But the concert in the Telekom Forum had a quality all of its own: while tens of thousands of fans will fill the sold-out arenas in the other cities, in the intimate setting of the Forum the just 1900 mostly young people were able to get as close to the singer as most of them will probably never be able to again in their lives. The only people who zoomed in closer were the camera eyes that broadcast the event, which was part of the Telekom Electronic Beats, live on the Internet and via the Magenta TV channel "#dabeiTV" on Wednesday evening.

The tour is named after Billie Eilish's latest album "Happier Than Ever". Some of the songs on it are a rather quiet affair, there are acoustic ballads, gentle melodies and even a stripped back bossa nova number. Actually, you might think, no material for big arenas anyway. In fact, their music works perfectly in a concert of Bonn's size. The songs don't need a gigantic show to unfold their effect, but go straight from the ear into the soul.

Even the appearance of the 20-year-old American doesn't immediately make you think of glitz and glamour like comparable big pop acts à la Beyoncé or Lady Gaga. After a platinum blonde phase, the singer wore her hair jet black again, along with an oversized baggy jumper. Forgotten are the photo shoots in a tightly laced pink corsage for British "Vogue", with which she caused a furore and discussions last year. It also somehow fits that her James Bond hit "No Time To Die" was not heard that evening. It, too, is more show business than anything else she has recorded so far.

Now the music was in the foreground again, and there was at least three quarters of an hour of it in the Bonn special acoustic show, for which free tickets had been distributed by Telekom. A scream went through the standing room rows when Billie Elish entered the stage. The audience cheered and sang along during "Bad Guy", for example. This song alone on Billie Eilish's album "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go" already shows how sophisticated the sounds and how refined the beats of the arrangements are, into which Billie Eilish's singing fits in with great intensity.

In Bonn, there was only room on the minimalist stage for Eilish's multi-instrumentalist and brother Finneas, without whom her rapid career would be unthinkable. He is an indispensable creative component in the Billie Eilish cosmos. Since he wrote the first single for her, "Ocean Eyes", which came out already six years ago and which she sang towards the end of the set, they function as a perfect team. Both in the studio and on stage, as could be experienced rousingly on this evening. Finneas played electric piano and guitar, Billie Eilish sang, mostly sitting on a bar stool, but also picked up the guitar, which was handed to her during "Your Power“.

Her voice is perhaps not made for the very big vocal gestures. There is often more Lana del Rey in it than Whitney Houston. But in the acoustic set she also likes to show that her singing is extraordinarily multi-faceted and that her voice definitely has volume. Moreover, she commands the stage with her charisma and enormous aplomb. Her movements on this evening are as minimalist as the stage. When she stands up once during the song "Getting Older" and even walks a little through the crowd, a scream goes through the hall.

Eilish has the audience firmly in her grip throughout the evening, she also likes to use her charming announcements to order water from the security for fans who are very emotional and might have circulation issues. Billie Eilish likes to help. The audience eats out of her hand, so to speak. Until the explosive climax of the show, which Billie Eilish sets at the end with the title song of her album "Happier Than Ever". The song begins quietly and gently, until the whole thing turns into grand opera, with the fans' voices rising to an overwhelming chorus. By the way, the song ends with the not very friendly line "Just fucking leave me alone". A curious ending that somehow didn't fit in with the very friendly performance.

Of course, celebrities also came to the Bonn performance, including Luna Schweiger, Emilia Schüle, Jannis Niewöhner, Faye Montana or Lena ("Lisa & Lena").

Original text: Bernhard Hartmann / Translation: Mareike Graepel