"The 30th" 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. She wrote the song with its producer, her brother Finneas O'Connell, on December 30, 2021. They did so after Eilish recalled seeing her friend experience a car accident one month prior and felt the need to write about the event immediately. Despite planning to begin work on her subsequent album, she decided not to include the song in its track list, partly out of a desire to share its message as soon as possible.

"The 30th" is a ballad that features Eilish's soft vocals over acoustic guitar. Exploring themes of death and pain, its lyrics center around the car accident that Eilish witnessed. She narrates how her friend went unconscious after the crash, awoke inside the ambulance, and learned what happened while on the way to the hospital. During the bridge, Eilish lists several alternate scenarios that ask if the friend would have survived had the circumstances surrounding the day of the accident been different. Critics were positive about the song's personal nature, and some believed that the lyrics were a testament to Eilish's songwriting skills. It peaked at number 79 on the US Billboard Hot 100 record chart and reached the top 40 in four countries.

Background and release

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 2021.[2] "The 30th" was the first song that the two wrote after the album's release.[3] Eilish decided on the title because on November 30 of that year, someone close to her fell victim to a car accident. Eilish, who saw what happened, described the event as "the most indescribable thing [she had] to witness and experience".[4] Upon recalling the accident, she approached Finneas and asked him that they write about it immediately. The two wrote "The 30th" on December 30, 2021,[5] and Finneas served as its producer. Dave Kutch handled the audio mastering for the song, whereas Rob Kinelski and Eli Heisler worked on its mixing.[6]

Darkroom and Interscope Records released Eilish's second extended play (EP), Guitar Songs, on July 21, 2022.[7][8] The release came as a surprise.[9] "The 30th" appears as one of its two tracks alongside "TV", both of which serve as the EP's double single.[10][11] 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 "The 30th" and "TV" 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."[12] Another was that Eilish had grown tired of doing heavy, traditional promotion for upcoming music, wanting to release them without much marketing like she had been doing early in her career.[13][14]

Eilish and Finneas performed "The 30th" live for the first time a few weeks after the EP's release, during the Manila concert of a 2022–2023 world tour in support of Happier Than Ever.[15] Prefacing the performance, Eilish remarked that it was hard to sing due to the personal lyrics.[16][17] After the tour's Asian leg, she and Finneas collaborated with Singapore's tourism board to film a live performance of "The 30th", set at the Gardens by the Bay. She shared the video to her YouTube account on September 21, 2022.[10][18]

Music and lyrics

"The 30th" is a ballad with a minimalist production that combines Eilish's soft vocals over an acoustic guitar.[15][19] The song has a runtime of 3 minutes and 37 seconds.[7] Its sound is intentionally reminiscent of Eilish and Finneas's oldest works, which were created when they wanted to write music at their parents' house with nothing but a guitar.[5] The song, dedicated to one of Eilish's closest friends,[16] centers around the November car accident and primarily explores themes of death and pain.[20][21]

Eilish narrates how the friend went unconscious after the crash and remembered what happened to them when they woke up inside a travelling ambulance. She comments about the scene: "when you’re staring into space / It's hard to believe you don't remember it".[21][22] To tell the story from her point of view, she reveals that she was on the same road as the car accident, wondering why there was a traffic jam. According to Eilish, she saw ambulances passing by, but she "didn't even think of pulling over".[23] She sings that she learnt of the full story that night.[24] In the chorus, she reminds her friend that they called her while in the hospital. The friend told her that they felt scared about what happened, and Eilish provided reassurance by saying "so was I" and telling them that they looked pretty.[20][25]

"The 30th"

The song's bridge, highlighted by many critics in their articles about the EP, contains crescendoing guitar chords and vocals that start strong and become soft by the end.

---

Problems playing this file? See media help.

When the song crescendos towards its bridge, its guitar chords slowly build up and the vocals begin to overlap, evoking a racing mind and a growing sense of panic.[24] She lists alternate scenarios that question if the friend would still be alive had the accident occurred at another day and in other locations—a street with young children, a bridge without a railroad to block any oncoming traffic, or Angeles Crest Highway during snowfall. Eilish wonders what if the friend was driving to someplace secluded with children in the passenger seats, unable to contact others for help.[4][26] Closing the bridge, she says "if you changed anything, would you not have survived?" before she repeats the words "you're alive". On the last "you're alive", the vocal layering ends, leaving only Eilish's soft voice.[4][21][24] The chorus appears again after the bridge, but this time, Eilish changes the final line "so was I" to "so am I".[25]

August Brown, a writer for the Los Angeles Times, thought that the instrumentation for "The 30th" was reminiscent of the works of George Harrison, guitarist for the Beatles.[27] Consequence's Mary Siroky opted to compare the song, specifically its build-up to the bridge, to the "unforgettable explosion" of Happier Than Ever's title track. To contrast the two, she argued that listeners expect "The 30th" to provide catharsis in a similar way as the title track, but it instead "pulls back, leaving us gasping for air".[25]

Reception

Multiple music journalists were positive about the closely personal lyrics in "The 30th", which they believed were emotionally powerful and a testament to Eillish's writing talent.[lower-alpha 1] Entertainment columnists for the Manila Bulletin argued that the song's self-reflection, which they associated with all the greatest songwriters before her, served as a reminder that she "remains one of the most treasured singer-songwriters of her generation".[30]

For a similar reason, Siroky selected "The 30th" as the best new song of the week ending July 22, 2022. She was amazed by the lyrics' vulnerability and relatability, directing praise towards the bridge in particular.[25] In a review for The Guardian, Laura Snapes described the lyrics in "The 30th" as employing a realist writing style. Snapes appreciated what she thought was Eilish's ability to discuss poignant topics without downplaying their seriousness.[24] Other critics chose to direct praise towards her vocal performance: Wang admired how "powerful" she deemed her voice was,[20] whereas Jason Lipshutz of Billboard sensed improvement in her vocal technique and called it "increasingly confident".[28]

Upon the EP's release, "The 30th" charted in multiple territories. In the US, the song debuted at number 79 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number 11 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs.[31][32] Elsewhere, it reached the top 40 of charts in Ireland,[33] New Zealand,[34] Australia,[35] and the UK.[36] In terms of international commercial performance, "The 30th" entered the Billboard Global 200 at number 50, and the Global Excl. US chart at number 91.[37]

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[6]

• Billie Eilish – vocals, songwriting, engineering, vocal editing
• Finneas O'Connell – songwriting, production, engineering, vocal editing, bass, drums, guitar, piano, programming, synthesizer
• Dave Kutch – mastering
• Rob Kinelski – mixing
• Eli Heisler – assistant mixing

Charts

References

Notes

Sources

На других языках

[ru] The 30th