Billie Eilish

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American singer and songwriter

Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell[4] (; born December 18, 2001) is an American singer and songwriter. She gained a following in 2016 when she released her debut single "Ocean Eyes" on audio distribution platform SoundCloud. She caught the attention of record labels Darkroom and Interscope Records, and subsequently rereleased "Ocean Eyes".

Her debut EP, Don't Smile at Me (2017), reached the top 15 in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, and spawned the single "Bellyache". Eilish also collaborated with American singer Khalid for the single "Lovely", which was released in April 2018 and added to the soundtrack for the second season of 13 Reasons Why.[5] Her debut studio album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? (2019) debuted atop the Billboard 200 and reached number one in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. The album featured four US top-40 singles: "When the Party's Over", "Bury a Friend", "Wish You Were Gay", and "Bad Guy".

Through the RIAA, Eilish has seven gold and two platinum singles.[6] Eilish and her musician brother Finneas collaborate on her music.

Early life

O'Connell was born in Los Angeles, California, on December 18, 2001.[7] She is the daughter of Maggie Baird and Patrick O'Connell, both of whom are in the entertainment industry.[8][9][10] Eilish is of Irish and Scottish descent.[11] She was raised in Los Angeles' Highland Park.[7][12][13] She was homeschooled and joined the Los Angeles Children's Chorus at age eight.[14] Eilish began singing at a young age and began writing songs at age 11, taking after her elder brother Finneas O'Connell, who was already writing, performing and producing his own songs with his band.[14] Eilish is the Irish Gaelic variant of the name Elizabeth.[15]

Career

2015–2017: Don't Smile at Me

Main article: Don't Smile at Me

In October 2015, Eilish recorded the song "Ocean Eyes", initially written by Finneas for his band, and sent it to her dance teacher, who helped choreograph a dance to it.[14][16] "Ocean Eyes" was released as Eilish's debut single on SoundCloud in 2016. A music video was released in March 2016, and a video of Eilish performing a dance to the song was released in November 2016. The song was certified platinum by the RIAA [17] and peaked at number 84 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May 2019. That year, Eilish also released the single "Six Feet Under".[14] "Ocean Eyes" was re-released worldwide through Darkroom and Interscope Records on November 18, 2016. On January 14, 2017, Eilish released an EP with four remixes of "Ocean Eyes".[18]

Following the success of the "Ocean Eyes" remixes, Eilish released the single "Bellyache" on February 24, 2017.[19], with a video released in March 2017. Later that March, Eilish released the track "Bored" as part of the soundtrack to the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why.[20] In June 2017, Eilish released the single "Watch"[21] with a follow-up single, "Copycat" released in July 2017, along with the announcement of her debut EP, Don't Smile at Me.[22] Each Friday in July, Eilish would add another single to the EP. These singles included "Idontwannabeyouanymore" and "My Boy", both of which were certified gold by the RIAA. Don't Smile at Me was released in August 2017.[23] After the release, Eilish collaborated with American rapper Vince Staples for a remix of "Watch" titled "&Burn", which was later included on a rerelease of the EP. Following the EP's commercial success, Apple Music named Eilish an Up Next artist in September 2017.[24]

2018–present: When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?

Main article: When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?

In February 2018, Eilish embarked on the Where's My Mind Tour, which concluded in April 2018.[25] For Record Store Day 2018, Eilish released a 7" vinyl featuring an acoustic version of her song "Party Favor" and an acoustic cover of Drake's "Hotline Bling".[26] Eilish collaborated with American singer Khalid for the single "Lovely", which was released in April 2018 and added to the soundtrack for the second season of 13 Reasons Why.[5] She also released the singles "Bitches Broken Hearts" and "You Should See Me in a Crown",[27] In July 2018, Eilish performed at the Mo Pop Festival.[28] In October 2018, Eilish released the single "When the Party's Over",[29] and signed a modeling contract with Next Models.[30] She was placed on the 2018 Forbes 30 Under 30 list in November of that year,[31][32] and released the single "Come Out and Play", written for a holiday-themed Apple commercial.[33]

In January 2019, Eilish released "Bury a Friend" as the third single from her debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?,[34][35] as well as "When I Was Older", a single inspired by the 2018 film Roma, which appeared on the compilation album Music Inspired by the Film Roma.[36][37] "Bury a Friend" peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. Her fourth single from the album, "Wish You Were Gay", was released in March 2019,[38] and debuted and peaked at number 31 in the US.

When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? was released on March 29, 2019.[39] The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 as well as on the UK Albums Chart, 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.[40][41] 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.[42] The fifth single from the album, "Bad Guy", was released in conjuction with the album, and peaked at number two in the US, making it her highest-charting single to date.[43]

Artistry

Avery Stone of Noisey described Eilish's soprano vocals as "ethereal",[44] and Maura Johnston of Rolling Stone characterized them as "whispery".[45] Doreen St. Félix of The New Yorker opined that she has a "husky, slurring voice that she can thin out to reedy".[46]

Eilish and her brother Finneas collaborate on songwriting.[47][48] Eilish called Finneas her partner in making music.[47] He produces her music and also performs with her on live shows.[49][47] Eilish and Finneas "like to completely make up things and become characters" and "have songs that are really fictional".[48] Eilish said a number of the songs also derive from her and Finneas' experiences: "A lot of the time we go through the same stuff, so it's a mixture of what he's going through and what I'm going through. It's kind of half and half: a lot of them are fictional and a lot of them are not."[48] They try to write "what everyone is thinking, but no one says" and to be "really interesting with the lyrics and really conversational": "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."[48]

Finneas has stated when he writes songs for his sister, he aims to "write [songs] that I think she'll relate to and enjoy singing and empathise with the lyrics and make her own".[50] 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.[50]

Eilish has cited Lana Del Rey as a major influence on her music.[47] Eilish primarily listens to hip hop and R&B. A big fan of rap music, she admires and wants to collaborate with rappers such as Tyler, the Creator, Earl Sweatshirt, ASAP Rocky, and singer Miguel.[48] She grew up listening to the Beatles, Green Day, Avril Lavigne, and Justin Bieber.[48][51]

Public image

Eilish is often noted for her clothing style, which consists primarily of baggy, ill-fitting clothing. She said that Tyler, the Creator influenced her aesthetic.[52] In 2017, Eilish said that she likes dressing out of her comfort zone to feel like she grabs the attention of everyone around her.[53] In 2019, Eilish appeared in a Calvin Klein ad, wherein she stated that she dresses the way she does in order to prevent people from body shaming her.[54] On her image, Eilish stated:

I'm really different from a lot of people, and I kind of try to be. I don't like to follow the rules at all. [...] If somebody starts wearing something a certain way, I'll wear the complete opposite of that. [...] I'm super, super out there. [...] I like to be remembered, so I like to look memorable. I think I've proved to people that I'm more important than they think. [...] I'm kind of intimidating, so people will listen up. I'm kind of scary. A lot of people are just terrified of me. I have a resting bitch face.[48]

Products and endorsements

In April 2019, Eilish released merchandise in collaboration with Takashi Murakami,[55][56] 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.[57] Eilish appeared in the debut of Calvin Klein's "I Speak My Truth In #MyCalvins" ad campaign in May 2019,[58][59] as well as the Ad Council's "Seize the Awkward" campaign, a series of PSAs targeting mental health awareness.[60][61]