It looks like Billie Eilish might just be a fan of Kingdom Hearts. The new Billie Eilish “Therefore I Am” music video features the singer-songwriter running through an empty shopping mall — and it also includes a subtle shout-out to the Heartless.
Kingdom Hearts is a series of games that mashes up the worlds of Square Enix and Disney in a crazy and colorful RPG universe. Over the last 18 years, three core games (and a bunch of side stories, mobile games, and virtual experiences) have been released to critical acclaim; Kingdom Hearts 3 was the fastest-selling game in the franchise to date. A lot of people love this long-running franchise — and it looks like Billie Eilish could be counted amongst its fans.
Is Billie Eilish secretly a Kingdom Hearts fan?
The Kingdom Hearts shoutout in the new Billie Eilish “Therefore I Am” music video isn’t immediately obvious unless you’re a longtime fan of the games. Some keen-eyed fans on Reddit and Ryan Brown noticed the Heartless symbol from Kingdom Hearts on Billie Eilish’s sweater as she ran through an empty mall in the music video, occasionally stopping to eat food from random stores. The Heartless serve as a major antagonist in the Kingdom Hearts franchise, largely serving as the primary enemies that players will fight throughout the games.
Billie Eilish has not publicly commented on video games; as a notoriously reclusive artist, she hasn’t publicly commented on much of anything outside of her music and occasional social media posts. However, she is surely familiar with the medium — her mother Maggie Baird was the voice actress for Samara in the Mass Effect games, a franchise which teased a remastered trilogy and later revealed it to the world. Billie Eilish may have also paid tribute to the obscure Xbox 360 puzzle game ilomilo in a 2019 song with the same name.
Earlier this year, a fan reimagined Billie Eilish as a Pokemon trainer after rapper Jasper Dolphin was seen playing Pokemon during the 2020 Grammys. You can see her the music video for her new track “Therefore I Am” for yourself below.
