Celebrities

Why did Billie Eilish add everyone as a 'close friend' on Instagram?

Why did Billie Eilish add everyone as a 'close friend' on Instagram?
Billie Eilish and 200 musicians sign letter against “enormous” AI threats
Fortune / VideoElephant

If you thought you and Billie Eilish had become best friends yesterday, you're not alone. In fact, around 114 million people felt the same, after she seemingly added her entire follower count to her close friends story on Instagram.

So, unfortunately you're not BFFs with the global star, but why did she add you - and millions of others - to her close friends story? Well it's simply a great marketing strategy.

On April 4, those on Eilish's close friends story could see an ambiguous picture, of handing floating in a dark void.

The first few to notice they had been added to Eilish's close friends understandably freaked out, and of course took to social media to share their shock, meaning it didn't take long for people to realise that all her followers had been added to the private story.

Whilst it may have been disappointing to find out you hadn't been personally selected by Eilish, excitement soon ramped up again after many realised the photo in fact signalled her upcoming album.

From New York to Sydney, fans of Eilish have been spotting unexplained billboards across their cities. They feature quotes such as "I try to live in black and white," "She's the headlights, I'm the deer," and "Did I cross the line?" The billboards are known to be attributed to Eilish as they either feature her signature "blohsh," or the genderless stick figure that can be spotted across much of her merch and advertisements.

Eilish later went on to add another photo to her close friends, this time of one of her tattoos. But it doesn't seem to be related to any teasing of her new album, perhaps just a way to make fans feel close to her.

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