the second studio album by Billie Eilish. It was released on July 30, 2021 through Interscope Records.
Following the release of her debut studio album, WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?, Billie released the album’s first single, “my future,” on July 30, 2020, a year before the album’s release. She released the album’s second single, “Therefore I Am,” on November 12, 2020. The album’s third single, “Your Power,” was released on April 29, 2021. The fourth single, “Lost Cause,” was released on June 2, 2021. The album’s fifth single, “NDA,” was released on July 9, 2021.
On April 26, 2021, Billie Eilish teased the album’s title track, “Happier Than Ever.” Shortly after, billboards appeared in different locations that revealed the album’s title and release date of July 30, 2021, and an Instagram post from April 27 revealed the album’s cover artwork and announced the release of a new single on April 29, 2021. The tracklist was revealed on April 27 when the album became available for pre-order.
It wasn’t forced, it wasn’t pressured, it wasn’t scary. It was nice.
I feel like everything I’ve created before this, as much as I love it, was kind of a battle with myself. I’ve actually talked to artists that are now going through the rise and what I’ve said to them is, ‘I know what it’s like, but I also don’t know what it’s like for you.’ Because everybody goes through something completely different.
I started to feel like a parody of myself, which is super weird,” she says. “I just tried to listen to myself and figure out what I actually liked versus what I thought I would have liked in the past. I had to really evaluate myself and be like, ‘What the hell do I want with myself right now?’
There was no thought of, ‘What’s this going to be? What track is this?’ We just started writing and we kept writing. Over time, it just literally created itself. It just happened. It was easy.
Almost none of the songs on this album are joyful. […] I went through some crazy shit, and it really affected me and made me not want to go near anyone ever. […] I don’t know how to explain this, but all the songs on the album feel like a specific time, because they feel like when I wrote them and made them. It’s so funny that to the rest of the world it’s going to feel like a certain moment for them, and it’s going to be so different than mine. That’s such a weird, weird thing to wrap my head around. And I will fucking love it. I love it. That’s the reason you do this. It’s for that.
this is my favorite thing i’ve ever created and i am so excited and nervous and EAGER for you to hear it. i can’t even tell you. i’ve never felt so much love for a project than i do for this one. hope you feel what i feel.
— Billie via Instagram
We poured our entire hearts into this body of work and I couldn’t be more excited for it to be yours
— Finneas via Instagram
Happier Than Ever debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, moving 238,000 album-equivalent units in its first week (113.87 million on-demand streams and 153,000 in pure sales). It is Eilish’s second consecutive album to top the chart.
Yes, Apple Music features an animated artwork for this release.