"Lunch" is a song by American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish and the lead single from her third studio album, Hit Me Hard and Soft (2024). It was released on May 17, 2024. The song features a heavy bassline and lyrics that detail Eilish's same-sex sexual attraction, following her public confirmation that she liked both men and women. In the lyrics, which she wrote after realizing that she wanted to try cunnilingus, she describes that desire (and her general sexual appetite), saying she "could eat that girl for lunch".
| "Lunch" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Billie Eilish | ||||
| from the album Hit Me Hard and Soft | ||||
| Written | October 2022 – 2023[a] | |||
| Released | May 17, 2024 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:00 | |||
| Label |
| |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Finneas | |||
| Billie Eilish singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Lunch" on YouTube | ||||
Background
Speculation around Eilish's sexual orientation began when she released the music video for the single "Lost Cause" in 2021.[2] The video features Eilish in a slumber party with several women, doing various activities such as twerking,[3] playing Twister,[4] and spraying silly string.[5] Many fans and media outlets saw the video as homoerotic,[6] while others accused her of queerbaiting.[7] In response, Eilish posted behind-the-scenes pictures from the video on Instagram with the caption "I love girls".[8]
In November 2023, Eilish appeared for a Variety cover story, in which she discussed her relationship to sexuality and womanhood, as well as her frustration with people speculating on her sexual orientation. She said that she had always felt an emotional attraction to women alongside physical attraction, admitting that she can be overawed with women she found beautiful.[9] A month later, during a red carpet for the magazine's "Hitmakers" event, a reporter asked Eilish if her comments during her interview were meant as a coming out statement, to which she said that it was not the intention and that she thought her sexual orientation was already obvious.[10] When the event concluded, she took to Instagram to criticize the reporter for their question, accusing them of outing her and confirming she liked both men and women.[11]
Music and lyrics
During a 2024 Rolling Stone interview, Eilish spoke more about her sexual orientation while discussing her upcoming third studio album, Hit Me Hard and Soft (2024), and her creative process behind one of its songs. She said that writing "Lunch" helped her explore and confirm her same-gender attraction.[12] She created "Lunch" before her first sexual encounter with a woman and completed the song thereafter, fueled by the realization that she "wanted [her] face in a vagina".[13]
The song has been described as electro,[14] synth-rock,[15] synth-pop,[16] and post-punk.[17] Set over a heavy bassline, the song discusses Eilish's strong sexual desire for a woman and compares sex with her to eating lunch.[18] In the chorus, she describes how the woman tastes as she "dances on [Eilish's] tongue" and calls the experience irresistible.[19] Allison Hope of CNN called the songwriting bold, comparing the provocative nature to activist Marsha P. Johnson's involvement at the 1969 Stonewall Inn riots in New York City.[20]
Release and reception
Eilish debuted "Lunch" alongside two other songs from Hit Me Hard and Soft during a secret DJ set and party at Coachella 2024, called "Do Labs".[21][22][23] It is the second track on the album, released on May 17, 2024.[24] "Lunch" is the lead single from the album, released concurrently with the album's release.[25] The song was released to contemporary hit radio in the United States,[26] while Universal Music Group promoted it on radio airplay in Italy.[27] The music video for "Lunch", directed by Eilish, premiered via her Vevo channel on YouTube twelve hours after the song's and album's release.[28]
Some music critics opined that "Lunch" is one of the best songs from the album. Kitty Empire from The Observer wrote the song as "a Sapphic synth-pop banger in which Eilish smacks her lips, wanting to devour someone tasty. Even better, towards the end of the song, the Eilish siblings pull out some of their most dancefloor-facing music to date. It ends too soon, on some panting".[16]
Music video
The video self-directed by Eilish has her dancing around dressed in stereotypical hip-hop clothes of young male rappers, mostly in new era/green/red and yellow plaid hats, a Supreme basketball jerseys, a blue and red striped shirt with striped/jean shorts fashions of the 1990s to add to the irony of the song.
Accolades
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Las Culturistas Culture Awards | Best Lunch | Nominated | [29] |
| MTV Video Music Awards | Video of the Year | Nominated | [30] | |
Charts
Weekly charts |
Monthly charts
|
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Austria (IFPI Austria)[107] | Gold | 15,000‡ |
| Belgium (BEA)[108] | Gold | 20,000‡ |
| Canada (Music Canada)[109] | 2× Platinum | 160,000‡ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[110] | Gold | 45,000‡ |
| France (SNEP)[111] | Gold | 100,000‡ |
| Italy (FIMI)[112] | Gold | 50,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[113] | Platinum | 30,000‡ |
| Poland (ZPAV)[114] | Platinum | 50,000‡ |
| Portugal (AFP)[115] | Platinum | 10,000‡ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[116] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[117] | Gold | 400,000‡ |
| Streaming | ||
| Greece (IFPI Greece)[118] | Platinum | 2,000,000† |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Release history
| Region | Date | Format | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | May 17, 2024 | Radio airplay | [119] | |
| Italy | Universal | [27] | ||
| United States | Contemporary hit radio |
|
[26] |
Notes
- For Alt 98.7 FM, Eilish revealed that the chorus of "Lunch" was written in October 2022, and the song was finished in Fall of 2023.[1]
References
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