BILLIE OPENS DOOR ON TIKTOK

We share this TikTok clip of Billie Eilish as a reminder that she is about to "open up the door" on her hotly anticipated new album, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT (Darkroom/Interscope). (Like Billie, other UMG acts have been returning to the platform in the wake of a resolution between the label group and the Bytedance-owned social-video app.) Eilish, we might add, has 51.9m followers on TikTok and 119m on Instagram.

The new set, crafted, as usual, by Eilish and brother-amanuensis FINNEAS, lands on Friday (5/17) without any advance singles, so fans will be absorbing it all at once (in Billie's preferred order). Her label and management teams have provided enormous support to Eilish, who stands as one of the most influential creators of her generation, and have kept uppermost in mind that this project is being presented as art, not a product or "content."

HIT ME HARD AND SOFT is being described with all manner of superlatives by the insiders who've heard it. Arena playbacks are being held today (5/15) at Brooklyn's Barclays Center and 5/16 at L.A.'s Forum.

The world tour to promote Eilish's new album is due to commence on 9/29.