Billie Eilish & Khalid

lovely

"Lovely" is a song by American singers Billie Eilish and Khalid. Darkroom and Interscope Records released it as the lead single from the Netflix drama series 13 Reasons Why's second season soundtrack.

The artists wrote the song with Eilish's brother and producer Finneas O'Connell. The song has been described as a chamber pop ballad whose lyrics recount Eilish and Khalid trying to overcome serious depression together.

Background and release

Darkroom and Interscope Records released "Lovely" on April 19, 2018, for digital download and streaming as the lead single for the album 13 Reasons Why: Season 2 (Music from the Original TV Series). The song was later included on the expanded edition of Eilish's debut EP Don't Smile at Me. Billie Eilish, Khalid and Finneas O'Connell wrote the track while production was handled solely by Finneas. Studio personnel, John Greenham and Rob Kinelski, handled mastering and mixing respectively. In an interview with Zane Lowe on Beats 1, Eilish explained the inspiration for the track's title: "We called it that because the song was sort of really freaking depressing so then it’s like oh, how lovely, just taking everything horrible like you know...

Composition and lyrical interpretation

Critical commentary described "Lovely" as a chamber pop-based stripped back ballad. According to sheet music published by Universal Music Publishing Group at Musicnotes.com, it is written in the key of E minor with a moderately fast tempo of 115 beats per minute; its chord progression follows a basic sequence of Cmaj7–Em–Bm. The track features minimalist production that consists of piano, violin strings provided by Madison Leinster, and percussion. Eilish explained about working with Khalid and how the track was created to Zane Lowe: "One thing that I’ll say is that when we wrote this song, what was cool about it was that it wasn’t like we’re going to the studio and going to write a hit. He just came over and we hung out. Me and my brother...

Critical reception

"Lovely" was met with widespread critical acclaim. Jon Blistein writing for Rolling Stone magazine called "Lovely" a "smoldering ballad". The Times' Raisa Bruner described the song as "somber" and "haunting", writing "[there] [is] little to celebrate in the dark, brooding lyrics, but still 'Lovely' finds beautiful sounds in that pained place". Mike Nied of Idolator commended the production, describing the strings as "heartrending" and the production "atmospheric". Robin Murray writing for Clash described the track as an "internet-shattering single", and a "bold, defiant gesture". The Evening Standard's David Smyth described Eilish's and Khalid's vocals in "Lovely" as a "grandiose duet".

Music video

Taylor Cohen and Matty Peacock directed the music video for "Lovely". It was uploaded to Eilish's official YouTube channel on April 26, 2018. The video opens with Eilish trapped inside a crystalline box. Khalid then appears out of thin air behind her, wearing matching black threads and silver chains as he sings with her. Eilish and Khalid start to wander wearily around the box. A single rain cloud then unleashes rain and thunder. The singers sometimes separate, but manage to find their way back to each other. The rain from the cloud begins to freeze in the box and ice covers the walls as Khalid and Eilish hold each other. But as the video moves towards its end, the ice melts to reveal the box is empty. Eilish created the video's concept...