"TV" is a song by American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish. It is one of two tracks from her second extended play (EP), Guitar Songs, released as part of a double single on July 21, 2022. Eilish revealed the song during a Manchester live performance in June 2022 as part of a world tour in support of Happier Than Ever (2021), her second studio album. Despite planning to begin work on her subsequent album, she decided not to include "TV" in its track list, partly out of a desire to share its message as soon as possible. Eilish wrote the song with its producer Finneas O'Connell while on tour.
The studio version of the song features a sample of crowd noises from the tour performance. In "TV", a ballad about abandonment that combines soft vocals with an acoustic guitar, Eilish laments the public's fixation on the defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. She questions what she perceives as their lack of concern about the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which she contrasts with the defamation trial, and the future of US abortion rights. Critics praised the song for its sociopolitical and self-reflective lyrics, and it reached the top 40 of singles charts in over 10 countries.
Billie Eilish released her second studio album Happier Than Ever on July 30, 2021.[1] She started formulating ideas for her third studio album's songs with her brother, producer Finneas O'Connell, in December of that year.[2] After writing "The 30th" on December 30,[note 1] the two embarked on a 2022–2023 world tour in support of Happier Than Ever, which began on February 3, 2022.[4] While on tour, Eilish allocated a certain period of time in her schedule for songwriting, during which she was busy writing "TV". She wrote the song with Finneas, who handled its production.[5][6]
Songwriting for "TV" was concurrent with the US Supreme Court's discussion around the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case.[7] The writing process took months: while the two were quick to finish the first verse, they penned the remaining lyrics only after a draft of the court decision was leaked online, in May 2022. The leaked draft revealed plans to overturn Roe v. Wade, a landmark case which had made abortion a constitutional right in the country.[3][8] Eilish, known for her history with political activism,[9] was saddened by the leak, and she felt like her rights as a woman were getting stripped away from her.[10] Weeks after she and Finneas were done with the songwriting, the Supreme Court decided to overturn Roe v. Wade. Eilish bemoaned the decision, speaking in hindsight about writing the lyrics after the first verse: "It was a placeholder of doom."[11]
On June 7, 2022, during the world tour's Manchester concert, Eilish debuted "TV" via a live performance with Finneas, who provided acoustic guitar instrumentation.[12][13] This marked the first time since around 2017 that Eilish gave a preview of an unreleased song.[14] Explaining the decision, she stated in an NME cover story that she had "missed doing a song that no-one had heard yet" during concert tours from those years.[15] In an Apple Music 1 interview, she showed her appreciation for how the performance gave her a chance to express vulnerability. She told the interviewer Zane Lowe that she was inspired to do it after seeing Harry Styles play another unreleased song, "Boyfriends", at the music festival Coachella.[16] "TV" became a favorite among fans after they heard the preview[17]—its studio version includes a sample of a cheering crowd from the tour performance.[18]
Music and lyrics
Women are losing rights for their bodies, so why are we talking about celebrities' divorce trials [sic]? Who gives a shit? Let them figure it out on their own. The internet bothers the shit out of me sometimes.
"TV" is a ballad with a minimalist production that combines Eilish's soft vocals with an acoustic guitar.[19][20] The song has a runtime of 4 minutes and 41 seconds.[21] Its sound is intentionally reminiscent of Eilish and Finneas's oldest works, created when they wanted to write music at their parents' house with nothing but a guitar.[22]
Music journalists were in agreement that "TV" was primarily driven by the lyricism and vocal performance. In a review for The Guardian, Laura Snapes wrote that immediacy and anxiety, demonstrated through Eilish's voice, were at the song's core.[23][24][25] Its lyrics are about feelings of abandonment in a relationship and a desire for numbness as a distraction from the problems that plague the world.[26][27] It explores poignant subject matters like eating disorders, mental health,[28] the defamation trial between actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, and the outcome of the Dobbs case.[29][30]
The song opens by describing a depressive episode. Unable to sleep, Eilish distracts herself from a falling-out with an ex-partner by watching the reality TV show Survivor, then she expresses cynicism towards other people and their motivations.[28][27] She sings about "sinking in the sofa while we all betray each other", posing the question "what’s the point of anything?"[31] The chorus discusses the effects of her romantic relationships on the amount of time she can spend with her friends.[32]
By the second verse, Eilish ponders how her friendships have also been affected by her celebrity status and tries to restrain herself from skipping meals.[28][32] Next, she laments how "the internet's gone wild watching movie stars on trial / While they're overturning Roe v. Wade."[33] Eilish expressed anger about the situation in the NME cover story, questioning why the public prioritized fixating on the feud between Depp and Heard, which she found trivial, instead of showing concern about the future of abortion rights.[34] The chorus reappears after the second verse,[28] and to close the song, Eilish uses a refrain.[35] She repeats the phrase "maybe I'm the problem", blaming herself for the life issues she has faced while writing "TV".[26][36] The crowd noise sample plays as Eilish recites the final lines.[25]
Release
Guitar Songs is Eilish's second extended play (EP),[37] and Darkroom and Interscope Records released it without prior warning on July 21, 2022.[21][38][39] "TV" appears as one of its two tracks alongside "The 30th", both of which serve as the EP's double single.[40][41] While Eilish was about to start work on her third studio album, she decided to exclude the songs from its track list after a discussion with Finneas. One reason why she felt like "TV" and "The 30th" had to be released early was that she wanted to share their messages to her fans as soon as possible, noting the immediacy of the lyrics. She said: "These songs are really current for me, and they’re songs that I want to have said right now."[42] Another was that Eilish had grown tired of doing heavy, traditional promotion for upcoming music. She wanted to release songs like she had been doing early in her career, previewing them for fans in live concerts before releasing them without much marketing.[43][44]
Upon the EP's release, "TV" charted in multiple territories. In the US, it debuted at number 52 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number 7 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs.[45][46] Elsewhere, it reached the top 40 of charts in Japan,[47] Ireland,[48] Malaysia,[49] New Zealand,[50] Greece,[51] Sweden,[52] Australia,[53] the UK,[54] Lithuania,[55] Canada,[56] Norway,[57] and Switzerland.[58] In terms of international commercial performance, the song entered the Billboard Global 200 at number 25, and the Global Excl. US chart at number 34.[59] Nine days after the release, Eilish and Finneas visited the Amoeba Music record store in Hollywood to play "TV", along with three other songs, in commemoration of Happier Than Ever's one-year anniversary.[9] The two continued to perform "TV" during the world tour, including it in the set list of the Singapore stop.[60] They collaborated with the country's tourism board after the tour's Asian leg to film a live performance of "TV", set at the Gardens by the Bay. She shared the video to her YouTube account on September 21, 2022.[40][61]
Critical reception
Alexis Petridis, a music journalist for The Guardian, selected "TV" as the best song performed during the Manchester date, citing the melancholic tone of its lyrics.[36] Other critics praised Eilish for her self-reflection and social commentary in "TV", and some considered its lyricism as a testament to her writing talent.[note 2] In particular, entertainment columnists for the Manila Bulletin argued that the song's social commentary, an element they associated with all the greatest songwriters before her, served as "a reminder that 20-year-old Eilish remains one of the most treasured singer-songwriters of her generation".[62] Snapes also commented on the lyrics for "TV". She described its writing style as realist, impressed with Eilish's subtlety and ability to discuss poignant topics without downplaying their seriousness.[25]
Furthermore, Snapes appreciated how the vocals and minimalist production were, to her, appropriate for the song's tone: "Fittingly, the melody of each line seems to tumble, each one a crumbling empire delivered in her tremulous, feather-light voice."[25] Other critics were also impressed by Eilish's vocal performance. Steffanee Wang of Nylon deemed it "powerful",[20] whereas Jason Lipshutz of Billboard sensed improvement in her vocal technique and called her voice "increasingly confident".[23] Meanwhile, an unknown NME author saw the song's guitar instrumentation as relaxing: "She sings over lulling acoustic guitars meant to soothe the most disillusioned of us."[35]
"Guitar Songs by Billie Eilish". Darkroom and Interscope Records. July 21, 2022. Archived from the original on July 21, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2022– via Amazon Music.
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