# Birds of a Feather (Billie Eilish song)

"Birds of a Feather" is a song by American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish from her third studio album, Hit Me Hard and Soft (2024). It was released as the album's second single on July 2, 2024, through Darkroom and Interscope Records. Eilish wrote the song with her brother Finneas O'Connell, who recorded and produced it at his home studio in Los Angeles. A new wave and pop song, "Birds of a Feather" explores themes of deep love and a desire for lasting connection.
"Birds of a Feather" topped the Billboard Global 200 and the national charts of Australia, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Singapore. The song peaked at number two on the UK singles chart and the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. It has been certified multi-platinum in Australia, Canada, France, Greece, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, the UK, and the US. "Birds of a Feather" was nominated for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards in 2025.

## Background and release

Billie Eilish first previewed "Birds of a Feather" on May 13, 2024, through a teaser trailer for the third season of the Netflix series Heartstopper. The song was one of the three songs teased ahead of the album release. In an interview with Apple Music, Eilish revealed that the song contains the highest belt of her career. It was released on July 2, 2024, as the second single from Hit Me Hard and Soft.

## Composition

A new wave and pop song, "Birds of a Feather" borrows its title from the English idiom "birds of a feather flock together". In an "emotionally vulnerable" tone, Eilish sings about falling in love with a person that she wants to "stick together" with. The love for her significant other brings her to tears and she begs her lover to stay and never end their relationship.

## Critical reception

Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times described "Birds of a Feather" as a "breezy neo-new-wave jam", Alisa Ali of NPR wrote of the song that "poignant lyricism hides amid the dark humor and [Eilish's] clever cadence makes for one of the singer's most memorable vocal performances". Tom Taylor of Far Out classifies it as a classic pop chorus with Eilish burst out in a blushing ’80s pop vocal, adding that it has a sort of hook that would have old-fashioned music bigwigs screaming, ‘It’s a hit’, but cleverly, the song doesn’t give itself up to that and heads back to nuanced verses, layering in a touch more sincerity to undercut the bubblegum synth whistle.
Critics' year-end rankings of "Birds of a Feather" :
| Publication | List | Rank |
| Billboard | The 100 Best Songs of 2024 | 4 |
| Complex | The 50 Best Songs of 2024 | 4 |
| Coup De Main | The Best Songs of 2024 | 3 |
| ELLE | The 42 Best Songs of 2024 | — |
| Exclaim! | 20 Best Songs of 2024 | 20 |
| Los Angeles Times | The 30 Best Songs of 2024 | 9 |
| NME | 50 Best Songs of 2024 | 12 |
| NPR | 124 Best Songs of 2024 | — |
| Pitchfork | The 100 Best Songs of 2024 | 27 |
| Rolling Stone | The 100 Best Songs of 2024 | 5 |
| Slant Magazine | The 50 Best Songs of 2024 | 1 |
| The Guardian | The 20 Best Songs of 2024 | 5 |
| The New York Times | Lindsay Zoladz's Best Songs of 2024 | 4 |
| The Ringer | The 11 Best Songs of 2024 | 7 |
| Time Out | The Best Songs of 2024 | 2 |
| Uproxx | The Best Songs of 2024 | — |
| USA Today | The 10 Best Songs of 2024 | 3 |

## Commercial performance

Following the release of Hit Me Hard and Soft, "Birds of a Feather" debuted at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the highest placing from the album after "Chihiro" peaking at number twelve and the lead single from the album "Lunch" at number five on the issue dated June 1, 2024. In its fourth week the then-album cut jumped from the eleventh to the ninth spot on the chart becoming its peak position as a non-single track. In its thirteenth week on the Hot 100, "Birds of a Feather" reached a new peak of number five, while ascending to number one on the multimetric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and Hot Alternative Songs charts in its twelfth week. It became the first song by a woman artist to lead the multimetric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and Hot Alternative Songs for at least 30 weeks; on the latter, it’s the second – and first by a woman in a lead role – after Zach Bryan’s “I Remember Everything,” featuring Kacey Musgraves, reigned for 30 weeks in 2023-24. Following its music video release, the song reached a new peak of number two on the Hot 100, becoming her highest placement since "Therefore I Am" in 2020 and the highest-charting song from Hit Me Hard and Soft. The single was certified 5x Platinum by the RIAA on March 14, 2025.
In the United Kingdom, "Birds of a Feather" debuted at number nine on the UK Singles Chart during the week of the album's release. The song was the third best after "Chihiro" at number seven and "Lunch" at number two. Following its increase of popularity, the song reached its peak of number two on the UK Singles Chart.
Elsewhere, the song topped the charts in various countries, including Australia and Iceland, and peaked within the top ten of the charts in Canada, the Czech Republic, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Philippines, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Switzerland. It also topped the Billboard Global 200 chart.
"Birds of a Feather" also became the most-streamed song in a calendar year on Spotify in 2024, surpassing Sabrina Carpenter's "Espresso".

## Music video

Teased a day prior, the Aidan Zamiri-directed music video for "Birds of a Feather" was released on September 27, 2024. In the video, Eilish is shown singing in an abandoned office building while being dragged around by the arm by an invisible force; Sarah Kearns of Hypebeast interpreted this as "a symbol that seems to relay the feeling of being pulled in different directions by someone who isn't actually present."

## Accolades

Awards and nominations for "Birds of a Feather" :
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
| 2024 | MTV Video Music Awards | Song of the Summer | Nominated |
| 2024 | MTV Europe Music Awards | Best Song | Nominated |
| 2024 | Danish Music Awards | International Hit of the Year | Nominated |
| 2024 | Musa Awards | Anglo International Song of the Year | Nominated |
| 2025 | Grammy Awards | Record of the Year | Nominated |
| 2025 | Grammy Awards | Song of the Year | Nominated |
| 2025 | Grammy Awards | Best Pop Solo Performance | Nominated |
| 2025 | iHeartRadio Music Awards | Best Lyrics | Nominated |
| 2025 | Brit Awards | Best International Song | Nominated |
| 2025 | GAFFA Awards (Denmark) | International Song of the Year | Pending |

## Live performances

Eilish performed the song during the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony on August 11, 2024. The performance was part of the Olympic flag handover from the city of Paris to Los Angeles (who is set to host in 2028) and was recorded the day before at Long Beach. On October 19, 2024, Eilish performed the song on Saturday Night Live alongside "Wildflower."
Eilish also included "Birds of a Feather" on the set list for Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (2024–2025).
Eilish sang the song with her brother as the last part of a 3 song set during the FireAid benefit concert to raise funds for victims of the Los Angeles area wildfires on January 30, 2025.
Ellish and her brother performed the song at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards on February 2, 2025.

## Certifications

Certifications for "Birds of a Feather" :
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| Australia (ARIA) | 7× Platinum | 490,000$^‡$ |
| Austria (IFPI Austria) | Platinum | 30,000$^‡$ |
| Belgium (BEA) | 2× Platinum | 80,000$^‡$ |
| Canada (Music Canada) | 5× Platinum | 400,000$^‡$ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark) | Platinum | 90,000$^‡$ |
| France (SNEP) | Diamond | 333,333$^‡$ |
| Germany (BVMI) | Gold | 300,000$^‡$ |
| Italy (FIMI) | Platinum | 100,000$^‡$ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ) | 4× Platinum | 120,000$^‡$ |
| Poland (ZPAV) | 3× Platinum | 150,000$^‡$ |
| Portugal (AFP) | 4× Platinum | 40,000$^‡$ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE) | Platinum | 60,000$^‡$ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | 2× Platinum | 1,200,000$^‡$ |
| United States (RIAA) | 5× Platinum | 5,000,000$^‡$ |
| Streaming |||
| Central America (CFC) | Platinum | 7,000,000$^†$ |
| Greece (IFPI Greece) | 3× Platinum | 6,000,000$^†$ |
| $^‡$ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. $^†$ Streaming-only figures based on certification alone. |||

## Release history

Release dates and formats for "Birds of a Feather" :
| Region | Date | Format | Label(s) |
| United States | July 2, 2024 | Contemporary hit radio | DarkroomInterscope |
| Canada | July 8, 2024 | Contemporary hit radio | InterscopeUniversal |
| Italy | August 2, 2024 | Radio airplay | EMI |
| United States | November 11, 2024 | 7-inch vinyl | DarkroomInterscope |