Halloween routinely produces a wave of high-concept outfits across the pop world, but Billie Eilish used the occasion to pay tribute to a project that helped shape her musical upbringing. The singer surfaced on social media dressed as Noodle, the animated guitarist created by Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett for Gorillaz. Sharing still photographs and a party video of herself dancing, she captioned the post simply with the character's name in capital letters: "NOODLE."
Eilish did not cut corners on the details, pulling together a costume that mirrored Noodle's design from Fortnite Festival. Her look featured a sharp blue bob, a red and white latex dress, striped socks, trainers, and gloves, translating the digital character directly into three dimensions. Across the industry, other musicians also got into the spirit. Lily Allen took a satirical route by dressing as a Ticketmaster seating chart littered with unsold seats, while names like Harry Styles, Wolf Alice, Yungblud, Lizzo, and Zendaya each marked the holiday in their own fashion. Yet Eilish's tribute felt distinctly personal, pointing straight back to the records that soundtracked her childhood.
That connection was made obvious to a global audience in 2022, when Albarn walked out as a surprise guest during Eilish's headlining appearance at Coachella. Together on stage, they tore through her track 'Getting Older' before launching into the Gorillaz staple 'Feel Good Inc.' In front of the festival crowd, Eilish openly explained how much Albarn's output had guided her own artistic path. She noted that his group The Good, The Bad and the Queen had been her absolute favourite band when she was only six years old. She went on to call Albarn a genius, telling the audience that both Blur and Gorillaz had fundamentally altered the world and completely transformed how she thought about art, songcraft, and creation.
The admiration is by no means one-sided. Albarn has regularly commended Eilish and her brother and primary collaborator, Finneas, highlighting them as exceptional talents and describing their songwriting as deeply interesting. Alongside expressing his vocal affection for her work and calling her amazing, Albarn has put on record that he hopes to bring Eilish into the recording studio for a proper collaboration at some point.
Both artists arrived at Halloween following an exceptionally packed stretch of work. Eilish released her third studio LP, Hit Me Hard And Soft, in 2024, supporting the record with a massive world tour last year. Her stops in Manchester were filmed for a live 3D concert project under the direction of James Cameron. Away from her own tours, she officiated Finneas' wedding over the summer and contributed to My Chemical Romance's animated short film Prelude To The End alongside Phoebe Bridgers. Gorillaz have kept an equally steady momentum, putting out their latest record, The Mountain, and headlining a stadium show at London's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in June.
Against that backdrop of stadium dates and studio milestones, putting on Noodle's animated wardrobe reads less like random party dress-up and more like an open salute. For a songwriter who grew up absorbing Hewlett's visuals and Albarn's genre-crossing records, embodying the cartoon guitarist is a straightforward nod to the foundations of her creative life.
