By Zach Goins
October 20, 2025
Photo: Henry Hwu
Three years after her last visit to Charlotte, Billie Eilish stormed back into the city on Sunday night with the kind of confidence only a global superstar can command. The nine-time Grammy winner’s 24-song set at the newly renovated Spectrum Center was electrifying, emotional, and utterly self-assured — a performance that made it clear just how much she’s grown.
In 2022, the Happier Than Ever Tour presented a young star coming to terms with her own fame — still navigating the balance between vulnerability and spectacle. But on this tour, Eilish has leveled up. She’s no longer searching for her identity under the spotlight; she owns it. The Queen City crowd felt that transformation the moment she rose out of a glowing cube to the pulsing beat of “CHIHIRO.”
Sunday also marked the first public event at the Spectrum Center following its $245 million renovation. The revamped arena was flooded with oversized jerseys, baggy clothes and bandanas as Eilish’s fans swarmed the concourse and merch stands.
Puerto Rican rapper Young Miko kicked off the evening at 7 p.m. with a blend of Latin trap and reggaeton beats that instantly got the crowd moving. It didn’t take long for Miko to feel the love in Charlotte — before the first song, “oye ma’,” concluded, a bra had hit the stage with a message written on it: “Be my mamacita, Miko.” The rapper twirled the trophy above her head before stuffing it in her back pocket — along with four other undergarments throughout the set.
Eilish’s in-the-round-style stage gave Miko the freedom to work the crowd from multiple angles, as spotlights scanned the audience and she serenaded sections, getting fans on their feet with hits like “Gabriela” and “FINA,” her 2023 collab with Bad Bunny. Young Miko’s set concluded with “WASSUP,” as the sold-out crowd began to buzz as the countdown for Eilish began.
At 8:15 p.m., an LED cube descended to center stage, and the arena erupted in screams. Blinding white lights pulsed from the screens as Eilish emerged from below, rising up into the stage before appearing atop the cube as it lifted into the air and “CHIHIRO” began. The volume inside the arena soared past 100 decibels, my Apple Watch confirmed, and it never let up for the next two hours.
As Eilish worked her way through the early part of her set with “LUNCH,” “NDA” and “Therefore I Am,” it became clear just how stimulating the visuals would be throughout the show. Following the LED aerial entrance, what appeared to be a single rectangular jumbotron, split into eight individual screens that spread throughout the arena, while hanging speakers rigged with lasers moved up and down.
Eilish has always known how to work a stage — infamous for her nonstop bouncing — but on this tour, it became clear just how effortlessly she can charm the crowd. The jumping and running around are still very much present, as her open stage allows sprints from one end to the other, giving fans a prime view from multiple angles. Yet it was her subtle, intimate moments that revealed Eilish’s true charisma on stage. A pause between songs, a sidelong glance, or a delicate lip bite during a close-up sent the crowd into a frenzy, applauding Eilish the person as much as Eilish the performer.
Throughout the 24-song set, Eilish took fans on a genre-blending trip through all three of her albums, with eight tracks coming from 2024’s Hit Me Hard and Soft.
The electronic, synth-heavy production of Eilish’s latest work shaped the entire vibe of the set, as lasers danced across the arena to create a rave-like atmosphere during upbeat hits like “L’Amour de Ma Vie,” “Oxytocin,” and Charli XCX’s “Guess,” which she performed on an elevated B-stage along the baseline, giving fans who weren’t lucky enough to be front row a chance to still see her up close.
Over the course of the night, Eilish truly showcased the full breadth of her vocal range. On “The Greatest” — performed while suspended on a platform — she rose as the soft ballad swelled into an angsty, emotional belter. Meanwhile, intimate, stripped-down tracks like “when the party’s over” offered a glimpse into Eilish’s creative process, as she recorded layered vocal loops in real time before launching into the first verse.
As Eilish reached the home stretch, she pulled out her biggest hits to close the night, starting with the heartfelt Oscar- and Grammy-winning “What Was I Made For?,” strolling across the stage and reaching and connecting with fans in the audience. Then, just as the tempo had slowed, Eilish ramped it back up, rocking out to “Happier Than Ever” and strumming an electric guitar as lights flashed and flames erupted around her.
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It all led to the grand finale: the light and vibey “BIRDS OF A FEATHER,” a song that has become her grandest, and now the most-streamed song on Spotify by a female artist. Eilish made her way to each side of the stage making sure the entire audience got one last look at her, before confetti cannons shot up alongside the final chorus sending the crowd into pure euphoria.
Setlist:
“CHIHIRO”
“LUNCH”
“NDA”
“Therefore I Am”
“WILDFLOWER”
“when the party’s over”
“THE DINER”
“ilomilo”
“bad guy”
“THE GREATEST”
“Your Power”
“SKINNY”
“TV”
“BITTERSUITE”
“bury a friend”
“Oxytocin”
“Guess (Charli xcx cover)”
“everything i wanted”
“BLUE”
“lovely / BLUE / ocean eyes”
“L’AMOUR DE MA VIE”
“What Was I Made For?”
“Happier Than Ever”
“BIRDS OF A FEATHER”
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