Party Favor (song)

"Party Favor" is a song by American singer Billie Eilish from her debut studio EP, Don't Smile at Me (2017). The song was released by Darkroom and Interscope Records on a 7-inch vinyl as the seventh and final single from the EP on Record Store Day, along with a cover of "Hotline Bling". It was written by Eilish and her brother Finneas O'Connell, with the latter solely handling the song's production.

"Party Favor"
Single by Billie Eilish
from the EP Don't Smile at Me
B-side"Hotline Bling" (Drake cover)
ReleasedApril 21, 2018 (2018-04-21)
GenreFolk
Length3:24
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Finneas O'Connell
Billie Eilish singles chronology
"Lovely"
(2018)		 "Party Favor" / "Hotline Bling"
(2018)		 "You Should See Me in a Crown"
(2018)

Musically a folk track, the lyrics of "Party Favor" address Eilish breaking up with her boyfriend. The song was ultimately certified gold in the United States and Canada by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Music Canada (MC), respectively. It was performed live by Eilish during her 2019 When We All Fall Asleep Tour.

Background and composition

"Party Favor" was released on a pink 7-inch vinyl as the seventh and final single from Don't Smile at Me on April 21, 2018, coinciding with Record Store Day for that year, along with a cover of "Hotline Bling", written by Canadian rapper Drake, as the B-side, by Darkroom and Interscope Records. The song title was also stylized in all lowercase.[1][2][3] The cover version was later released for digital download and streaming in June 2018 by the aforementioned labels.[4] "Party Favor" was written by Eilish and Finneas O'Connell, her brother and the track's sole producer and mixer.[5]

Kirsten Spruch of Billboard described the track's genre as "quirky adjacent" folk.[6] According to Musicnotes.com, "Party Favor" is played in the key of C major, while Eilish's vocals span a range of A3 to A4.[7] It is the only song on the EP that includes Eilish playing the ukulele.[6] In the lyrics, the song starts with a phone ringing and someone saying, "Hey, leave a message."[8] It then slowly formats to a voicemail with Eilish explaining that she is leaving a boy who has become too possessive over her, and trying everything to get him out of her life: "Look, now I know, we coulda done it better/But we can't change the weather/When the weather's come and gone/Books don't make sense if you read 'em backwards/You'll single out the wrong words/Like you mishear all my songs."[8] Eilish warns her lover that she is done. Halfway through the song, Eilish then reveals that she's dumping her boyfriend on his birthday: "You just want what you can't have/No way/I'll call the cops/If you don't stop, I'll call your dad."[8][3] Sam Moore of NME described the genre of Eilish's cover of "Hotline Bling" as "delicate indie pop" compared to the original version.[2]

Reception

Thomas Smith from NME said the song was "a far cry from her now-relentless and brooding productions, but still irresistibly catchy."[9] Insider's Claudia Willen called it "a creative and brutal portrayal of just how ruthless breakups can be," though stated that "the song doesn't beg to be listened to on loop as some of Eilish's other breakup songs do, like 'Watch' and 'Bitches Broken Hearts'.[8] Spruch commented that "Party Favor" can "be easily overlooked when standing next to early hits 'Bellyache' and 'Ocean Eyes'," but that it "still has a whole lot of that Eilish persona."[6] Commercially, the track has been certified gold in the United States and Canada by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Music Canada (MC), respectively.[10][11]

Live performances

In November 2017, Eilish and Finneas performed an acoustic version of "Party Favor" for Mahogany.[12] The song was also performed live during Eilish's North American 1 by 1 tour in 2018.[13] The track was included on the setlist of her When We All Fall Asleep Tour (2019).[14]

Track listing

7-inch vinyl[1]

A. "Party Favor"
B. "Hotline Bling" (Drake cover)

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Don't Smile at Me.[5]

Charts

Year-end charts
Chart (2019) Position
Portugal (AFP)[15] 1283

Certifications

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Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[11] Gold 40,000
United States (RIAA)[10] Gold 500,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "Party Favor/Hot Line Bling [Pink Vinyl Single]". Record Store Day. April 24, 2018. Archived from the original on April 20, 2020. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  2. Moore, Sam (October 1, 2019). "Billie Eilish's best cover versions – From The Strokes to Childish Gambino". NME. Archived from the original on December 19, 2019. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  3. Almeida, Nicole (February 16, 2018). "Review: Confidence & Boldness on Billie Eilish's Debut 'dont smile at me' EP". Atwood Magazine. Archived from the original on March 13, 2020. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  4. Lindberg, Cailey. "Billie Eilish releases a stripped down version of "Hotline Bling" in honor of 'Scorpion' release". Earmilk. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  5. Don't Smile at Me (booklet). Billie Eilish. Santa Monica, California: Darkroom/Interscope Records. 2019. B0030752-02.CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. Spruch, Kristen (December 12, 2019). "10 Billie Eilish Songs Every Superfan Should Know". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  7. "Billie Eilish 'party favor' Sheet Music". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  8. Callie Ahlgrim, Libby Torres and Claudia Willen (March 18, 2020). "Every Billie Eilish song, ranked". Insider. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  9. Thomas Smith (March 8, 2019). "Get on board with Billie Eilish – her 10 best songs so far". NME. Archived from the original on May 8, 2019. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  10. "American single certifications – Billie Eilish – party favor". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 4, 2020. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
  11. "Canadian single certifications – Billie Eilish – party favor". Music Canada. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  12. "Billie Eilish - Party Favor (Acoustic) - Mahogany Session". YouTube. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  13. "Billie Eilish Announces North American 1 By 1 Tour". Universal Music Group. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  14. Trendell, Andrew (February 12, 2019). "Watch Billie Eilish perform 'Bury A Friend' and 'When I Was Older' live for the first time". NME. Archived from the original on October 1, 2019. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  15. "Top AFP - Audiogest - Top 3000 Singles + EPs Digitais" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
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