Once in a while, a singer-songwriter comes along who is not only extremely talented, but who changes the very meaning of pop stardom itself. This category undoubtedly contains the one and only Billie Eilish, whose whispering voice is unlike anyone else, whose attitude is both approachable and just a little provocative, and whose ever-changing personal style continually influences its environment.
In many ways, Billie was always meant to be an artist. Born on December 18, 2001 in Los Angeles, Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell grew up in a highly artistic home, with her parents, actress and teacher Maggie Baird and actor Patrick O’Connell, the teacher at home and encouraging him and his older brother. Finneas to pursue their interests in singing, songwriting, art, dance and acting. By age six, Billie was playing the ukulele; at age eight she had joined the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, and when she was 11 she began writing songs.
In 2015, when she was 13, Billie and Finneas began writing songs together, with Finneas recording and producing tracks at their Highland Park home. The first songs they recorded together were “She’s Broken” and “Fingers Crossed,” which the siblings uploaded to SoundCloud. Towards the end of 2015, Billie became an internet sensation when the song “Ocean Eyes” was released on SoundCloud. Shortly thereafter, in early 2016, Billie released “Ocean Eyes” as a music video, catching the attention of major radio stations like Apple’s Beats 1, KCRW, BBC One, and more. Another song, “Six Feet Under”, followed that summer, and soon Billie was signed to Darkroom and Interscope Records.
In early 2017, Billie released an EP containing four “Ocean Eyes” remixes by Astronomyy, Blackbear, Goldhouse and Cautious Clay. A Six feet Under ground The EP followed with remixes from Blu J, Gazzo, Jerry Folk and Aire Atlantica. In August 2017, Billie released the don’t smile at me EP, which reached number 14 on the Billboard 200, with Billie embarking on her first major supporting tour. Throughout, Billie received praise from national media for her unique vocal range, experimental and “genderless” songwriting, confessional lyrics, and oversized dress style.
In early 2018, Billie launched her second headlining tour, titled “Where’s My Mind”, and released “You Should See Me In A Crown”, as well as high-profile collaborations with artists like Khalid (“Lovely “). That same year, she appeared on Forbes’ annual 30 under 30 list and unveiled new singles like “Come Out and Play” and “Bury A Friend”. Meanwhile, don’t smile at me reached 1 billion streams on Spotify, making Billie the youngest artist to do so. During all this time, she and Finneas prepared her first studio album, When we all fall asleep, where do we go?which dropped on March 29, 2019 and debuted atop the Billboard 200. When we all fall asleep, where do we go? made Billie the first artist born in the 2000s to achieve a number one album in the United States. When the album’s fifth single, “Bad Guy”, reached number one, it made Billie the youngest artist, at just 17, since Lorde (featuring “Royals”) to have a number one single.
That same year, in 2019, Billie performed at Coachella and announced her Where Are We Going? World Tour, which was eventually postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
November 2019 was a major month for Billie – she released her next single, ‘Everything I Wanted’ and was nominated for six Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year for ‘Bad Guy’ as well as Album of the Year and Best New Artist, making her the youngest artist to be nominated in all four categories in the overall field. Not only that, but that same month, Billie was named Billboardis the woman of the year.
In January 2020, Billie became the youngest artist to write and perform a James Bond theme song, again teaming up with Finneas to write and produce “No Time To Die”. Billie also cleaned up at the 62nd Grammy Awards, becoming the youngest artist in Grammy history to win all four overall categories: Best New Artist, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year. . In July 2020, Billie released a new single, “My Future”, and announced a few months later that she was preparing 16 new songs for an upcoming second studio album.
Before releasing his 2021 album happier than everBillie collaborated with Spanish singer/songwriter Rosalía on the single “Lo Vas a Olvidar” and released the critically acclaimed Apple TV+ documentary Billie Eilish: The world is a bit blurry, directed by RJ Cutler. Billie also won two other Grammys: Best Song Written for Visual Media (“No Time To Die”) and Record of the Year (“Everything I Wanted”).
On July 30, 2021, Billie posted happier than ever, which showcased his expanding sonic palette and evolving personal style. Switch from Trap Inspired When we all fall asleep, where do we go?, happier than ever, while remaining downtempo, featured elements of jazz, electropop, country, folk, and even bossa nova. Thematically, Billie analyzed the last two years of her life, tackling themes around fame and its downsides. With the singles “My Future”, “Therefore I Am”, “Your Power”, “Lost Cause”, “NDA”, the title song and “Male Fantasy”, happier than ever debuted atop the Billboard 200 and was nominated for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album at the 64th Grammy Awards. Its title track was nominated for Song of the Year and Record of the Year. To celebrate the release of the album, Billie filmed a Disney+ concert film titled Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeleswhich received a Best Motion Picture Musical nomination at the 2022 Grammys.
For Billie, the critical and industry accolades, which include multiple Grammys, American Music Awards, VMAs and Brit Awards, all earned before she even turned 20, speak for themselves. As one of the most inventive artists of her generation, whose influences range from Tyler, The Creator to Britney Spears and Avril Lavigne, Billie will no doubt continue to push the boundaries of mainstream pop for years to come. .
Listen to the best of Billie Eilish on Apple Music or Spotify.
