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I Love You (Billie Eilish song)

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"I Love You"
Song by Billie Eilish
from the album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
ReleasedMarch 29, 2019
Length4:51
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Finneas O'Connell

"I Love You" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American singer Billie Eilish from her debut studio album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? (2019). Eilish co-wrote the song with her brother Finneas O'Connell, who also handled production. As the 13th track on the album, "I Love You" is an acoustic guitar-based ballad accompanied by various plane-related noises, where Eilish's lyrics describe the resistance to falling in love with someone.

The song received mainly positive reviews from music critics, several of whom praised the music and lyrical content. For promotional purposes, "I Love You" was performed live during Eilish's 2019 When We All Fall Asleep Tour and her 2020 Where Do We Go? World Tour, and again on her 2022 Happier Than Ever, The World Tour. When the album was released, the song reached number 53 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and charted in several other countries. It was certified platinum in the United States and Canada by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Music Canada (MC), respectively.

Background and release

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An image of a blonde-haired man wearing a suit and sunglasses against a purple-red backdrop.
Eilish's brother Finneas O'Connell contributed to the song's writing and production.

On March 29, 2019, "I Love You" was released as the 13th track on Eilish's debut studio album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?[1] The song was written by the singer and her brother Finneas O'Connell, known under his stage name of Finneas, who also solely produced it. It was recorded in Finneas' bedroom studio in Highland Park, Los Angeles.[2] Mastering and mixing was handled by studio personnel John Greenham and Rob Kinelski, respectively. Casey Cuayo received credit as studio personnel and an additional mixer.[1] Eilish shared in an Instagram story on March 25, 2020, a playlist of her inspirations for the track, which included songs from Phoebe Bridgers, Post Malone, Ry X, XXXTentacion, Bon Iver, and Sufjan Stevens.[3] Finneas later explained in an interview with Pitchfork that the song "was written prior to being recorded" and that the "second verse is about sitting on the tarmac on a plane".[4]

Composition and lyrical interpretation

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Musically, "I Love You" runs at a "lovingly" slow tempo of 72 beats per minute (BPM), and is played in the key of C major. Eilish's vocals, which are sung quietly and treated with some reverb, span a range between the notes of G3 and A4.[5][6] Finneas also provides backing vocals by harmonizing with her throughout the song.[7] Critical commentary described the track as an acoustic-based ballad.[1][8] In the second verse, the song features the sound of a flight attendant call button pitch-shifted to follow all the chords.[4] Craig Jenkins of Vulture called it a "dark" song, reminiscent of Lana Del Rey's Born to Die and Halsey's Badlands.[9] Chris DeVille, writing for Stereogum, noted that the song finds Eilish "in a world wrecked by tragedy".[10] According to Thomas Smith of NME, "Listen Before I Go", "I Love You", and "Goodbye" provided a "melancholy end close" to the album.[11]

Lyrically, the song features Eilish determinedly trying not to be in love with someone and convincing them they shouldn't love her either: "Maybe won't you take it back/Say you were tryna make me laugh/And nothing has to change today/You didn't mean to say 'I love you'/I love you and I don't want to."[8][10] The faint voice of an airline attendant and the sound of a plane taking off can be heard during the second verse, which includes the lyrics: "Up all night on another red eye/I wish we never learned to fly/Maybe we should just try/To tell ourselves a good lie/I didn't mean to make you cry."[12] Spencer Kornhaber of The Atlantic put forward the idea of the track as "draw[ing] a clear and breathtaking division between two modes: wanting to be too cool for desire and actually experiencing desire".[13] Finneas revealed in a tweet that "I Love You" is one of his favorite songs he and Eilish wrote: "It's very sincere, and a thing that I've been trying to write about for a long time — which is, when you fall in love with someone and it's a drag."[12]

Reception

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"I Love You" received mainly positive reviews from music critics. The song was praised by Insider's Libby Torres, who called the track "heart-wrenching" and "serene", and opined that its lyrics feel "like you're in the hazy eye of a storm".[7] Sam Prance of AllMusic viewed the song as a "heartbreaking acoustic beauty that pegs Eilish as something more than a spooky, scare-the-parents gimmick".[1] Madeline Roth of MTV called it a "gorgeous penultimate track".[12] Jon Pareles of The New York Times commended the lyrical content, which he described as a "hovering, hesitant confession".[14] Jason Lipshutz of Billboard commended the lyrics and melody, which he described as a "obsessive-romantic anthem".[15] Vulture's Jenkins said "I Love You" was one of "the album’s best songs", while Chris Willman of Variety viewed the track as "gorgeous" and "hopeful".[8][9] Yasmin Cowan of Clash said the track would "bring [anyone] close to tears".[16] Curtis Dinwiddie of The Eastern Echo illustrated "I Love You" as "soft" and "charismatic".[17] Tanis Smither of Earmilk labeled "I Love You" as a "stunning slow-burner".[18] In a negative review, The Guardian's Laura Snapes mentions that the song sounds "suspiciously" like Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" and is "better off left to YouTube ingenues than an artist of Eilish’s otherwise clear vision".[19]

Following the release of When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, "I Love You" debuted at number 53 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[20] At the same time, Eilish broke the record of most simultaneous Hot 100 entries for a female artist.[21] The song also attained top 100 positions in various other countries, including Australia,[22] Canada,[23] Sweden,[24] Norway,[25] New Zealand,[26] and the Netherlands.[27] After Eilish performed the song on Saturday Night Live, it experienced a surge in iTunes download sales and entered the US Billboard Digital Song Sales chart at number 41.[28] The song has notably been awarded a platinum certification in the United States and Canada by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Music Canada (MC), respectively.[29][30]

Live performances and other usage

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Eilish performed the track at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 20, 2019, and later that year at the Glastonbury Festival on June 30.[31][32] "I Love You" was included on the setlist of Eilish's When We All Fall Asleep Tour (2019).[33] It was also performed by her at Pukkelpop in August of the same year.[34] On August 12, 2019, a live version of "I Love You" was uploaded to Eilish's YouTube channel.[35] This performance was filmed in Los Angeles at the Greek Theatre and it shows Eilish sitting on a bed with Finneas, while he plays the track on an acoustic guitar. The stadium is lit up by the lights from thousands of fans' mobile phones as the siblings rise slowly above the stage, backed by cloudy night sky visuals. During the conclusion of the track, the bed that the two of them sat on is lowered in front of a giant full moon.[36][37][38] On September 29, 2019, Eilish appeared on the 45th-season premiere of Saturday Night Live, performing an acoustic version of the track with Finneas.[39][40][41] She further sang "I Love You" on her Where Do We Go? World Tour (2020).[42] The song was used in an episode of the British soap opera Hollyoaks.[43] In April 2020 singer and guitarist Jeff Tweedy, of the American band Wilco, covered "I Love You" on an acoustic guitar for the 16th episode of his livestream podcast, The Tweedy Show. Tweedy later covered the track again on July 28 for the 77th episode of his podcast.[44]

Credits and personnel

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Credits adapted from Tidal and the liner notes of When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?[45][46]

  • Billie Eilish – vocals, songwriter
  • Finneas O'Connell – producer, songwriter, backing vocals[7]
  • John Greenham – mastering engineer, studio personnel
  • Rob Kinelski – mixer, studio personnel
  • Casey Cuayo – assistant mixer, studio personnel

Charts

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Chart performance for "I Love You"
Chart (2019) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[22] 20
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[47] 31
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[23] 35
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[48] 35
Estonia (Eesti Tipp-40)[49] 12
Greece (IFPI)[50] 28
Hungary (Stream Top 40)[51] 31
Ireland (IRMA)[52] 73
Latvia (LAIPA)[53] 14
Lithuania (AGATA)[54] 17
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[27] 61
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[26] 39
Norway (VG-lista)[25] 38
Portugal (AFP)[55] 50
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[56] 21
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[24] 47
UK Audio Streaming (OCC)[57] 40
US Billboard Hot 100[20] 53

Certifications

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Certifications and sales for "I Love You"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[58] 3× Platinum 210,000‡
Austria (IFPI Austria)[59] Platinum 30,000‡
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[60] Diamond 160,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[30] Platinum 80,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[61] Platinum 90,000‡
France (SNEP)[62] Platinum 200,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[63] Gold 35,000‡
Mexico (AMPROFON)[64] Gold 30,000‡
Norway (IFPI Norway)[65] Gold 30,000‡
Poland (ZPAV)[66] Platinum 20,000‡
Portugal (AFP)[67] Platinum 10,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[68] Gold 30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[69] Platinum 600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[29] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Prance, Sam. "Billie Eilish When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?". AllMusic. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  2. ^ Wilson, Zanda (April 3, 2019). "Here's where Billie Eilish recorded her debut album". The Music Network. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  3. ^ Skinner, Tom (March 25, 2020). "Billie Eilish shares playlists of songs that inspired her debut album". NME. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Finneas Explains How He Builds Songs For Billie Eilish | Critical Breakthroughs | Pitchfork". YouTube. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  5. ^ "Billie Eilish 'I Love You' Sheet Music". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  6. ^ Tingen, Paul (July 2019). "Billie Eilish". Sound on Sound. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  7. ^ a b c Ahlgrim, Callie (March 18, 2020). "Every Billie Eilish song, ranked". Insider. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  8. ^ a b c Willman, Chris (March 28, 2019). "Album Review: Billie Eilish's 'When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?'". Variety. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  9. ^ a b Jenkins, Craig (March 29, 2019). "Billie Eilish Is the Future". Vulture. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  10. ^ a b DeVille, Chris (March 28, 2019). "Billie Eilish's Time Is Now". Stereogum. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  11. ^ Smith, Thomas (March 29, 2019). "Billie Eilish – 'When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?' review". NME. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  12. ^ a b c Roth, Madeline (April 4, 2019). "Billie Eilish's When We All Fall Asleep: A Complete Breakdown from Finneas O'Connell". MTV. Archived from the original on April 13, 2020. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  13. ^ Kornhaber, Spencer (April 2, 2019). "Billie Eilish's Spooky Teen Pop Shouldn't Scare Adults". The Atlantic. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  14. ^ Pareles, Jon (March 29, 2019). "Billie Eilish Redefines Teen-Pop Stardom on a Haunted, Heartfelt Debut Album". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 21, 2020. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  15. ^ Lipshutz, Jason (March 29, 2019). "A Pop Star Is Born: Billie Eilish Arrives With a Beautifully Flawed Debut Album". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 13, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  16. ^ Cowan, Yasmin (March 29, 2019). "Billie Eilish - When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?". Clash. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  17. ^ Dinwiddie, Curtis (April 3, 2019). "Billie Eilish 'When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go' Album Review". The Eastern Echo. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  18. ^ Smither, Tanis (March 29, 2019). "Album Review: Billie Eilish—When We All Fall Asleep, Where do We Go?". Earmilk. Archived from the original on May 20, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  19. ^ Snapes, Laura (March 29, 2019). "Billie Eilish: When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? review – thrilling Gen Z terror-pop". The Guardian. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
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  21. ^ Ahlgrim, Callie (April 4, 2020). "14 records Billie Eilish has already broken". Insider. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  22. ^ a b "Billie Eilish – I Love You". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  23. ^ a b "Billie Eilish Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  24. ^ a b "Billie Eilish – I Love You". Singles Top 100. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  25. ^ a b "Billie Eilish – I Love You". VG-lista. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  26. ^ a b "Billie Eilish – I Love You". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  27. ^ a b "Billie Eilish – I Love You" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  28. ^ "Billie Eilish Chart History (Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  29. ^ a b "American single certifications – Billie Eilish – I Love You". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  30. ^ a b "Canadian single certifications – Billie Eilish – I Love You". Music Canada. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  31. ^ Saval, Marina (July 1, 2019). "Billie Eilish Mesmerizes Glastonbury Crowd With Life-Affirming Performance". Variety. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  32. ^ Kaur, Harmeet (April 14, 2019). "Billie Eilish played Coachella for the first time and the audience went wild". CNN. Archived from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  33. ^ Saw, Yadana (April 25, 2019). "Review: Billie Eilish at Spark Arena – "a shared dream"". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  34. ^ "Hysterie tijdens Billie Eilish, maar perfect is het nog lang niet" [Hysteria during Billie Eilish concert, but it isn't perfect yet]. Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). August 18, 2019. Archived from the original on August 25, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
  35. ^ "Billie Eilish - i love you (Live At The Greek Theatre)". YouTube. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  36. ^ Skinner, Tom (August 14, 2019). "Watch Billie Eilish's beautiful new live video for 'I Love You'". NME. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  37. ^ Darus, Alex (August 14, 2019). "Billie Eilish Drops Haunting Live Video For 'I Love You' That Will Give You Chills". Alternative Press. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  38. ^ Spruch, Kirsten (August 13, 2019). "Billie Eilish Releases Chilling Live Video for 'I Love You': Watch". Billboard. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  39. ^ Espinoza, Joshua (September 29, 2019). "Watch Billie Eilish Perform 'Bad Guy' and 'I Love You' on 'SNL' Season Premiere". Complex. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  40. ^ Arcand, Rob (September 29, 2019). "Watch Billie Eilish Perform 'Bad Guy' and 'I Love You' on SNL". Spin. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  41. ^ Hussey, Allison (September 29, 2019). "Watch Billie Eilish Perform 'bad guy' and 'i love you' on SNL". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  42. ^ Young, Alex (March 10, 2020). "Billie Eilish Launches 'Where Do We Go? World Tour'". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  43. ^ Simper, Paul (February 20, 2020). "Hollyoaks Talia Grant's real-life parents David and Carrie on their surprise guest appearance: 'We felt like the kids'". Radio Times. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  44. ^ Rose, Anna (July 28, 2020). "Wilco's Jeff Tweedy covers 'I Love You' by Billie Eilish on his podcast again". NME. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  45. ^ "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? (I Love You) – Billie Eilish". Tidal. March 29, 2019. Retrieved July 13, 2019. Note: Access the 'Credits' button.
  46. ^ When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? (booklet). Billie Eilish. Santa Monica: Darkroom/Interscope Records. 2019.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  47. ^ "Billie Eilish – I Love You" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  48. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 14. týden 2019 in the date selector. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  49. ^ Nestor, Siim (April 9, 2019). "Eesti Tipp-40 Muusikas - Eesti lugude tabelis on uus number üks!". Eesti Ekspress (in Estonian). Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  50. ^ "Official IFPI Charts – Digital Singles Chart (International) – Week: 14/2019". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  51. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Stream Top 40 slágerlista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  52. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Billie Eilish". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  53. ^ "Mūzikas Patēriņa Tops/ 14. nedēļa" [Music consumption ranking/ Week 14] (in Latvian). LAIPA. Archived from the original on October 10, 2019. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  54. ^ "Savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" [Most listened-to this week (Top 100)] (in Lithuanian). AGATA. April 5, 2019. Archived from the original on October 9, 2019. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  55. ^ "Billie Eilish – I Love You". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  56. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 14. týden 2019 in the date selector. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  57. ^ "Official Audio Streaming Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  58. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2023 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  59. ^ "Austrian single certifications – Billie Eilish – I Love You" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
  60. ^ "Brazilian single certifications – Billie Eilish – I Love You" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  61. ^ "Danish single certifications – Billie Eilish – I Love You". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
  62. ^ "French single certifications – Billie Eilish – I Love You" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  63. ^ "Italian single certifications – Billie Eilish – I Love You" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  64. ^ "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved January 14, 2020. Type Billie Eilish in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and I Love You in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.
  65. ^ "Norwegian single certifications – Billie Eilish – I Love You" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  66. ^ "Wyróżnienia – Platynowe płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2020 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  67. ^ "Portuguese single certifications – Billie Eilish – I Love You" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  68. ^ "Spanish single certifications – Billie Eilish – I Love You". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  69. ^ "British single certifications – Billie Eilish – I Love You". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
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