"Birds of a Feather" (stylized in all caps) is a song by American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish. It impacted US contemporary hit radio on July 2, 2024, as the second single from her third studio album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, through Darkroom and Interscope Records. The song explores themes of deep love and a desire for lasting connection. "Bird of a Feather" has charted at number one in Australia, Iceland, Lithuania, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Singapore as well as within the top five in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Latvia, Lebanon, Luxembourg, the Middle East and North Africa, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines, Portugal, San Marino, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Background and release
Eilish first previewed the song on May 13, 2024, through a teaser trailer for the upcoming third season of the Netflix series Heartstopper.[2] The song was one of the three songs teased ahead of the album release.[3] In an interview with Apple Music, Eilish revealed that the song contains the highest belt of her career.[4]
The song served as the second single from Hit Me Hard and Soft, released on May 17, 2024.
Composition
Described as a "breezy neo-new-wave jam",[5] "Birds of a Feather" borrows its title from the English idiom "birds of a feather flock together". In an "emotionally vulnerable" tone, Eilish sings about falling in love with a person that she wants to "stick together" with. The love for her significant other brings her to tears and she begs her lover to stay and never end their relationship.[4]
Commercial performance
Following the release of Hit Me Hard and Soft, "Birds of a Feather" debuted at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the highest placing from the album after "Chihiro" peaking at number twelve and the lead single from the album "Lunch" at number five on the issue dated June 1, 2024.[6] In its fourth week the then-album cut jumped from the eleventh to the ninth spot on the chart becoming its peak position as a non-single track.[7] Due to the song's good performance, "Birds of a Feather" was released on July 2 as the second single from the album.[8] In its thirteenth week on the Hot 100, "Birds of a Feather" reached a new peak of number five,[9] while ascending to number one on the multimetric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and Hot Alternative Songs charts in its twelfth week.[10] Following its music video release, the song reached a new peak of number two on the Hot 100, becoming her highest placement since "Therefore I Am" in 2020 and the highest-charting song from Hit Me Hard and Soft. The single was certified Platinum by the RIAA on August 14, 2024.[11]
In the United Kingdom, "Birds of a Feather" debuted at number nine on the UK Singles Chart during the week of the album's release. The song was the third best after "Chihiro" at number seven and "Lunch" at number two.[12] Following its increase of popularity, the song reached its peak of number two on the UK Singles Chart.[13]
Elsewhere, the song topped the charts in various countries, including Australia and Iceland, and peaked within the top ten of the charts in Canada, the Czech Republic, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Philippines, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Switzerland. It also topped the Billboard Global 200 chart.
Music video
Teased a day prior, the Aidan Zamiri-directed music video for "Birds of a Feather" was released on September 27, 2024.[14] In the video, Eilish is shown singing in an abandoned office building while being dragged around by the arm by an invisible force; Sarah Kearns of Hypebeast interpreted this as "a symbol that seems to relay the feeling of being pulled in different directions by someone who isn’t actually present."[15]
Eilish performed the song during the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony on August 11, 2024. The performance was part of the Olympic flag handover from the city of Paris to Los Angeles (who is set to host in 2028) and was recorded the day before at Long Beach.[20] On October 19, 2024, Eilish performed the song on Saturday Night Live alongside "Wildflower."
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 35. týden 2024 in the date selector. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 21. týden 2024 in the date selector. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
^"Media Forest – Weekly Charts. Media Forest. Retrieved October 17, 2024. Note: Romanian and international positions are rendered together by the number of plays before resulting an overall chart.
^"Media Forest – Weekly Charts. Media Forest. Retrieved November 4, 2024. Note: Select 'Songs – TV'. Romanian and international positions are rendered together by the number of plays before resulting an overall chart.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 40. týden 2024 in the date selector. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 41. týden 2024 in the date selector. Retrieved October 15, 2024.