Billie Eilish told us that she’d be taking risks on her new album Hit Me Hard And Soft. I thought she was just talking about exploring a new sound, but she might actually be risking her safety with the cryptic lyrics on track eight, “The Diner.” At the very end of the song, Eilish repeats the number (310) 807-3956 twice. But is it actually her phone number? Is it a burner phone? Is it a collect call from inside a prison? The only way to find out is by calling. Spoiler alert: Eilish actually picks up.
Well, a prerecorded version of her does. As soon as you dial the number, Eilish’s voice answers, “Hello? Hello? Wait, I can’t hear you… Hello, hello? Hold on, let me call you back.” She’s cut off by an automated male voice that says you can text the number to receive messages from Eilish. The catch is that the messages exist exclusively on a platform called Community. Still, it might be worth signing up just to say that you’ve got Billie Eilish in your contacts.
From a marketing standpoint, setting up a phone number to talk to your fans is pretty genius. Eilish isn’t the first artist to do so. Olivia Rodrigo set up the SOUR hotline to promote her debut album in 2021 and reactivated it ahead of GUTS’ release in 2023. Plenty of celebs have set up Community accounts to chat with their fans one-on-one, including the Jonas Brothers and Noah Centineo (though most of the time, they just send automated updates to everyone at the same time).
From an artistic standpoint, using a phone number as a lyric definitely draws your listeners’ attention, so you’d better have a good reason for including it. Eilish does. “The Diner” is written from the perspective of a stalker who’s criminally obsessed (literally) with their favorite star and ends up in jail.
Toward the end of the song, she sings, “I memorized your number, now I call you when I please” before “leaking” her own phone number. The lyric kills three birds with one stone. She gets to connect with her fans long-term, promotes herself every time a curious listener dials the number, and reclaims her authority over her privacy. Rather than standing by as people try to publicize every detail of her personal life, Eilish takes away their power and publicizes it herself.
But the message has a fourth function that takes “The Diner” to a whole new level. Eilish’s confused response spins the song’s lyrics back to you, the fan who was dedicated enough to actually dial the number: you’ve become the stalker Eilish is singing about. Guilty as charged.