Breaking Down The Most Popular HIT ME HARD AND SOFT TOUR Fan Theories

There are only two months left until the best night of our lives. Being in the pit for the HIT ME HARD AND SOFT tour, of course.

If you’re a Billie stan like us, and always on Twitter theorizing tour ideas with other fans, you probably already know a handful of these theories. If not, welcome to the madness that is prepping for HMHAS live on the road! From the hotly debated ‘ilomilo’ theory to understanding why no opening act has been announced yet, we’re dishing all our Billie secrets and theories!

Set Design

During the When We All Fall Asleep Where Do We Go? Tour and the Happier Than Ever Tour Billie’s set design stayed pretty much the same. She had her main stage with a long catwalk down the center of the pit, and for the HTE tour, the stage was slanted so she could run (or roll) down it. This time around fans have noticed the stage looks a whole lot different. Based on arena maps on Ticketmaster, the stage is a giant oval in the center of the pit. No catwalk this time around. If you attended Harry Styles’ Love On Tour, then you know the design we’re talking about.

Another part of the theory includes the invisible string that flows between all three albums – Billie falling. We could go on and on about the importance of this, but in short, fans are theorizing that this is how she will enter the stage – falling from a door suspended in the air which is also the same imagery as the HMHAS album cover art. Did you know that this was actually how she was originally supposed to enter the stage on tour before COVID hit in 2020?

In the past, Billie has gone on stage with just two people, her brother Finneas and her drummer Andrew. Theories about a new band has fans wondering if we can expect a full-fledged band and backup singers or if it just means she’ll be getting a new drummer. We hope to still see Andrew up on stage, but we would also be excited for more live instrumentals!

Opening Act(s)

As of today, no opening act for the HMHAS tour has been announced. On the last tour, Duckwrth was the opener and put on a great show! This time around there may be no opener. Usually, an opener is announced around the same time that tour dates are, but Billie and her team have yet to hint at anything. Fans have been theorizing an opener like Reneé Rapp or Ethel Cain. Here in the hive, we think it may be Daniel Caesar, Denzel Curry, Steve Lacey, or (by some miracle) FINNEAS himself. It would also be fitting for a DJ to have a short set before Billie comes on given that her album has EDM and house music references. Then there is the final theory – Billie won’t have any opener. Regardless, we hope an opener is announced soon!

Set List Theories

One of the most debated aspects of any live show? The setlist. Now that Billie has three full-length albums, it’s inevitable that all her songs won’t be played. Some non-negotiables for fans? ‘bury a friend,’ ‘Happier Than Ever,’ ‘Billie Bossa Nova,’ ‘Ocean Eyes,’ and so many more. Some OG songs we hope to hear include ‘COPYCAT’ and ‘b****es broken hearts,’ but we can only hope and pray for these two.

The most hotly debated argument about the setlist is whether or not ‘BITTERSUITE’ and ‘THE DINER’ will be on the setlist. Fans think at least one of these will be cut. We really hope not! But, we would also hate to sacrifice other HMHAS favorites like ‘WILDFLOWER’ or ‘SKINNY.’ Fans have also been asking if she will play all 9 minutes of ‘L’AMOUR DE MA VIE’ which includes the original 5-minute 30-second track and the 4-minute 30-second ‘OVER NOW’ extended cut track. Billie said she would never play a 3-hour show, but this seems to be the only compromise. Remixes and mashups are inevitable and we are excited to see how Billie curates her setlist to please fans’ requests.  

The ‘ilomilo’ Theory

Ok, it’s time to do a deep dive (but not too deep because that would take forever). If the colors red and blue don’t trigger you, we envy you. From her debut album, ‘ilomilo,’ is a reference to a video game Billie grew up playing, where two creatures (one red, one blue) must reunite before the timer goes out. Once the HMHAS album cover was revealed, fans took the color blue and ran with it as this era’s color. Suddenly, hints of the color red were being sprinkled into Billie’s socials, the vinyl, and other visuals that if you blinked, you probably would have missed. Good thing we aren’t blinking. Was this intentional on Billie’s part? Or are we being delusional?

At the very end of the new album you can hear Billie faintly saying “but when can I hear the next one?” which fans have suspected means there is a double album coming…eventually. Naturally, the double album would be red, fitting in with the ‘ilomilo’ theory. Fans also have been theorizing that maybe Finneas is the other half of the missing piece. He is dropping his own album come October 4th, after all. And there is no Billie without Finneas and vice versa. She is the ilo to his milo! (This would also fit in with fans’ opening act theory). 👀

There is more lore that brings the theory to life, but we will stop here for your sanity.

Buy your tickets for the HMHAS tour (if your city hasn’t already sold out)!

Of course, there are about a million more tour theories we could talk about, but we want to hear your theories! What do you think will go down at the HIT ME HARD AND SOFT TOUR? Let us know in the comments below or by hitting us up on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook 🐝

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