Billie Eilish offers surprises at first Kia Forum ‘Hometown homecoming’ show

It’s been quite the year for singer-songwriter Billie Eilish.

She won an Oscar for best original song in March. A month later, Eilish sold out three nights at the Kia Forum and headlined two weekends at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival.

Her second studio album, 2021’s “Happier Than Ever,” sent her crisscrossing the United States, then Europe, Asia and Australia before breaking for the year in September.

And still, Eilish wanted more, as she explained Tuesday during the first of three sold-out Hometown Homecoming shows at the Forum in Inglewood.

“I ended tour months ago and it just didn’t feel like the end,” Eilish told the crowd between songs late in the set. “I wanted to come back to my hometown and do a few more.

“And here we are.”

And here we are indeed, a few days before Eilish turns 21 on Dec. 18, watching this still-ascending talent pack 32 songs into an hour and 50 minutes as ecstatic fans sang nearly every word with her, chorus and verse.

Eilish opened with “Bury A Friend,” the lyrics of which provided the title of her 2019 breakout debut album, “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go,” which earned Eilish five Grammys in 2020, including the rare superfecta of best new artist, album of the year, song of the year, and record of the year.

At the finish, she beamed, clearly thrilled to be back on stage. “I Didn’t Change My Number” and “NDA,” both of 2021’s sophomore album “Happier Than Ever” followed, and over the first half of the show, her set followed that of her earlier tour dates.

“Therefore I Am” rumbled along its heavy groove. “You Should See Me In a Crown” elicited screams from the crowd at its first note, dancing wildly as Eilish roamed the length and width of the stage in constant motion.

But then things subtly started to change, giving this encore show a different look than the world tour sets earlier this year.

“My Future,” a lush, gentle ballad, and one of a dozen songs off “Happier Than Ever” in the set on Tuesday, made its first appearance in concert in 2022. A few songs later, the lovely piano-backed “Xanny” arrived as an even bigger surprise.

“You know I had to bring back an old one, didn’t you?” Eilish said as the crowd cheered. “You guys missed that one, didn’t you? I don’t think I’ve done that one since 2018.”

After the first third of the show wrapped with the big electronic beats of “Oxytocin” and the gentler vocals of “Ilomilo,” Eilish’s brother, Finneas O’Connell, her collaborator on all her work, joined her on stools at the front of the stage for a mini-acoustic set.

“I Love You,” “Your Power,” and “TV,” a new song released in the summer, placed her vocals in the spotlight with acoustic guitar in place of the heavier keys, bass and drums of most of the night.

Four songs on a remote stage at the far end of the arena brought her close to – and above – the fans furthest from the stage, as a large hydraulic lift flew her over the crowd while she sang tunes including “OverHeated” and “Ocean Eyes.”

The back half of the show alternated best-loved songs with a few more surprises. “Getting Older” is a sweetly adorable song for both its lyrics and melody and the home movies of Baby Billie that fill the video screens as she sings it.

“Lost Cause” is a classic kiss-off song to an ex on which the crowd really roared on lines such as “You ain’t nothing but a lost cause / and this ain’t nothing like it once was.” It was followed by “Bitches Broken Hearts,” showing up for the first time since 2020.

“When The Party’s Over” is one of the most gorgeous songs in Eilish’s career, and for once, the fans seemed to pause their singalongs to bask in the beauty of her vocals.

After the wild romp of “All Good Girls Go To Hell,” Eilish surprised the crowd with Labrinth, the British musician whose work includes scoring the HBO series “Euphoria” and performing in the supergroup LSD with Sia and Diplo.

They sang together on a pair of his songs, “Mount Everest,” a track used in an episode of “Euphoria,” and “I’ve Never Felt So Alone.”

The night offered a hint of the holidays throughout. Christmas carols played on the PA before it began, and when Eilish was aloft on the lift, she scattered treats to the crowd below from a Christmas stocking attached to its rail.

After grabbing a bag of gifts, she threw merch, T-shirts and the like to fans near the stage, and then announced she wanted to do a Christmas carol. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” a song originally made famous by Judy Garland, another young talent like her, was played straight and lovely.

“Bad Guy,” her first and only No. 1 hit reenergized the crowd with its minimalist electropop grooves, ending with a blast of confetti from the rafters that still was drifting down as she closed out the night “Happier Than Ever,” which opened softly before building to a huge, hard-rocking cathartic finish.

Eilish returns to the Kia Forum for shows on Thursday, Dec. 15 and Friday, Dec. 16.