Entering the Grammys as a major nominee for the third straight year, Billie Eilish had a visible blast while performing her smash “Happier Than Ever” at the 64th annual ceremony on Sunday night (April 3) — while also honoring a recently departed rock great with her wardrobe choice.
Wearing a tee in tribute to late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, Eilish began singing her Happier Than Ever title track with gentle grace, with the stage setup a nod to the song’s music video and the rain-soaked room that the pop superstar climbs out to escape. After wading through water and hovering beneath a couch nailed to the room’s roof, Eilish emerged onto a staged rooftop for the song’s explosive second half, storm clouds projected behind her as she rocked out with her guitar-toting older brother Finneas and a live drummer.
As so many have over the past few months, Eilish head-banged through the final minute of “Happier Than Ever” — then showed off her Hawkins T-shirt as applause rained down. “It was incredibly heartbreaking,” Eilish said last weekend prior to the Academy Awards about the news of Hawkins’ death arriving soon before a performance of her own. “It was right before we went on stage. And we got the news and it really, really tore us all apart. It’s horribly, horribly tragic.”
Eilish, already a seven-time Grammy winner, entered this year’s Grammy Awards with seven new nominations, including album of the year for Happier Than Ever and record of the year for its title track. Eilish and her brother Finneas won the Oscar for best original song last Sunday night, with their Bond theme song “No Time To Die.”