A Billie Eilish concert feels like witnessing a new pop legend in the making. Here's why

If Billie Eilish seemed a little happier than ever when the "Happier Than Ever" tour hit Glendale, who could blame her, really?

She started her week at the Oscars, where she and Finneas — her brother and songwriting partner — turned in a breathtaking version of "No Time to Die," the James Bond theme for which the siblings took home Best Original Song at the Academy Awards.

A week later, she's set to perform at the Grammys, where she picked up seven nominations, including Record, Song and Album of the Year.

The "Happier Than Ever" Tour hit Glendale for the first of two non-consecutive dates the night before the Grammys.

Sunday's concert was pushed back to Monday after the Grammys were forced to reschedule to this weekend due to COVID-19 spiking back in January.

As she noted toward the end of Saturday's performance, "It's been quite a week, people."

It didn't end up being such a big night at the Grammys. But it's only been two years since she became the youngest artist to win all four major categories — Best New Artist, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year — in a single night.

She's 20 now.

Or "Getting Older," as she sang, accompanied by old home movies of her and her brother as adorable young children, in one of the sweeter moments of a concert that left no doubt as to what made Eilish such a Grammy-winning superstar at such a young age.

Eilish treated fans to most of 'Happier Than Ever'

From the time she seemed to magically appear to the strains of an ominous, Marilyn Manson-esque “bury a friend,” she commanded the stage with the confidence of a far more seasoned veteran while still acting very much her age, especially when interacting with the crowd that filled Gila River Arena with shrieks of approval.

At times, those young fans sang with such enthusiasm, it threatened to drown out Eilish's own vocals.

She’s a charismatic presence who spent the night relating to the fans who so clearly adore her as equals, telling them repeatedly how much she loves them and their handmade signs.

"I can't tell you how much joy it brings me every single night," she said.

She led them in the wave and had them get down as low to the ground as they could, then jump up and down with abandon.

She was joined onstage by Finneas, of course, and drummer Andrew Marshall — just the three of them, Finneas alternating instruments throughout the night while fleshing out the sound with piped-in instruments.

The set list favored "Happier Than Ever." She did 13 of the album’s 16 songs, including such career-defining highlights as a shoutalong rendition of “Therefore I Am” and “Your Power.”

She reached back to her first EP, “don’t smile at me,” for three songs, singing “bellyache” and “ocean eyes” while soaring high above the crowd on a crane.

And that still left plenty of time in a concert that lasted an hour and 40 minutes for eight songs from "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?,” the full-length debut for which she picked up Album of the Year in 2020.

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Eilish was powering through a cold

Despite the minimalist staging, it was a visually stunning performance, thanks in large part to the lighting but also the visuals that played out on the giant screen behind her.

Eilish was fighting a cold, as she told the crowd on more than one occasion. At several points, she coughed into her arm at the end of a line then sang the next line flawlessly, as though she wasn't sick at all.

And regardless of how she was feeling, she rarely stopped moving in the show's more energetic moments, bouncing up and down in her white leather sneakers while rocking an oversized T-shirt and pigtails, making great use of the massive ramp that tied the mainstage to a second tier.

Those high-energy moments, of which there were many, were offset by breathtaking ballads that illustrated what an underrated vocalist she is, from a deeply soulful "idontwannabeyouanymore" to the even better "Halley's Comet."

She was seven songs into the set when Eilish shared her two rules for the night.

"No. 1, don't judge anybody in here," she said to wild applause. "No. 2, have fun (expletive)."

Then she encouraged fans to "flop around" and loosen up.

"There's a lot of stiff bodies in here," she said. "It's very simple. I want us all to feel free and loose and just powerful."

Halfway through the concert, she and Finneas sat on stools at center for understated, acoustic-guitar-driven versions of "I Love You" and "For Power," which had speaker-rattling bass tones piped in.

It was after "Your Power" that Eilish riffed on the relative merits of assorted botted water brands. She does not like Dasani, pronouncing it the No. 1 grossest water and saying it "tastes like a (expletive) inhaler."

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'Your Power' was highlight of the night

She was two minutes into the water bit when the conversation shifted gears into one of the night's most heartfelt moments about how much she likes "Your Power."

"I feel really proud of it and attached to it," she said.

"I think it's really important that it exists and I just think that it's good that we remember to not abuse our power, A, and to protect young women, for (expletive's) sake. Young girls need to be protected at all costs."

By that point, Finneas had gone back to his station and Eilish sat alone at center stage playing guitar on a power version of "Male Fantasy," Finneas joining in on harmonies from the shadows.

A video segue featuring the body-positive "Happier Than Ever" track "Not My Responsibility" gave the singer time to make it to the back of the arena and board the cherry picker for a four-song set that ended with a melancholy "Bored."

Back on the main stage, Eilish poured her heart into one of the concert's emotional centerpieces, "Getting Older."

That gave way to "Lost Cause," after which she asked that everyone put down their phones for a moment and connect as human beings.

"I want us all to be in this moment and be present and grateful that we're alive and we're breathing and we're together again 'cause this is such a big deal," she said in a speech that ended with her encouraging everyone to close their eyes and take a deep breath.

"I want you to only think good thoughts," she said. "Don't let any of the bad thoughts in your head. And know that you are loved and that you are safe."

Then it was back into the music for a melancholy, gospel-flavored "when the party's over."

By that point, she was in the home stretch, following a soulful "all the good girls go to hell" with a massive singalong on the disco-flavored "everything i wanted," dedicated to the fans, of whom she said, "I owe you everything."

After bringing the energy level back to a full boil with her first chart-topping single, "Bad Guy," Eilish signed off with the title track to "Happier Than Ever" in a shower of confetti that made it feel like it was snowing.

On record, "Happier Than Ever" is an emotionally overdriven tour de force. In concert, it was somehow even better, a triumphant ending to a night that made a solid case for Eilish as a legend in the making who's definitely grown into her role as an arena headliner.

Billie Eilish setlist

"bury a friend"

"I Didn't Change My Number"

"NDA"

"Therefore I Am"

"my strange addiction"

"idontwannabeyouanymore"

"lovely"

"you should see me in a crown"

"Billie Bossa Nova"

"GOLDWING"

"Halley's Comet"

"Oxytocin" (with snippet Of “COPYCAT”)

"ilomilo"

"i love you"

"Your Power"

"Male Fantasy"

"Not My Responsibility"

"OverHeated"

"bellyache"

"ocean eyes"

"Bored"

"Getting Older"

"Lost Cause"

"when the party's over"

"all the good girls go to hell"

"everything i wanted"

"bad guy"

"Happier Than Ever"

Reach the reporter at [email protected] or 602-444-4495. Follow him on Twitter @EdMasley.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Billie Eilish thrilled her Arizona fans the night before the Grammys