Happy Pink Friday, Barbz and Billie stans! Nicki Minaj’s highly anticipated album Pink Friday 2 was released on Dec. 8, but the first voice we hear isn’t Minaj (or Roman) — it’s Billie Eilish. The album’s opening track, “Are You Gone Already,” samples Eilish’s melancholic hit “When The Party’s Over” from her debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? Naturally, X (formerly known as Twitter) has thoughts about the unexpected collab.
“Are You Gone Already” starts with a sped-up version of Eilish humming the beginning to “When The Party’s Over” before singing the song’s first verse. Halfway through singing the chorus, Minaj’s beat and voice kick in. I never would’ve expected any rapper to sample Eilish’s music (especially a song as soft as “When The Party’s Over”), but Minaj’s vulnerable lyrics and heartfelt singing stay true to Eilish’s intentions while adding her own flare. It’s definitely… something.
“Are You Gone Already” might be one of Minaj’s dream collabs, and she thinks it’s her best album intro — but according to their reaction on X, her and Eilish’s fans clearly don’t feel the same way.
Minaj confirmed that “Schmillie Schmeilish” would be featured on Pink Friday 2’s opening track in an X post shared on Dec. 7, calling the singer “the one, the only, the young ICON, the talent, the beauty.” This isn’t the first time Minaj has gushed about Eilish online. In an August 2023 TikTok Live Q&A session, Minaj said she “adored” the singer and wished she “could hold her and kiss her and just tell her that she’s dope.”
Eilish hasn’t made any public comments about her friendship with Minaj, but it seems like the love goes both ways (she sent Minaj a pair of Nike Alpha Forces in August 2023). However, in an X post shared on Dec. 7, Minaj wrote, “Finneas [Eilish’s brother and producer], if this finds you in #GagCity, God bless you,” seemingly suggesting that he and Eilish weren’t directly involved in the collab (though they had to have given Minaj legal permission to sample the track ahead of its release). I hope the song does find Finneas in Gag City. As two of its founding citizens, I’m dying to hear how he and Eilish feel about the final product!