Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell ( ;
born December 18, 2001) is an American singer-songwriter. She first gained public attention in 2015 with her debut single "
Ocean Eyes", written and produced by her brother
Finneas O'Connell
Finneas Baird O'Connell (born July 30, 1997), known mononymously as Finneas ( stylized in all caps), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has written and produced music for various artists, most notably his sister, ...
, with whom she collaborates on music and live shows. In 2017, she released her debut
extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. (EP), titled ''
Don't Smile at Me
''Don't Smile at Me'' (stylized as '' smile at me'') is the debut extended play by American singer Billie Eilish, released on August 11, 2017, via Darkroom and Interscope Records. Eilish and her brother Finneas O'Connell wrote most of the ...
''. Commercially successful, it reached the top 15 of record charts in numerous countries, including the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.
Eilish's first studio album, ''
When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
''When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?'' (stylized in all caps) is the debut studio album by American singer and songwriter Billie Eilish. It was released on March 29, 2019, by Darkroom and Interscope Records in the US and Polydor Records ...
'' (2019), debuted atop the US
''Billboard'' 200 and
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
. It was one of the best-selling albums of the year, buoyed by the success of its fifth single "
Bad Guy
A bad guy or villain is a type of character in fiction and other narratives.
Bad Guy or Bad Guys or ''variation'', may also refer to:
Film
* ''Bad Guy'' (1937 film), a film starring Virginia Grey
* ''Bad Guys'', a 1986 film starring Adam Bal ...
", Eilish's first number-one on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100. This made her the first artist born in the 21st century to release a chart-topping single. The following year, Eilish performed the theme song "
No Time to Die
''No Time to Die'' is a 2021 spy film and the twenty-fifth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, starring Daniel Craig in his fifth and final portrayal of fictional British MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by Cary ...
" for the
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
film
of the same name, which topped the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
and won the
Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2022. Her subsequent singles "
Everything I Wanted
"Everything I Wanted" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American singer and songwriter Billie Eilish, and co-written by Eilish and her brother Finneas O'Connell, who also produced it. Darkroom and Interscope Records released the track ...
", "
My Future
"My Future" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish and the lead single of her second studio album, ''Happier Than Ever'' (2021). It was released on July 30, 2020, through Darkroom and Interscope Records, ...
", "
Therefore I Am
Therefore I Am was an American post-hardcore band formed in Boston in May 2004. After recording two independent extended plays, they signed to Epitaph Records in 2005 and later to Equal Vision Records in 2008, on which they recorded one full-l ...
", and "
Your Power" peaked in the top 10 in the US and UK. Her second studio album, ''
Happier Than Ever
''Happier Than Ever'' is the second studio album by American singer Billie Eilish, released by Darkroom and Interscope Records on July 30, 2021. Eilish co-wrote the album with her brother and frequent collaborator Finneas O'Connell, who also ...
'' (2021), topped charts in 25 countries.
Eilish has received
multiple accolades, including seven
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
s, two
American Music Awards
The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Pro ...
, two
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
, three
MTV Video Music Award
The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video categor ...
s, three
Brit Awards
The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...
, a
Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award. She is the youngest artist in Grammy history to win
all four general field categories—
Best New Artist
The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967. The official guidelines are as ...
,
Record of the Year
The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...
,
Song of the Year, and
Album of the Year—in the same year. She was featured on ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' magazine's inaugural
''Time'' 100 Next list in 2019 and the
''Time'' 100 in 2021. According to the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and ''
Billboard'', Eilish is the 26th-highest-certified digital singles artist and one of the most successful artists of the
2010s
File:2010s collage v21.png, From top left, clockwise: Anti-government protests called the Arab Spring arose in 2010–2011, and as a result, many governments were overthrown, including when Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was killed; Crimea is ...
. She has a history of political activism, focusing on
climate change awareness and
women's equality. She was honored as one of the
BBC 100 Women
''100 Women'' is a BBC multi-format series established in 2013. The annual series examines the role of women in the 21st century and has included events in London and Mexico. Announcement of the list is the start of an international "BBC's women ...
in December 2022.
Early life
![Billie Eilish and Maggie Baird Nov 2018](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Billie_Eilish_and_Maggie_Baird_Nov_2018.png)
Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell was born in Los Angeles, California, on December 18, 2001. She is the daughter of actress and teacher
Maggie Baird
Maggie May Baird (born ) is an American actress, screenwriter, and former theater troupe teacher. Baird grew up in Colorado performing music, and studied theater and dance at the University of Utah, before moving to New York City, where she perf ...
and actor Patrick O'Connell,
both of whom are also musicians and work on Eilish's tours.
Eilish is of Irish and Scottish descent. She was conceived via
in vitro fertilization
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating an individual's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) f ...
. Her middle name, Eilish, was originally meant to be her first name, while Pirate was to be her middle name. She was raised in the
Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Eilish and her brother Finneas were
homeschooled
Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...
by Baird, a decision their parents made to spend time with them and give them the freedom to pursue their interests.
Baird taught Eilish and Finneas the basics of songwriting.
Eilish said her brother and mother inspired her to get into music.
Their parents encouraged the siblings to express themselves and explore whatever they wanted, including art, dancing, and acting.
Eilish also performed at talent shows and joined the
Los Angeles Children's Chorus at age eight.
At age six, she started playing the ukulele. She wrote her first "real" song at age 11 for her mother's songwriting class. The song is about the zombie apocalypse, inspired by the television series ''
The Walking Dead'' from which she took script lines and episode titles for the song.
Eilish had gone on some acting auditions, which she disliked; however, she enjoyed recording background dialogue for
crowd scene
A crowd scene is the representation of a crowd in art, literature or other media.
There are many examples of crowd scenes in American literature. One classic is Poe's short story, " The Man of the Crowd", in which a mysterious old man is follo ...
s and worked on the films ''
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
''Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' is an American children’s book series and media franchise created by author and cartoonist Jeff Kinney. The series follows Greg Heffley, a middle-schooler who illustrates his daily life in a diary (although he const ...
'', ''
Ramona and Beezus
''Ramona and Beezus'' is a 2010 American family adventure comedy film based on the Ramona series of novels written by Beverly Cleary.Vena, Jocely"Selena Gomez To Star In 'Ramona and Beezus' Movie."MTV.com, 2009-02-06.Kilday, Gregg"Young actress ...
'', and the
''X-Men'' series.
Eilish also took dance classes until 2016, when a
growth plate
The epiphyseal plate (or epiphysial plate, physis, or growth plate) is a hyaline cartilage plate in the metaphysis at each end of a long bone. It is the part of a long bone where new bone growth takes place; that is, the whole bone is alive, wit ...
injury put an end to her dancing career and she turned her focus toward recording music.
Career
2015–2017: ''Don't Smile at Me''
![The Hi Hat - Billie Eilish 08 10 2017 -3 (36529010754)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/The_Hi_Hat_-_Billie_Eilish_08_10_2017_-3_%2836529010754%29.jpg)
In 2015, 13-year-old Eilish began working on songs with her brother Finneas, who had been writing and producing for several years and had his own band.
The first songs they recorded together were called "She's Broken" and "Fingers Crossed", the former written by Finneas and the latter by Eilish. "We recorded them and put them out on
SoundCloud
SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming s ...
, just for fun," she recalled.
On November 18, 2015, Eilish released the song "
Ocean Eyes". The track was written, mixed, and produced by Finneas, who had originally created it for his band the Slightlys, before deciding it would be a better fit for Eilish's vocals.
He gave it to Eilish when her dance teacher at the Revolution Dance Center asked them to write a song for choreography. The siblings uploaded the song to
SoundCloud
SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming s ...
, where Diaz could access and download it.
The song received several hundred thousand listens in two weeks, and Finneas's manager, Danny Rukasin, reached out to him to discuss Eilish's potential. In Rukasin's opinion, she could achieve significant success with Finneas's help.
In January 2016, Finneas and his manager arranged a deal in which
Apple Music
Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple M ...
signed Eilish to
A&R company Platoon, specializing in packaging emerging artists before they get a major-label contract.
Eilish then got a publicist, who connected her to the luxury fashion brand
Chanel, and a stylist, both of whom helped shape her image.
On March 24, 2016, a music video for "Ocean Eyes" directed by Megan Thompson was premiered on Eilish's official YouTube channel.
"Ocean Eyes" and Eilish would receive praise and promotion from various media outlets and marketers, including radio stations and music supervisors such as
Beats 1,
KCRW
KCRW (89.9 MHz FM) is a National Public Radio member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to program ...
,
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
,
Zane Lowe
Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter.
After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...
,
Jason Kramer,
Annie Mac, and
Chris Douridas
Chris Douridas (born September 20, 1962) is an American popular DJ and musical tastemaker at Santa Monica, California's radio station KCRW, where he hosts a two-hour program showcasing progressive new music. He is also a filmmaker, actor, televis ...
.
On June 23, 2016, Eilish and Finneas released "
Six Feet Under" through SoundCloud as her second single. A homemade music video for the song was released on June 30, 2016.
It was directed by Eilish and edited by her mother, Maggie Baird.
In August 2016, Justin Lubliner, who had noticed Eilish's talent back in 2015 when he first heard "Ocean Eyes", signed her to Darkroom and
Interscope Records.
He developed her rollout as an artist, taking inspiration from the model of hip hop artists such as
Travis Scott and
Chance the Rapper, not relying on one big single and focusing on creating a "persona and distinct aesthetic".
Darkroom and Interscope Records re-released "Six Feet Under" and "Ocean Eyes" as singles for
digital download and
streaming on November 17 and 18, 2016, respectively.
On November 22, 2016, a dance performance music video for "Ocean Eyes" was uploaded to Eilish's YouTube channel.
On January 14, 2017, Eilish released an
EP with four remixes by Astronomyy,
Blackbear,
Goldhouse, and
Cautious Clay for "Ocean Eyes", and released another EP for "Six Feet Under" featuring remixes by Blu J,
Gazzo, Jerry Folk, and Aire Atlantica. Following the success of the "Ocean Eyes" remixes, Eilish released "
Bellyache" on February 24, 2017, A music video for the song was released on March 22, 2017, and was directed by Miles and AJ. Eilish later released "
Bored" on March 30, 2017, as part of the soundtrack to the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
series ''
13 Reasons Why
''13 Reasons Why'' is an American teen drama television series developed for Netflix by Brian Yorkey and based on the 2007 novel ''Thirteen Reasons Why'' by author Jay Asher. The series revolves around high school student Clay Jensen (Dylan M ...
''. A music video for "Bored" was later released on June 26, 2017.
In March of the same year, Apple Music showcased Eilish at the
South by Southwest music festival.
On June 30, 2017, Eilish released "
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 b ...
". Eilish later released another single, "
Copycat
Copycat refers to a person who copies some aspect of some thing or somebody else.
Copycat may also refer to:
Intellectual property rights
* Copyright infringement, use of another’s ideas or words without permission
* Patent infringement, a v ...
", which was released on July 14, 2017, and announced the release of her debut EP, ''
Don't Smile at Me
''Don't Smile at Me'' (stylized as '' smile at me'') is the debut extended play by American singer Billie Eilish, released on August 11, 2017, via Darkroom and Interscope Records. Eilish and her brother Finneas O'Connell wrote most of the ...
''.
Eilish later released "
Idontwannabeyouanymore" and "
My Boy
"My Boy" is a popular song from the early 1970s. The music was composed by Jean-Pierre Bourtayre and Claude François, and the lyrics were translated from the original version "Parce que je t'aime, mon enfant" (Because I Love You My Child) into E ...
".
On August 11, 2017, Eilish released ''Don't Smile at Me''. The EP was a sleeper hit, reaching number 14 on the US
''Billboard'' 200. Eilish embarked on the Don't Smile at Me Tour throughout October 2017 in support of her EP. Eilish released "
Bitches Broken Hearts" through SoundCloud on November 10, 2017.
Eilish's team worked with
Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
, which promoted her on its most popular playlist, "Today's Top Hits".
''
The Baffler
''The Baffler'' is an American magazine of cultural, political, and business analysis. Established in 1988 by editors Thomas Frank and Keith White, it was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, until 2010, when it moved to Cambridge, Massachuse ...
'' described Eilish's sound as fitting into the "streambait" genre consisting of largely "mid-tempo, melancholy pop" influenced by
Lana Del Rey
Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Her music is noted for its cinematic quality and exploration of tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia, with frequent r ...
, whose "singing style, bleakness, and... hip-hop influenced production" shaped the aesthetic.
Eilish's commercial success expanded with her Spotify promotion.
In September 2017, Apple Music named Eilish their
Up Next artist, which followed with a short documentary, a live session EP and an interview with
Zane Lowe
Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter.
After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...
on Apple Music's radio station
Beats 1. That month, the live EP titled ''
Up Next Session: Billie Eilish'' was released. On December 15, 2017, Eilish released her collaboration with American rapper
Vince Staples
Vincent Jamal Staples (born July 2, 1993) is an American rapper and singer. Staples was once a close associate of Odd Future, Mike G and Earl Sweatshirt in particular. He is currently signed to Motown and Blacksmith Records.
Staples rose to ...
titled "
&Burn
"&Burn" is a song by American singer Billie Eilish and American rapper Vince Staples. It was released for digital download and streaming as a single on December 15, 2017, through Darkroom and Interscope Records, and was later included on a re ...
", which is a remix of her previously released single "Watch". It was later included on the expanded edition of ''Don't Smile at Me.
2018–2020: ''When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?''
In February 2018, Eilish embarked on her second headlining concert tour, the
Where's My Mind Tour, which concluded in April 2018.
"Bitches Broken Hearts" was re-released worldwide on March 30, 2018. For
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 ...
2018, Eilish released "
Party Favor
A party favor is a small gift given to the guests at a party as a gesture of thanks for their attendance, a memento of the occasion, or simply as an aid to frivolity.
Occasions
It is traditional in some Western cultures for the guests at b ...
" on a pink
7-inch vinyl
In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separat ...
, 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 3 ...
", 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.
Eilish collaborated with American singer
Khalid
Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal", and it also appears as a surname. for the single "
Lovely", which was released on April 19, 2018, and added to the soundtrack for the second season of ''13 Reasons Why''. She later released "
You Should See Me in a Crown", in July 2018, In July of the same year, Eilish performed at the
Mo Pop Festival
The Mo Pop Festival is a music festival in Detroit. The festival features both emerging as well as established musicians, and its ambiance has been described as "boutique and niche". It showcases indie-rock, pop, and hip-hop music along with ...
.
On the day of release for her single "
When the Party's Over", Eilish was featured in
''Vanity Fair''s "73 Questions" rapid-fire questionnaire video series by
Joe Sabia who revisited a previous interview from October 2017. The resulting video was a side-by-side
time capsule
A time capsule is a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy relics dates ...
of both interviews showing her growth in popularity over one year. She signed a talent contract with
Next Management
NEXT Management is a modeling and talent agency founded in 1989 by Faith Kates and Joel Wilkenfeld. Next is headquartered in New York City with divisions in London, Los Angeles, Miami, Milan and Paris.
Fashion models
Notable models currently r ...
for fashion and beauty endorsements in October 2018. She was placed on the 2018
Forbes 30 Under 30
''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 is a set of lists of people under 30 years old issued annually by ''Forbes'' magazine and some of its regional editions. The American lists recognize 600 business and industry figures, with 30 selected in twenty industries ...
list in November of that year, and released the single "
Come Out and Play" in November 2018, which was written for a holiday-themed
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
commercial. In early January 2019, ''Don't Smile at Me'' reached 1 billion streams on Spotify, making her the youngest artist to top 1 billion streams on a project.
That month, Eilish released "
Bury a Friend
"Bury a Friend" is a song by American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish and the third single from her debut studio album, '' When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?'' (2019). It was released on January 30, 2019, and serviced to US alternative ra ...
" as the third single from her debut album ''
When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
''When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?'' (stylized in all caps) is the debut studio album by American singer and songwriter Billie Eilish. It was released on March 29, 2019, by Darkroom and Interscope Records in the US and Polydor Records ...
'',
along with "
When I Was Older", a single inspired by the 2018 film
''Roma'', which appeared on the compilation album ''Music Inspired by the Film Roma''. In February, Eilish partnered with
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
for a documentary mini-series titled "A Snippet Into Billie's Mind".
"
Wish You Were Gay", her fourth single from the album, was released on March 4, 2019.
''When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?'' was released on March 29, 2019. Spotify launched a "multi-level campaign behind the album", creating a multi-media playlist and "new product features" that Spotify stated "allow for vertical video content, custom assets, and editorial storylines all with the goal of creating more meaningful and engaging context for
ilish'sfans."
In Los Angeles, Spotify set up a "pop-up enhanced album experience", which included different artwork and a "multi-sensory" experience of each track for fans.
The album debuted atop the ''
Billboard 200
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of ar ...
'' as well as on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
, making Eilish the first artist born in the 2000s to have a number-one album in the United States, and the youngest female ever to have a number-one album in the United Kingdom.
Upon the album's debut, Eilish broke the record for most simultaneously charting Hot 100 songs by a female artist, with 14, after every song from the album, excluding "Goodbye", charted on the Hot 100. The fifth single from the album, "
Bad Guy
A bad guy or villain is a type of character in fiction and other narratives.
Bad Guy or Bad Guys or ''variation'', may also refer to:
Film
* ''Bad Guy'' (1937 film), a film starring Virginia Grey
* ''Bad Guys'', a 1986 film starring Adam Bal ...
", was released in conjunction with the album. A remix of the song featuring
Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...
was released in July 2019. In August, Bad Guy peaked at number-one in the US, ending
Lil Nas X
Montero Lamar Hill (born April 9, 1999), known by his stage name Lil Nas X ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his country rap single " Old Town Road", which first achieved viral popula ...
's record-breaking
19 weeks at number-one with "
Old Town Road
"Old Town Road" is the debut single of American rapper Lil Nas X, first released independently in December 2018. After gaining popularity, the single was re-released by Columbia Records in March 2019. Lil Nas X also recorded a remix with America ...
". She is the first artist born in the 2000s and the youngest artist since
Lorde (with "
Royals") to have a number-one single.
![ALTer EGO 1 18 2020 (50740920597) (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/ALTer_EGO_1_18_2020_%2850740920597%29_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Eilish began her
When We All Fall Asleep Tour
The When We All Fall Asleep Tour was the fourth concert tour by American singer Billie Eilish, in support of her debut studio album '' When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?'' (2019). The tour began on April 13, 2019, in Indio, California at E ...
at
Coachella Festival
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert ...
in April 2019, with the tour concluding on November 17, 2019, in
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...
. In August 2019, Eilish partnered with Apple Music for Music Lab: Remix Billie Eilish, part of
Apple Stores' Music Lab sessions during which fans deconstruct her song "You Should See Me In A Crown" and learn how to create their own remix on Apple devices and
GarageBand. On September 27, 2019, Eilish announced her
Where Do We Go? World Tour
The Where Do We Go? World Tour was the fifth concert tour by American singer Billie Eilish, in support of her debut studio album ''When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?'' (2019). The tour commenced on March 9, 2020 in Miami, Florida at America ...
. The tour began in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
on March 9, 2020, and ran for two more shows on March 10 in
Orlando
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...
and March 12 in
Raleigh
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...
respectively, before Eilish ended the tour prematurely due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. The tour was set to conclude in
Jakarta on September 7.
On November 7, 2019,
Jack White
John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975), commonly known as Jack White, is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the duo the White Stripes. White has enjoyed consistent critical and popular success and is widely c ...
's
Third Man Records
Third Man Records is an eclectic, vinyl-focused independent record label founded and owned by Jack White, Ben Blackwell and Ben Swank. The company operates out of three locations—Nashville, Tennessee, Detroit, Michigan, and Soho, London—with ...
announced that the label would be releasing an acoustic live album of Eilish's performance from the record label's Blue Room, exclusively sold on vinyl at Third Man retail locations in
Nashville,
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
, and
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
. On November 13, 2019, she released her next single, "
Everything I Wanted
"Everything I Wanted" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American singer and songwriter Billie Eilish, and co-written by Eilish and her brother Finneas O'Connell, who also produced it. Darkroom and Interscope Records released the track ...
". On November 20, 2019, Eilish was nominated for six
Grammy Awards including
Record of the Year
The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...
and
Song of the Year for "
Bad Guy
A bad guy or villain is a type of character in fiction and other narratives.
Bad Guy or Bad Guys or ''variation'', may also refer to:
Film
* ''Bad Guy'' (1937 film), a film starring Virginia Grey
* ''Bad Guys'', a 1986 film starring Adam Bal ...
" as well as
Album of the Year and
Best New Artist
The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967. The official guidelines are as ...
. At age 17, she became the youngest artist to be nominated in
all four General Field categories.
In the same month, Eilish was crowned 2019's
''Billboard'' Woman of the Year.
![ALTer EGO 1 18 2020 (50740816801)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/ALTer_EGO_1_18_2020_%2850740816801%29.jpg)
On January 14, 2020, Eilish was announced as performer of the
title track
A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title.
Title track may a ...
for the 25th installment in the
James Bond film franchise, ''
No Time to Die
''No Time to Die'' is a 2021 spy film and the twenty-fifth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, starring Daniel Craig in his fifth and final portrayal of fictional British MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by Cary ...
'', written and produced with her brother. With this announcement, Eilish became the youngest artist to write and perform a James Bond theme song. Shortly after, it became the second Bond theme song to top the British official charts and the first Bond theme performed by a female artist to do so. It was also Eilish's first number-one single in the UK. At the
62nd Grammy Awards
The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 26, 2020, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from October 1, 2018, to August 31, 2019. Al ...
, she became the youngest person to win the four main Grammy categories –
Best New Artist
The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967. The official guidelines are as ...
,
Record of the Year
The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...
,
Song of the Year, and
Album of the Year – in the same year. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Eilish and her brother performed for both
iHeart Media
iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...
's Living Room Concert for America,
and
Global Citizen's
Together at Home concert series, singing a cover of
Bobby Hebb
Robert Von Hebb (July 26, 1938 – August 3, 2010) was an American R&B and soul singer, musician, songwriter, recording artist, and performer known for his 1966 hit entitled " Sunny".
Biography
Hebb was born in Nashville, Tennessee. His par ...
's
"Sunny" for the latter.
Both virtual concerts were an effort to raise awareness and funds towards fighting the disease.
On April 10, 2020, "
Ilomilo
''ilomilo'' is a puzzle video game developed by Southend Interactive and Xbox Game Studios, Microsoft Game Studios. It was released on Windows Phone 7 on November 8, 2010 for AT&T customers. On November 26, 2010, a "secret" website was made avail ...
" was sent to Italian
contemporary hit radio stations by
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
, as ''When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?''s seventh and final single.
On July 30, 2020, Eilish released "
My Future
"My Future" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish and the lead single of her second studio album, ''Happier Than Ever'' (2021). It was released on July 30, 2020, through Darkroom and Interscope Records, ...
", her first original release since "No Time to Die", along with an animated video. In 2020, she became the youngest person to feature on the
''Forbes'' Celebrity 100 list, with earnings of $53 million. In September 2020, Eilish released a collection of branded ukuleles with guitar manufacturer
Fender.
In October 2020, Eilish announced a livestream concert titled ''Where Do We Go? The Livestream'' set to air from Los Angeles on October 24 of that same year, with proceeds from the show's merchandise raising funds to support event crew members affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In a ''
Vanity Fair'' interview, Eilish said she was working on "sixteen new songs and lov
ngthem all", revealing an upcoming musical project. Eilish won three
''Billboard'' Music Awards on October 24—
''Billboard'' Music Award for Top Female Artist,
''Billboard'' Music Award for Top ''Billboard'' 200 Album (''When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?''), and
''Billboard'' Music Award for Top New Artist—out of the 12 that she was nominated for. In that same month, she also announced a new single, entitled "
Therefore I Am
Therefore I Am was an American post-hardcore band formed in Boston in May 2004. After recording two independent extended plays, they signed to Epitaph Records in 2005 and later to Equal Vision Records in 2008, on which they recorded one full-l ...
", which was released along with its music video on November 12, 2020. Eilish performed "Therefore I Am" and "My Future" at the
Jingle Ball
iHeartRadio (often shortened to just "iHeart") is an American freemium broadcast, podcast and radio streaming platform owned by iHeartMedia. It was founded in August 2008. , iHeartRadio was functioning as the national umbrella brand for iHear ...
in December 2020.
2021–present: ''Happier Than Ever'' and ''Guitar Songs''
![Billie Eilish at the 2021 Met Gala - 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Billie_Eilish_at_the_2021_Met_Gala_-_01.jpg)
"
Lo Vas a Olvidar", a single featuring
Rosalía
Rosalia Vila Tobella (born 25 September 1992), known mononymously as Rosalía (, ), is a Spanish singer. Born and raised in the outskirts of Barcelona, she has been described as an "atypical pop star" due to her genre-bending musical styles. ...
as a part of
HBO's ''
Euphoria'' soundtrack, was released in January 2021, almost two years after initially teasing the song. The
R. J. Cutler–directed documentary film ''
Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry'' was released on Apple TV+ and in select movie theaters. The film was praised by critics and fans for its in-depth look at Eilish's personal life during her ascension to fame. At the
63rd Annual Grammy Awards
The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held in and around the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles on March 14, 2021. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from September 1, 201 ...
, Eilish took home two awards: the
Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media, for her
Bond theme and the
Grammy Award for Record of the Year for her 2019 single "
Everything I Wanted
"Everything I Wanted" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American singer and songwriter Billie Eilish, and co-written by Eilish and her brother Finneas O'Connell, who also produced it. Darkroom and Interscope Records released the track ...
". In her acceptance speech for Record of the Year, Eilish said that
Megan Thee Stallion "deserved to win", but still thanked her fans and her brother Finneas for her award.
On April 27, 2021, Eilish announced on her
Instagram account that her second album, ''
Happier Than Ever
''Happier Than Ever'' is the second studio album by American singer Billie Eilish, released by Darkroom and Interscope Records on July 30, 2021. Eilish co-wrote the album with her brother and frequent collaborator Finneas O'Connell, who also ...
'', would be released on July 30, and the tracklist was made available on Apple Music. The album was released on various formats, including collectable vinyl and cassette colours. The album's release was preceded by five singles: "My Future", "Therefore I Am", "
Your Power", "
Lost Cause
The Lost Cause of the Confederacy (or simply Lost Cause) is an American pseudohistorical negationist mythology that claims the cause of the Confederate States during the American Civil War was just, heroic, and not centered on slavery. Firs ...
", and "
NDA", and was accompanied by
the title track. On December 2, 2021, Eilish announced an eco-friendly limited-edition vinyl version of ''Happier Than Ever'' made from recycled vinyl scraps. The collector's item was only made available at a number of Gucci stores around the world and included Gucci-branded nail stickers designed by the brand's creative director Alessandro Michele. To further promote the album, Eilish worked with
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
for the concert film ''
Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles'', released in September 2021,
and embarked on the
Happier Than Ever, The World Tour, which ran from February to September 2022.
In June 2021, Eilish was criticized for videos in which she mouthed the anti-Asian slur "
chink" while lip-syncing the song "
Fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...
" by
Tyler, the Creator
Tyler Gregory Okonma (born March 6, 1991), known professionally as Tyler, the Creator, is an American rapper and record producer. He is one of the founding members of the music collective Odd Future.
Okonma self-released his debut mixtape ' ...
, and for using
blaccent and
African-American Vernacular English. Eilish was also accused of
queerbaiting
Queerbaiting is a marketing technique for fiction and entertainment in which creators hint at, but then do not depict, same-sex romance or other LGBTQ+ representation. The purpose is to attract ("bait") an LGBTQ+ or straight ally audience with th ...
after using the caption "I love girls" to promote the music video for "Lost Cause". On June 22, she posted an apology to Instagram stories for her usage of "chink", saying that she was "appalled and embarrassed" by the video and that she was "13 or 14" at the time and did not know the slur was a derogatory term.
She also addressed a separate video of what was viewed as her mocking an Asian accent, writing that she was actually "speaking in a silly gibberish made up voice".
Reflecting on the events in a July 2021 interview, Eilish stated: "I said so many things then that I totally don't agree with now, or think the opposite thing. The weirdest thing is how nothing ever goes away once it's on the internet ... When you're a fucking teenager, you don't really know yourself ... I didn't actually know how I really felt. So I just came up with this facade that I stuck to."
Eilish started formulating ideas for her third studio album's songs with Finneas in December 2021. In a July 2022 interview with
Zane Lowe
Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter.
After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...
for
Apple Music
Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple M ...
, she commented that she hoped to start writing the album in 2023. During 2022, Eilish became the youngest headliner to date for two festivals, specifically
Glastonbury
Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbur ...
and
Coachella Coachella may refer to:
* Coachella, California
* Coachella Canal, in California
* Coachella (festival), an annual music and arts festival in California
* "Coachella – Woodstock in My Mind", a 2017 song by Lana del Rey
See also
* Coachell ...
. The
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californ ...
film ''
Turning Red
''Turning Red'' is a 2022 American computer-animated fantasy comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It was directed by Domee Shi in her feature directorial debut, written by Sh ...
'' was released that year, for which she and Finneas wrote three songs. These are "
Nobody Like U", "U Know What's Up" and "1 True Love", which are performed by ''Turning Red'' fictional boy band 4*Town.
In June 2022, during her world tour's Manchester show, Eilish debuted the then-unreleased ballad "
TV". The song references
the overturning of ''
Roe v. Wade
''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...
'', a case which made
abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...
a
constitutional right
A constitutional right can be a prerogative or a duty, a power or a restraint of power, recognized and established by a sovereign state or union of states. Constitutional rights may be expressly stipulated in a national constitution, or they may ...
in the US.
The next month, on July 21, she
surprise-released the two-track EP ''
Guitar Songs
''Guitar Songs'' is the second extended play (EP) by American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish. It was released through download and streaming services on July 21, 2022, by Darkroom and Interscope Records. The EP marks Eilish's new body of w ...
'', which includes "TV" alongside "
The 30th". Eilish explained her decision to surprise-release the EP during the interview with Lowe. She told him that while work on her third studio album was coming soon, she refused to wait until that time to put "TV" and "The 30th" on a track list. She wanted to spread their messages to her fans as soon as possible, noting the immediacy of its lyrics: "These songs are really current for me, and they’re songs that I want to have said right now."
Another reason was Eilish had grown tired of doing heavy, traditional promotion for upcoming music. She wanted to release songs like she had been doing early in her career, previewing them for fans in live concerts before releasing them without much marketing.
To mark the tour's conclusion on September 30, 2022, Eilish worked with
Apple Music
Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple M ...
to exclusively host a film of one of the concerts, specifically one of her shows at the
O2 Arena O2 Arena may refer to:
*The O2 Arena (London)
*O2 Arena (Prague)
*The 3Arena
The 3Arena (originally The O2) is an indoor amphitheatre located at North Wall Quay in the Dublin Docklands in Dublin, Ireland. The venue opened as The O2 on 16 Decem ...
in London. She billed the film as a way for fans who missed out on tickets to experience the tour for themselves, wanting more people to recognize her for her showmanship live. Months later, Eilish revealed the Happier Than Ever, The Hometown Encore, two concerts at the
Kia Forum in
Inglewood, California, from December 15 to 16, 2022. The shows intend to celebrate the success of the album and its corresponding world tour.
Artistry
Musical style, songwriting, and music videos
![Billie Eilish MTV 2019 2 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Billie_Eilish_MTV_2019_2_%28cropped%29.png)
Eilish possesses a
soprano vocal range
Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of st ...
. Avery Stone of ''
Noisey'' described her vocals as "ethereal", and
Maura Johnston
Maura K. Johnston (born May 28, 1975) is a writer, editor and music critic. A member of Boston College's journalism faculty, she has written for ''Rolling Stone'', ''The Boston Globe'', ''Pitchfork'', ''The Awl'', ''The New York Times'', ''Spin' ...
of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' characterized them as "whispery".
Doreen St. Félix of ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' opined that she has a "husky, slurring voice that she can thin out to reedy". Music critic
Robert Christgau wrote that while Eilish is musically and commercially pop, her brand also "reminds us how amorphous
ophas become", describing her soprano as "too diminutive for vocal calisthenics", adding that her "playful version of teen-
goth angst" and "
electro-saturated debut album" captivated a diverse audience.
Her music incorporates
pop,
dark pop,
electropop,
emo pop
Emo pop (also known as emo pop punk and pop-emo) is a fusion genre combining emo with the melodies of pop punk and/or pop music. Emo pop features a music style with more concise songs and hook-filled choruses. Emo pop began in the 1990s with ban ...
,
experimental pop
Experimental pop is pop music that cannot be categorized within traditional musical boundaries or which attempts to push elements of existing popular forms into new areas. It may incorporate experimental techniques such as musique concrète, a ...
,
goth-pop
Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie an ...
,
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 su ...
,
teen pop
Teen pop is a subgenre of pop music that is created, marketed and oriented towards preteens and teenagers.Lamb, Bill"Teen Pop" About.com. Retrieved January 28, 2007. Teen pop incorporates different subgenres of pop music, as well as elements o ...
, and
alt-pop
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...
.
Eilish and her brother, Finneas, collaborate on songwriting.
Finneas writes for Eilish's albums, produces her music, and also performs in live shows.
Eilish and Finneas "like to completely make up things and become characters" and "have songs that are really fictional".
Eilish said a number of the songs also derive from her and Finneas' experiences.
They try to write "really interesting and conversational" lyrics: "We try to say stuff that doesn't have to be that deep
..but you say something way deeper in a certain way that makes sense, but you haven't really thought about."
Finneas has stated that when he writes for his sister, he aims to "write
ongsthat I think she'll relate to and enjoy singing and empathise with the lyrics and make her own".
When he writes with Eilish, he tries "to help her tell whatever story she's trying to tell, bounce ideas off of her, listen to her ideas", and use a language that fits her voice telling the story.
Eilish had wanted to direct her own music videos since age 14 but was initially not given the opportunity due to lack of experience. In 2019, she made her directorial debut with the video for her song "
Xanny".
Influences
Eilish grew up listening to
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
,
Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...
,
Green Day,
Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, ...
,
Linkin Park and
Lana Del Rey
Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Her music is noted for its cinematic quality and exploration of tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia, with frequent r ...
. She has said that stumbling upon
Aurora
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
's "
Runaway" on YouTube inspired her to pursue a music career.
Hip hop is her favorite genre and biggest inspiration. Eilish has cited
Tyler, the Creator
Tyler Gregory Okonma (born March 6, 1991), known professionally as Tyler, the Creator, is an American rapper and record producer. He is one of the founding members of the music collective Odd Future.
Okonma self-released his debut mixtape ' ...
,
Childish Gambino, and
Avril Lavigne as major musical and style influences for her. Other influences include
Adele
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a rec ...
,
Earl Sweatshirt
Thebe Neruda Kgositsile (born February 24, 1994), also known by his stage name Earl Sweatshirt, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Kgositsile was originally known by the moniker Sly Tendencies when he began rapping in 2008, ...
,
James Blake,
Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz.
A membe ...
, the
Spice Girls,
Lorde,
Marina and the Diamonds
Marina Lambrini Diamandis (; el, Μαρίνα-Λαμπρινή Διαμάντη; born 10 October 1985), known mononymously as Marina (often stylised in all caps), and previously by the stage name Marina and the Diamonds, is a Welsh singer and ...
,
Britney Spears,
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
,
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated Flow (rapping), flow in her rapping, alter e ...
,
XXXTentacion
Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy (January 23, 1998 – June 18, 2018), known professionally as XXXTentacion, was an American rapper and singer-songwriter. Though a controversial figure due to his widely publicized legal troubles, XXXTentacion ga ...
, and
Twenty One Pilots
Twenty One Pilots (stylized in all lowercase or as twenty øne piløts) are an American musical duo from Columbus, Ohio. Initially a band, the group was formed in 2009 by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph along with Nick Thomas and Chris Salih, who ...
. Eilish has also named
Rihanna as an inspiration for her style choices after she called fashion her "defense mechanism" during an acceptance speech. She has also credited
Damon Albarn for changing the way she views art and music creation.
Eilish has been compared in the media to Lavigne,
Lorde and Del Rey,
the last of whom she says she does not want to be compared to, stating, "That woman
el Reyhas made her brand so perfect for her whole career and she shouldn't have to hear that." Eilish said that
Ariana Grande's 2019 album ''
Thank U, Next
''Thank U, Next'' is the fifth studio album by American singer Ariana Grande, released on February 8, 2019, by Republic Records. It was released six months after her fourth studio album '' Sweetener'' (2018), conceived in the midst of Grande ...
'' inspired her to continue making music.
Public image and recognitions
![CoronaCapFest19-76 (50078994132) (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/CoronaCapFest19-76_%2850078994132%29_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Eilish is the recipient of numerous awards, including seven
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
s, two
American Music Awards
The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Pro ...
, two
MTV Europe Music Awards
The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an a ...
, three
MTV Video Music Awards, an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
(Oscar), two
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
, one
Brit Award
The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...
, and three
Billboard Music Award
The ''Billboard'' Music Awards are honors given out annually by ''Billboard'', a publication covering the music business and a music popularity chart. The ''Billboard'' Music Awards show has been held annually since 1990, with the exception of t ...
s.
In 2019, ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' placed her on their inaugural "Time 100 Next" list. She is the youngest person, second person ever, and first female artist to win the four main Grammy categories—
Best New Artist
The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967. The official guidelines are as ...
,
Record of the Year
The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...
,
Song of the Year, and
Album of the Year—in the same year. In 2022, she became the first person born in the 21st century ever
to win an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
, receiving the award for
Best Original Song
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
for "
No Time to Die
''No Time to Die'' is a 2021 spy film and the twenty-fifth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, starring Daniel Craig in his fifth and final portrayal of fictional British MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by Cary ...
" from the
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
film
of the same name.
Style
Much of the media attention surrounding Eilish has revolved around her fashion style, which consists primarily of baggy, oversized clothing.
In 2017, she stated that she likes dressing out of her comfort zone to feel like she grabs the attention of everyone around her. She tries to be "really different from a lot of people" and dresses opposite to what others wear.
Aiming to "look memorable", Eilish said that she "proved to people that
he's
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
more important than they think" and likes being "kind of intimidating, so people will listen up."
In 2019, she stated: "Over time it's kind of become a thing, 'Billie Eilish, the creepy, weird, scary girl.' And I don't like that. It's lame. I just don't want to stay one thing."
In May 2019, Eilish appeared in a
Calvin Klein advertisement, where she mentioned that she dresses in baggy clothes to prevent people from judging her body. In a March 2020 live show in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
, as part of the Where Do We Go? Tour, she premiered ''
Not My Responsibility'', a short film which addresses her experiences of body shaming.
''Not My Responsibility'' was later uploaded to Eilish's YouTube channel in May 2020.
Eilish was on the cover of the June 2021 issue of ''
British Vogue
British ''Vogue'' is a British fashion magazine published based in London since autumn 1916. It is the British edition of the American magazine ''Vogue'' and is owned and distributed by Condé Montrose Nast. British ''Vogue'' editor in 2012 c ...
''. The photoshoot by
Craig McDean
Craig McDean (born 1964 in England) is a British fashion photographer, originally from Middlewich, now based in New York City.
Life
McDean originally trained and worked as a car mechanic before studying photography at Mid Cheshire College (OND ...
featured her dressed in
lingerie
Lingerie (, , ) is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments (mainly brassieres), sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fash ...
, specifically focused on
corsets
A corset is a support garment commonly worn to hold and train the torso into a desired shape, traditionally a smaller waist or larger bottom, for aesthetic or medical purposes (either for the duration of wearing it or with a more lasting effe ...
. Eilish made her first appearance at the
Met Gala
The Met Gala, or Met Ball, formally called the Costume Institute Gala or the Costume Institute Benefit, is an annual fundraising gala held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in New York City. It is popularly ...
in 2021, which had the theme "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion", wearing an
Oscar de la Renta
Óscar Arístides Renta Fiallo (22 July 1932 – 20 October 2014), known professionally as Oscar de la Renta, was a Dominican fashion designer. Born in Santo Domingo, he was trained by Cristóbal Balenciaga and Antonio del Castillo. De la Renta ...
gown under the condition that the fashion house would permanently end its use of real fur. Though the dress was inspired by the original
Barbie
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration. ...
doll, fashion critics observed its likeness to Golden Age star
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
, who also wore a tulle Oscar de la Renta gown in the early 1950s.
Products and endorsements
In April 2019, Eilish released clothing in collaboration with
Takashi Murakami
is a Japanese contemporary artist. He works in fine arts media (such as painting and sculpture) as well as commercial (such as fashion, merchandise, and animation) and is known for blurring the line between high and low arts as well as co ae ...
, inspired by her music video for "You Should See Me in a Crown", also directed and animated by Murakami, as well as a limited edition vinyl figure of herself from the video. Eilish also collaborated with
Adobe Creative Cloud
Adobe Creative Cloud is a set of applications and services from Adobe Inc. that gives subscribers access to a collection of software used for graphic design, video editing, web development, photography, along with a set of mobile applications an ...
the same month for a series of advertisements as well as a social media art contest, where users would submit artwork with the hashtag "#BILLIExADOBE".
Eilish appeared in the debut of Calvin Klein's #MyCalvins ad campaign in May 2019, as well as the
Ad Council
The Advertising Council, commonly known as the Ad Council, is an American nonprofit organization that produces, distributes, and promotes public service announcements on behalf of various sponsors, including nonprofit organizations, non-governme ...
's "Seize the Awkward" campaign, a series of
public service announcements
A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. In the UK, they are generally called a public information film (PIF); in Hong Kong, ...
targeting mental health awareness. She fronted
MCM Worldwide's fall 2019 advertising campaign in July 2019, and later that month, collaborated with
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
-based clothing brand Freak City for a clothing line. Also in July 2019, she performed at a dinner hosted by
Chanel on
Shelter Island to celebrate the brand's pop-up
yacht club
A yacht club is a sports club specifically related to yachting.
Description
Yacht clubs are mostly located by the sea, although there some that have been established at a lake or riverside locations. Yacht or sailing clubs have either a mar ...
.
In August 2019, Eilish partnered with
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
to allow
Apple Store
The Apple Store is a chain of retail stores owned and operated by Apple Inc. The stores sell various Apple products, including Mac personal computers, iPhone smartphones, iPad tablet computers, Apple Watch smartwatches, Apple TV digital me ...
customers to experiment with her song "
You Should See Me in a Crown" in Music Lab sessions in its stores. Eilish's collaboration with the clothing company Siberia Hills was met with controversy after it was revealed that the company had used plagiarized designs of
fan art
Fan art or fanart is artwork created by fans of a work of fiction and derived from a series character or other aspect of that work. They are usually done by amateur artists, semi-professionals or professionals. As fan labor, fan art refers t ...
of the character
Nozomi Tojo from ''
Love Live!
is a Japanese multimedia project created by Hajime Yatate and Sakurako Kimino and co-produced by Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa through ASCII Media Works; Bandai Namco Music Live through music label Lantis (company), Lantis; and animation studio ...
'', drawn by artist Makoto Kurokawa, for Eilish's clothing line. The brand later clarified that Eilish herself had no knowledge of the plagiarism.
In November 2021, Eilish debuted an eponymous perfume brand, named "Eilish", touted as vegan and cruelty-free.
Advocacy
Eilish has a history of political activism, publicly expressing her views on a multitude of political issues.
She has been vocal with regards to environmental causes, including
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
awareness. Among other pursuits, Eilish signed an open letter to world leaders urging them to take action against
climate-induced poverty, embarked on an ad campaign encouraging young people to use technology for
environmental advocacy, and hosted a six-day climate seminar in London titled Overheated to discuss topics such as
sustainable fashion
Sustainable fashion (also known as eco-fashion) is a term describing products, processes, activities, and actors (policymakers, brands, consumers) aiming to achieve a carbon-neutral fashion industry, built on equality, social justice, animal ...
and
youth activism
Youth activism is the participation in community organizing for social change by persons between the ages of 15–24. Youth activism has led to a shift in political participation and activism. A notable shift within youth activism is the rise of ...
. Her 2019 single "
All the Good Girls Go to Hell" centers around climate change and uses heaven-and-hell imagery to criticize ignorance about rising sea levels, and she permitted the non-profit CoralWatch to use "Ocean Eyes" as part of an online awareness campaign about Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Eilish was raised as a vegetarian, is a regular advocate on social media for
animal rights
Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their Utilitarianism, utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding s ...
and
veganism
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet (nutrition), diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is kn ...
, and has criticized the
dairy,
wool
Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. ...
, and
mink fur industries.
Eilish has spoken in multiple occasions about
women's rights
Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...
. A supporter of
body positivity, she wrote and produced the 2020 short film ''
Not My Responsibility'' as a response against
body shaming
Body shaming is the action or inaction of subjecting someone to humiliation and criticism for their bodily features. The scope of body shaming is wide, and can include, although is not limited to fat-shaming, shaming for thinness, small breasts, ...
towards her and the double standards placed upon women's appearances.
"
Your Power", one of her 2021 singles, criticizes the sexual exploitation of young women, primarily by men who hold power over them.
Eilish associates herself with the
US abortion rights movement; she expressed rage when Texas implemented
its anti-abortion laws in 2021. During the
2022 Glastonbury festival, she performed "Your Power" to condemn
the overturning of ''
Roe v. Wade
''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...
''. She spoke of the decision: "Today is a really, really dark day for women in the U.S. I'm just going to say that as I cannot bear to think about it any longer in this moment." She included a reference to ''Roe v. Wade'' overturning in her 2022 track "
TV", much of which she wrote after a draft of the court decision was leaked online in May.
In March 2020, Eilish encouraged fans online to register to vote for the 2020 US presidential election. In August 2020, she performed at the
2020 Democratic National Convention
The 2020 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention that was held from August 17 to 20, 2020, at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and virtually across the United States. At the convention, delegates of ...
and announced her endorsement of
Joe Biden's presidential campaign.
Personal life
Eilish previously lived with her parents in the
Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles until 2019, when she moved out.
She said in 2021 that she still spends many nights in her childhood bedroom to be close to her parents.
She stated she has
Tourette syndrome
Tourette syndrome or Tourette's syndrome (abbreviated as TS or Tourette's) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that begins in childhood or adolescence. It is characterized by multiple movement (motor) tics and at least one vocal (phonic) ...
,
synesthesia, and has experienced
depression. This included an incident where she had planned her own suicide, which she said that a friend, the late American rapper/singer
XXXTentacion
Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy (January 23, 1998 – June 18, 2018), known professionally as XXXTentacion, was an American rapper and singer-songwriter. Though a controversial figure due to his widely publicized legal troubles, XXXTentacion ga ...
, stopped her from going through with.
Eilish experienced sexual abuse when she was a child, and she has refused to disclose specific details about it.
It was traumatic and mortifying to a degree that she had never shared the whole story with anyone before: "I don't want to tell anyone, let alone the entire internet
..It's why a lot of women and men—but especially women—don't tell anyone when they're going through it."
Laura Snapes, interviewing her in 2021 for
British ''Vogue'', highlighted the sensitive nature of the topic: "the details are hers." Eilish initially paid no attention towards the age gap between her and the other person, but she realized the gravity of their relationship as she grew up and reflected. She called the situation "fucked up" and explained her naivete by saying "I used to not understand why age mattered. And, of course, you feel like that when you're young, because
..You feel like you're so mature and you know everything …"
She has described feeling embarrassment and self-loathing for falling victim to abuse, but she has coped with such thoughts by asserting that anyone can be vulnerable to exploitative power dynamics, even people who have a strong sense of self-worth, and especially minors whose brains have not fully developed.
Eilish dated rapper Brandon Adams, who goes by the stage name 7:AMP. They have since broken up. In late October 2022, it was reported that Eilish was dating fellow singer
Jesse Rutherford.
Discography
* ''
When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
''When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?'' (stylized in all caps) is the debut studio album by American singer and songwriter Billie Eilish. It was released on March 29, 2019, by Darkroom and Interscope Records in the US and Polydor Records ...
'' (2019)
* ''
Happier Than Ever
''Happier Than Ever'' is the second studio album by American singer Billie Eilish, released by Darkroom and Interscope Records on July 30, 2021. Eilish co-wrote the album with her brother and frequent collaborator Finneas O'Connell, who also ...
'' (2021)
Tours
Headlining
*
Don't Smile at Me Tour (2017)
*
Where's My Mind Tour (2018)
* 1 by 1 Tour (2018–2019)
*
When We All Fall Asleep Tour
The When We All Fall Asleep Tour was the fourth concert tour by American singer Billie Eilish, in support of her debut studio album '' When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?'' (2019). The tour began on April 13, 2019, in Indio, California at E ...
(2019)
*
Where Do We Go? World Tour
The Where Do We Go? World Tour was the fifth concert tour by American singer Billie Eilish, in support of her debut studio album ''When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?'' (2019). The tour commenced on March 9, 2020 in Miami, Florida at America ...
(2020)
*
Happier Than Ever, The World Tour (2022-2023)
Opening act
*
Florence and the Machine –
High as Hope Tour (2018–2019)
Filmography
Film
Television
See also
*
List of artists who reached number one in the United States
This is a list of recording artists who have reached number one on '' Billboard'' magazine's weekly singles chart(s). This list spans from the issue dated January 1, 1955 to the present. Prior to the creation of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, ''Bil ...
*
List of American Grammy Award winners and nominees
*
List of most-followed Instagram accounts
This article is a list of the top 50 accounts with most followers on the photo and video-sharing social platform Instagram. the most-followed person is Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo with over 520 million followers, and the most- ...
*
List of most-streamed artists on Spotify
This list contains the most-streamed artists on the audio streaming platform Spotify. As of , The Weeknd has the most monthly listeners on Spotify for a male artist, Ariana Grande has the most monthly listeners on Spotify for a female artist a ...
*
List of most-subscribed YouTube channels
A subscriber to a channel on the video-sharing YouTube is a user who has chosen to receive the channel's content by clicking on that channel's "Subscribe" button, and each user's subscription feed consists of videos published by channels to ...
*
List of vegans
Veganism involves following a vegan diet, which is a diet that includes no animal products of any kind. It can extend to ethical veganism which avoids or boycotts all products and activities whose production or undertaking is perceived to ...
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eilish, Billie
2001 births
Living people
21st-century American singers
21st-century American women singers
American child singers
American indie pop musicians
American people of Irish descent
American people of Scottish descent
American sopranos
American women in electronic music
American women pop singers
American women singer-songwriters
Art pop musicians
Best Original Song Academy Award-winning songwriters
Brit Award winners
California Democrats
Child pop musicians
Electropop musicians
Golden Globe Award-winning musicians
Grammy Award winners
Interscope Records artists
Juno Award for International Album of the Year winners
MTV Europe Music Award winners
NME Awards winners
Musicians from Los Angeles
People with Tourette syndrome
Singer-songwriters from California
Singers from Los Angeles
BBC 100 Women