–– BILLIE EILISH –– THE NEW LORDE YOUR FRIENDS HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT

*pre-warning: this interview focused on the artist's significance to her community. This meant less on her music in relation to her community, as her music is based on personal issues not yet revealed to the public. 

Since Billie Eilish’s release of her debut, “Ocean Eyes” in November 2015, the 13-year-old has taken the world in a tidal wave. Now 16 years old, she has just released her fourth single, “Bellyache.” Written with her older brother (19-year-old Finneas O’Connell) in Los Angeles, the new album evokes the moody blues of Lorde, yet still incorporating a trap-like beat to make listeners dance. Today I sat down with her to discuss all things Eilish, and even discussing how the singer is handling her newfound fame. 

The beginning of the interview included basic questions, like "how it all started?". On the other hand, as the interview went on, Billie told us that her “real practice only happened when [she] started becoming addicted to singing all the time”. The singer went on to explain how “people would tell [her] to shush”. Today, her songs have struck a chord with an audience not just her age but much older as it has racked up more than 2,000,000 streams on Spotify. However, in the famous words of Lucy Maud Montgomery, "We pay a price for everything."

You started when you were very young, am I correct?

“Yeah, I was 12 years old. I had this need to put my feelings into a melody. I wrote music because I had a lot on my mind, and I feel like I didn’t have the right words to say; when I wanted to describe it, it sounded…wrong. Maybe it was because I was homeschooled [laughs]. My brother though, he’s amazing at writing. He’s really, I guess, inspiring to me? I don’t want to give him too much credit [laughs].”

Was there a defining moment where you decided to write music with him?

“I get asked this a lot because most people NEVER want to work with their siblings. But when I was a kid you now, two years ago I said, “Hey, we both write songs, and we live three feet away from each other, let’s write with each other!” [giggles]. And that’s how it started, I guess.””

I know this is a cliché question, but what’s your creative process? You seem like a pretty fun person [gestures to Eilish’s clothing]

“Yes [laughs], I’ve always dressed wonky. When I was a kid –I still am kid– but when I was younger I used to mix so many different outfits–I was a mess [laughs again]. But really, we just start from scratch. And, I don’t want to sound like one of those artists, but we just start playing some chords and write stuff down when it vibes well with us. Improvising is great because everything could be right. If what you’re asking is whether I take the traditional route of creating songs, then no I don’t like the [tries to think of the right word] formality of it. Cause, my parents always taught me about philosophy. And, if songs are about emotion, then it should imitate emotion by being unpredictable and uncoordinated. Finneas and I are figuring our feelings out when we write songs.”

Do people ever compare you to Lorde?

“God, I hate that question.” 

Oh, sorry. 

“No, it’s just that she was also a teenage singer. I think she was 15 or 16 or something, and I’m turning 16 this year. I don’t know; I guess I just don’t like being categorized into the “child celebrity” community, because I don’t want to burn bright and blow out fast like…Macauley Culkin [laughs]. Of course, I write music for the love of doing that, not for the fame. It’s never even been in my thought process. But when someone talks about me, it’s me. I’m really tired of people writing on my social media that “[Billie] won’t last” or “new generation trash” just because I’ve had the opportunity to make it at a young age. I just want to be Billie, you know?””

That’s understandable, but a lot of fans have notice that “Bellyache” is much darker than “Ocean Waves”. Is there a story behind this song?

“I wish there was. But, I wrote the song years ago in the garage with my brother and his two friends. He just started singing about bubble gum and having your friends at the back. And then I suddenly added in that it was “their bodies,” and the two of them looked at me like I was a psycho [laughs]. The character isn’t me, but it is in some way because it's about doing something and not knowing really why. The song really speaks to people who make mistakes, and [the song] tells them that it’s okay because we all do.”

A lot of people have been saying that “Billie Eilish writes songs about hardship to stay relevant.” What do you have to say to that?

“My friends have actually told me before that I’m like a mix between Lana Del Rey and Melanie Martinez. But my music is for me, and it’s great that other people can take their own point of view on my music. Listen, I write my songs because they are my way of expressing what goes on in my head, and I don’t do it to stay relevant like Del Rey and Martinez. I’m here to create my own label. Just because I’m 15 doesn’t mean I have to piggy-back or something on other artists. Maybe that’s what Bellyache is about, actually. You know, I sing “Sittin’ all alone, mouth full of gum, in the driveway, my friends aren’t far, in the back of my car, lay their bodies. Where’s my mind?” And if people want to interpret that as sad, then they can. But I wrote it, as I said, to tell people that half the time I don’t know what I’m doing. That’s probably why people think I won’t last like those other angsty teens [laughs]. I haven’t figured myself out, but I say, wear, and do what I want. I don’t have any theme, or something crazy specific like that. That’s me, bro.”

Since we’re on the topic of your career, are there any plans for the future?

“I’m a very present person, who likes to get deep sometimes because, like everyone, I’ve had my issues. I’ve learned that I talk a lot, but don’t really say anything. And writing music is a way to just go for it instead of thinking too hard about it. Then again, I don’t want to be completely blind about my future. I know that being 15, I’m at a very high risk of disappearing if I don’t really work hard. This is a difficult industry.”

Sitting down with Billie Eilish was an informative interview, and certainly revealed a side of the singer that many have not seen. As Eilish describes her new life and the struggles of being a young artist in an adult-dominated industry, it is clear that the singer does not have any apparent goals in her life and is content with her life decisions. Hopefully, for Billie’s sake as well as her fans, her flame in the world will not burn out as soon as the many that have come before her.  

–Alex Lévesque (UpdateNow journalist)