Billie Eilish Shares Why Hearing Fans Sing 'The Greatest' at Concerts Has a Special Meaning for Her
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/billie-eilish-tout-121724-009a6798cb9c4db28ecad4f7836e7363.jpg)
Today at 10:00 PM
"Every time I get a chance to really see how what I do or whatever impacts people in real time, that's the stuff," the singer said
Kevin Mazur/Getty
Billie Eilish performs Quebec in September 2024Billie Eilish thinks performing "The Greatest" at concerts is, well, the greatest.
In an interview with Apple Music celebrating the singer as artist of the year with an acoustic performance, Eilish, 22, spoke about why she enjoys hearing fans sing her song "The Greatest" from her 2024 album Hit Me Hard and Softat concerts.
"When I did the first show of my tour that I'm on right now, specifically, 'The Greatest' just has a lot of, it's just a special one to us, but I did 'The Greatest' and I took one of my in-ears out and I just like, heard this giant arena filled with people singing it," the Oscar winner said.
Kevin Mazur/Getty
Billie Eilish and FINNEAS in 2024"They were singing every other song too, but something about hearing that song that has this meaning for me and this memory for me, and also like the memory of us making it and what it gave us in our kind of creative spirit."
"And just hearing that crowd sing it, it really made me like, have, you know, in front of me proof. I could see it with my eyes, I could hear it with my ears," Eilish continued.
"And that is something that I hold so close to me. And every time I get a chance to really see how what I do or whatever impacts people in real time, that's the stuff."
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Eilish performed the live debut of the song in June during an appearance on The Stephen Colbert Show.
"Man, am I the greatest/ My congratulations/ All my love and patience/ All my admiration/ All the times I waited/ For you to want me naked/ Made it look painless/ Man, am I the greatest," Eilish sings in the sarcastic prideful chorus.
Fans have speculated whether the song is about a romantic relationship or her relationship to fame, which she has been outspoken about.
Christopher Polk/Billboard via Getty
FINNEAS and Billie Eilish in 2024The "Bad Guy" singer said in May that the song made her emotional following a listening party in Los Angeles earlier this year.
"I love that song so much. That song is really, really special to me. I literally performed it the other day and cried after," she revealed during an appearance on Radio 1's New Music Show with Jack Saunders.
Eilish's Apple Music set was filmed in her hometown Los Angeles with her longtime collaborator and brother FInneas O'Connell.
The livestream airs on Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 6 p.m. PT. Afterwards, it will be available on demand to Apple Music subscribers.
