"Party Favor" is a song by American singer Billie Eilish from her debut studio EP, '' Don't Smile at Me'' (2017). The song was released by Darkroom and

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

on a 7-inch vinyl as the seventh and final

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from the EP on

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

, along with a cover of "

Hotline Bling "Hotline Bling" is a song recorded by Canadian rapper Drake, which serves as the lead single from his fourth studio album ''Views'' (2016). The song is credited as a bonus track on the album. It was made available for digital download on July 31 ...

". It was written by Eilish and her brother Finneas O'Connell, with the latter solely handling the song's production. Musically a

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

track, the lyrics of "Party Favor" address Eilish breaking up with her boyfriend. The song was ultimately

certified Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

gold in the United States and Canada by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) and

Music Canada Music Canada (formerly Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)) is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It a ...

(MC), respectively. It was performed live by Eilish during her 2019 When We All Fall Asleep Tour.

Background and composition

"Party Favor" was released on a pink 7-inch vinyl as the seventh and final

from ''Don't Smile at Me'' on April 21, 2018, coinciding with

for that year, along with a cover of "

", written by Canadian rapper

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

, as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

, by Darkroom and

. The song title was also stylized in all lowercase. The cover version was later released for digital download and

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

in June 2018 by the aforementioned labels. "Party Favor" was written by Eilish and Finneas O'Connell, her brother and the track's sole producer and mixer. Kirsten Spruch of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' described the track's genre as "quirky adjacent"

. According to Musicnotes.com, "Party Favor" is played in the

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

C major C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and ...

, while Eilish's vocals span a range of A₃ to A₄. It is the only song on the EP that includes Eilish playing the ukulele. In the lyrics, the song starts with a phone ringing and someone saying, "Hey, leave a message." It then slowly formats to a voicemail with Eilish explaining that she is leaving a boy who has become too possessive over her, and trying everything to get him out of her life: "Look, now I know, we coulda done it better/But we can't change the weather/When the weather's come and gone/Books don't make sense if you read 'em backwards/You'll single out the wrong words/Like you mishear all my songs." Eilish warns her lover that she is done. Halfway through the song, Eilish then reveals that she's dumping her boyfriend on his birthday: "You just want what you can't have/No way/I'll call the cops/If you don't stop, I'll call your dad." Sam Moore of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' described the genre of Eilish's cover of "Hotline Bling" as "delicate

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

" compared to the original version.

Reception

Thomas Smith from ''NME'' said the song was "a far cry from her now-relentless and brooding productions, but still irresistibly catchy." '' Insider''s Claudia Willen called it "a creative and brutal portrayal of just how ruthless breakups can be," though stated that "the song doesn't beg to be listened to on loop as some of Eilish's other breakup songs do, like '

Watch A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached by ...

' and '

Bitches Broken Hearts "Bitches Broken Hearts" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song recorded by American singer Billie Eilish. The song was written by Eilish, and its producers: Emmit Fenn and Finneas O'Connell. Originally released via SoundCloud on November 10, 2017, ...

'. Spruch commented that "Party Favor" can "be easily overlooked when standing next to early hits ' Bellyache' and ' Ocean Eyes'," but that it "still has a whole lot of that Eilish persona." Commercially, the track has been certified

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

in the United States and Canada by the

(RIAA) and

(MC), respectively.

Live performances

In November 2017, Eilish and Finneas performed an acoustic version of "Party Favor" for ''Mahogany''. The song was also performed live during Eilish's North American 1 by 1 tour in 2018. The track was included on the setlist of her When We All Fall Asleep Tour (2019).

Track listing

7-inch vinyl :A. "Party Favor" :B. "

" (

cover)

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

of ''Don't Smile at Me''. * Billie Eilish – vocals, songwriter, ukulele * Finneas O'Connell – producer, songwriter, mixer * John Greenham – mastering engineer

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2018 singles 2017 songs American folk songs Billie Eilish songs Interscope Records singles Songs written by Billie Eilish Songs written by Finneas O'Connell Song recordings produced by Finneas O'Connell