Lunch (song)
"Lunch" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Billie Eilish | ||||
from the album Hit Me Hard and Soft | ||||
Written | October 2022 – 2023[a] | |||
Released | May 17, 2024 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:00 | |||
Label |
| |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Finneas | |||
Billie Eilish singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Lunch" on YouTube |
"Lunch" is a song by American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish and the lead single from her third studio album, Hit Me Hard and Soft (2024). It was released on May 17, 2024. The song features a heavy bassline and lyrics that detail Eilish's same-gender sexual attraction, following her public confirmation that she liked both men and women. In the lyrics, which she wrote after realizing that she wanted to try cunnilingus, she describes that desire (and her general sexual appetite), saying she "could eat that girl for lunch".
Background
[edit]Speculation around Eilish's sexual orientation began when she released the music video for the single "Lost Cause" in 2021.[2] The video features Eilish in a slumber party with several women, doing various activities such as twerking,[3] playing Twister,[4] and spraying silly string.[5] Many fans and media outlets saw the video as homoerotic,[6] while others accused her of queerbaiting.[7] In response, Eilish posted behind-the-scenes pictures from the video on Instagram with the caption "I love girls".[8]
In November 2023, Eilish appeared for a Variety cover story, in which she discussed her relationship to sexuality and womanhood, as well as her frustration with people speculating on her sexual orientation. She said that she had always felt an emotional attraction to women alongside physical attraction, admitting that she can be overawed with women she found beautiful.[9] A month later, during a red carpet for the magazine's "Hitmakers" event, a reporter asked Eilish if her comments during her interview were meant as a coming out statement, to which she said that it was not the intention and that she thought her sexual orientation was already obvious.[10] When the event concluded, she took to Instagram to criticize the reporter for their question, accusing them of outing her and confirming she liked both men and women.[11]
Music and lyrics
[edit]During a 2024 Rolling Stone interview, Eilish spoke more about her sexual orientation while discussing her upcoming third studio album, Hit Me Hard and Soft (2024), and her creative process behind one of its songs. She said that writing "Lunch" helped her explore and confirm her same-gender attraction.[12] She created "Lunch" before her first sexual encounter with a woman and completed the song thereafter, fueled by the realization that she "wanted [her] face in a vagina".[13]
The song has been described as electro,[14] synth-rock,[15] synth-pop,[16] and post-punk.[17] Set over a heavy bassline, the song discusses Eilish's strong sexual desire for a woman and compares sex with her to eating lunch.[18] In the chorus, she describes how the woman tastes as she "dances on [Eilish's] tongue" and calls the experience irresistible.[19] Allison Hope of CNN called the songwriting bold, comparing the provocative nature to activist Marsha P. Johnson's involvement at the 1969 Stonewall Inn riots in New York City.[20]
Release and reception
[edit]Eilish debuted "Lunch" alongside two other songs from Hit Me Hard and Soft during a secret DJ set and party at Coachella 2024, called "Do Labs".[21][22][23] It is the second track on the album, released on May 17, 2024.[24] "Lunch" is the lead single from the album, released concurrently with the album's release.[25] The song was released to contemporary hit radio in the United States,[26] while Universal Music Group promoted it on radio airplay in Italy.[27] The music video for "Lunch", directed by Eilish, premiered via her Vevo channel on YouTube twelve hours after the song's and album's release.[28]
Some music critics opined that "Lunch" is one of the best songs from the album. Kitty Empire from The Observer wrote the song as "a Sapphic synth-pop banger in which Eilish smacks her lips, wanting to devour someone tasty. Even better, towards the end of the song, the Eilish siblings pull out some of their most dancefloor-facing music to date. It ends too soon, on some panting".[16]
Music video
[edit]The video self-directed by Eilish has her dancing around dressed in stereotypical hip-hop clothes of young male rappers, mostly in new era/green/red and yellow plaid hats, a Supreme basketball jerseys, blue and red striped shirt and striped/jean shorts fashions of the 1990s to add to the irony of the song.
Accolades
[edit]Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2024 | Las Culturistas Culture Awards | Best Lunch | Nominated | [29] |
MTV Video Music Awards | Video of the Year | Pending | [30] |
Charts
[edit]
Weekly charts[edit] |
Monthly charts[edit]
|
Certifications
[edit]Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Belgium (BEA)[106] | Gold | 20,000‡ |
Canada (Music Canada)[107] | Platinum | 80,000‡ |
France (SNEP)[108] | Gold | 100,000‡ |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[109] | Platinum | 30,000‡ |
Poland (ZPAV)[110] | Gold | 25,000‡ |
Portugal (AFP)[111] | Gold | 5,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[112] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
Streaming | ||
Greece (IFPI Greece)[113] | Gold | 1,000,000† |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Release history
[edit]Region | Date | Format | Label(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Italy | May 17, 2024 | Radio airplay | Universal | [27] |
United States | Contemporary hit radio |
|
[26] |
Notes
[edit]- ^ For Alt 98.7 FM, Eilish revealed that the chorus of "Lunch" was written in October 2022, and the song was finished in Fall of 2023.[1]
References
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- ^ Tolliver, Jazmin (December 3, 2023). "Billie Eilish Opens Up About Why She Didn't Think She Had to Come Out". HuffPost. Archived from the original on April 20, 2024. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
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- ^ Blanchet, Brenton (June 2, 2021). "Watch Billie Eilish's New Video for 'Lost Cause'". Complex. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ^ Kitty Empire (July 31, 2021). "Billie Eilish: Happier Than Ever Review – Wiser and Wilder". The Observer. Archived from the original on June 24, 2022. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ^ Ng, Kate (June 14, 2021). "Billie Eilish Fans Defend Her Against Accusations of 'Queerbaiting'". The Independent. Archived from the original on August 25, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
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- ^ Iasimone, Ashley (December 3, 2023). "Billie Eilish Comments on Coming Out: 'I Didn't Realize People Didn't Know'". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 30, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ^ Mzezewa, Tariro (December 4, 2023). "Billie Eilish Accuses Variety of Outing Her". The Cut. Archived from the original on December 12, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ^ Duncan, Charlie (April 24, 2024). "Billie Eilish on Coming to Terms with Her Sexuality: 'I Wanted My Face in a Vagina'". PinkNews. Archived from the original on April 24, 2024. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ^ Zuvela, Teneal (April 24, 2024). "Billie Eilish Just Got *Very* Candid About Her Sexuality". Elle. Archived from the original on January 23, 2024. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ^ McCormick, Neil (May 16, 2024). "Billie Eilish, Hit Me Hard and Soft: explicit, sapphic and her best work yet". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on May 16, 2024. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
- ^ Torres, Eric (May 17, 2024). "5 Takeaways From Billie Eilish's New Album Hit Me Hard and Soft". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on May 17, 2024. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
- ^ a b Empire, Kitty (May 19, 2024). "Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft review – could have hit even harder". The Observer. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
- ^ Ragusa, Paolo (May 17, 2024). "On Hit Me Hard and Soft, Billie Eilish Is Wounded, Soaring, and Rejuvenated: Review". Consequence. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
- ^ Damshenas, Sam (April 24, 2024). "Billie Eilish Says She's Always 'Loved Girls': 'I Want My Face in a Vagina'". Gay Times. Archived from the original on April 24, 2024. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ^ Gonzalez, Alex (April 24, 2024). "Billie Eilish Says She Wrote Her Queer Song 'Lunch' After Realizing She Wanted Her 'Face in a Vagina'". Uproxx. Archived from the original on April 24, 2024. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ^ Hope, Allison (June 1, 2024). "Opinion: Billie Eilish's "Lunch" is the Pride anthem we so desperately need". CNN. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
- ^ Gonzalez, Alex (April 14, 2024). "Billie Eilish Previewed A New Song, 'Lunch,' During Coachella And Its Lyrics Are So Explicit Fans Are Having Fits Online". Uproxx.
- ^ Keating, Shannon (April 17, 2024). "Coachella's Gayest Moments, Ranked". Vulture. Archived from the original on April 20, 2024. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ^ Hollie Geraghty (April 15, 2024). "Billie Eilish previews new song 'Lunch' during secret Coachella DJ set". NME.
- ^ Singh, Surej (April 19, 2024). "Check Out the Tracklist for Billie Eilish's New Album Hit Me Hard and Soft". NME. Archived from the original on May 20, 2024. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ^ Partridge, Ken (May 17, 2024). "Billie Eilish Celebrates Same-Sex Attraction On New Song "LUNCH"". Genius. Archived from the original on May 17, 2024. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
- ^ a b "Hot New Releases". Hits Daily Double. May 17, 2024. Archived from the original on May 18, 2024. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
- ^ a b Vitali, Giacomo (May 17, 2024). "Billie Eilish - LUNCH (Radio Date: 17-05-2024)" (in Italian). Radio Airplay Italia. Archived from the original on May 17, 2024. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
- ^ Duran, Anagricel (May 17, 2024). "Watch Billie Eilish's feel-good video for 'LUNCH'". NME. Archived from the original on May 17, 2024. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
- ^ Smyth, Jason P. Frank, Tom (June 17, 2024). "The Real Winners of the 2024 Las Culturistas Culture Awards". Vulture. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
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