Released in July 2021, Happier Than Ever saw Billie shed the "dark teen angst" of her debut and re-define her artistry with an intimate record exploring topics like identity, body image, emotional abuse, and newfound fame. The album expanded Billie's sonic palette and showcased her ability to experiment without losing her signature sound, incorporating influences from soul, jazz, trip-hop, folk, and rock.

 

The era marked a shift for Billie, as her softer sensual image and queer-coded MVs caused controversy among her casual audience. This "hate train" led to increased scrutiny surrounding HTE's release. Despite this backlash, the album/era is now regarded as a beloved fan favorite among Billie stans.

 

Happier Than Ever ultimately became a success, selling 3 million units in the US and nearly 10M CSPC units worldwide.

The album also has over 7 billion streams on Spotify.

 

The title track has 2.2 billion Spotify streams across both versions & was named one of the most streamed songs in Apple Music history.

 

Celebrate one of Billie's finest works here.

People rlly thought she was never surpassing WWAFA in quality and she shattered those naysayers  Such a fantastic album, it came out in such an important time of my life. I'll forever have beef with y'all for the way y'all treat Getting SMASHer

my fave album from her tbh

I love this album so much, was so disappointed by the follow-up.

 

I did not like HMHAS one bit (other than BOAF, that's a career highlight)

It was too complex for the GP to comprehend

 

I Didn't Change My Number-Billie Bossa Nova-My Future-Oxytocin knocks so hard

I'll never forget that first listen of the title track 

 

Had my phone at max volume, phone on top of the microwave, marinating some chicken and then stopping in my tracks at that transition 

 

You ruined everything good 

 

Also finally got to hear this live 2 weeks ago and I'm still not ok 

My least favorite album of hers. But I did like Therefore I Am, NDA and Happier Than Ever (s).

 

Still kinda think this was pretty all over the place and incohesive. And judging from the HTE promo interviews Billie and Finneas did they agree.

 

 

Insane how we're the same age and these 2 songs captured exactly what my life was like back then 

 

The awful rollout did ruin the experience of this album a little, but I still love it.

No? it just came out last year during covid. 

one of my favorite albums of all time

I love this album! One of her best

Her best album to me  An underrated and slightly misunderstood album. The rollout was indeed messy but I don't know why a marketing plan would ruin an album for anyone. It's about the music, and the visuals were also great. 

my fav album of hers

her best album which turned me from hater to a neutral  

 

Your Power is one of her BEST songs 

I will  never understand why several people have negative opinions on this project, as if it was a downgrade.

An album  Lemme stream Billie Bossa Nova

your power is in her top 3

 

Time flies, what an album, i love it so much 

Her best album.

How could we forget about this tankery

 

32 minutes ago, Ger said:

I will  never understand why several people have negative opinions on this project, as if it was a downgrade.

I mean her debut was incredibly well-received and a mega success. An AOTY winner and #1 on BB200 year end for 2019. Everything after such success will always feel like a downgrade. No matter if the album is decent or not.

 

And tbh HTE did kinda feel clunked up with skips in some parts, whereas WWAFAWDWG was pretty much skipless. Songs like Everybody Dies, Not My Responsibility, OverHeated etc. could've been left off.

 

 

Such a special album to me. Personally one of my favorites till this day. 

I do agree it's underrated and it was very misunderstood when it come out. And yeah, the rollout was kinda wild. Too many singles, and way too much time between the first single and the album release. Everything felt a bit all over the place. We don't know the inside tea, but I feel like her team was kinda lost because of COVID and all the restrictions, not knowing when or how she could promote things, so they just experimented and kinda lost the plot. Happier Than Ever (the song) would've definitely been a bigger hit if it had been released earlier as a single. It was my most streamed song 2 years in a row, I love it so much.

I also really liked most of the music videos from that era. Visually, they were super interesting and diverse. I enjoyed it.

But hey, they learned from it and redeemed themselves with the HMHAS rollout.

And I have a feeling this album will be more appreciated over time.

 

 

Edited July 31, 20251 yr by Dash_inthedark

this album got me through some hard times  i will forever be grateful to billie for it! everybody say thank you billie! 

oh Lost Cause, why are you such a classic?