Billie Eilish shocks fans with Instagram close friends story in new album tease

Los Angeles, California - Billie Eilish has pulled a social media stunt of epic proportions in another seeming tease of her upcoming album.

Billie Eilish appeared to add all of her Instagram followers to a close friends story in a move teasing her upcoming album.
Billie Eilish appeared to add all of her Instagram followers to a close friends story in a move teasing her upcoming album.  © Arturo Holmes / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

On Thursday, followers of the 22-year-old star's Instagram page got quite a shock when her story appeared with the green circle signifying that the user has you on their close friends list.

Typically used to share more personal posts with a select audience, the close friends feature allows Instagram users to select a list of accounts that have exclusive access to a separate story from their public one.

One thing that is not common with the feature is its use among A-listers like Billie, so the notification quickly sent shockwaves across social media as fans attempted to unravel the mystery.

Cavinder twins take the fitness world by storm "TWOgether" with huge announcement
Cavinder twins Cavinder twins take the fitness world by storm "TWOgether" with huge announcement

The What Was I Made For? artist's close friends story is currently available to all of her Instagram followers.

While most were happy to enjoy the delusion that Billie really was their close friend, the reality seems to be that the move was just the latest in a series of cryptic hints from the Grammy winner ahead of her next album release.

Why has Billie Eilish created a close friends story on Instagram?

Billie Eilish has been teasing her next music era with cryptic posts shared on social media.
Billie Eilish has been teasing her next music era with cryptic posts shared on social media.  © Collage: Screenshot/Instagram/billieeilish

The post behind that close friends story showed a hand seemingly underwater with a dark blue background.

The hue has quickly emerged as a motif for Billie's new era, as her social media profile photos have all been changed to a shade of blue, while recent billboards bearing her logo have also included the line, "I try to live in black and white, but I'm so blue."

Billie last updated fans on her third studio album with the announcement that it had been mastered in February, certifying the end of the development process.

Britney Spears claims she's "b*tchy" and slams the media in deleted IG rant
Britney Spears Britney Spears claims she's "b*tchy" and slams the media in deleted IG rant

While no release date – or even a title – has been revealed just yet, the recent run of teasers has all but confirmed an imminent announcement about the matters.

On her public IG story, Billie seemed to reveal another lyric snippet on a mural that read, "Do you know how to bend?"

Cover photo: Arturo Holmes / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

More on Billie Eilish: