Eyes on Eilish
Photo via Wikimedia Commons (AgWoolridge) under Creative Commons license
Billie Eilish performs at the Hi Hat in Los Angeles.. Eilish, a popular electropop artist, is on the rise to becoming a star at only age 16.
December 5, 2018
Billie Eilish may only be a 16-year-old, but this young electropop artist is not to be overlooked. After her debut single “Ocean Eyes” was produced when Eilish was just 13, her career completely skyrocketed into stardom.
Eilish is a singer, songwriter, and dancer who writes almost all her songs alongside her brother Finneas O’Connell, a successful singer-songwriter in his own right. After the recording of her first song in 2015, which was originally intended for her brother’s band, her career took off, and Eilish gained a massive following of fans over the next three years.
Eilish produces a sort of melancholy and soothing sound no one has heard before. Although she is yet to release an album, she has an EP and many singles, four of which have reached platinum in the U.S. She also has many remixes featuring huge artists like Blackbear, and a single “Lovely” featuring the rap star Khalid.
Her most recent single, “Come Out and Play,” which was released on Nov. 20, is completely different from her normal music. Instead of using the powerful voice Eilish has, the song’s vocals are more of a whisper the whole time. She pours a lot of emotion into all of her songs, but this one is more of light-hearted tune.
Billie Eilish represents the 21st century way music is written as well as performed. She is writing songs with lyrics that tell a story and is making abstract-style music videos.
— staff writer Kathleen Stephens
Her more powerful songs to make listeners feel more emotional would be “you should see me in a crown,” “bellyache,” and “copycat.” “Bellyache” utilizes Eilish’s power to draw out emotion in the listener. The lyrics used in this song are so incredibly messed up. It is flat out about murder, and how she killed all her friends for money. This song is a prime example of how Eilish uses her music to portray a character.
A pattern that continually comes up in her music is how many songs will flow with each other, such as “copycat” and “idontwanttobeyouanymore,” or “When the party’s over” and “party favor.” “Copycat” is about someone doing the exact same things that Eilish does, but “idontwanttobeyouanymore” is more about how other people want to be her when she doesn’t even want to be herself. This particular song is unbelievably sad — she just goes off on a tangent about how much she hates herself and how she looks in the mirror and completely hates what she sees.
“When the party’s over” was about her telling someone how they need to stop calling because she is trying to protect them from herself. She continually says in the song how she will hurt them and it’s not the time. She is trying not to break the callers’ hearts but she needs to. “Party favor” is somewhat the opposite. She calls someone to break up with them and completely say its over and they shouldn’t call back.
Billie Eilish represents the 21st century way music is written as well as performed. She is writing songs with lyrics that tell a story and is making abstract-style music videos. Although she is only 16, if her career continues its success Eilish will be one of the biggest singers of our time. Her more unique style and crazier things she does, such as her occasional darker, twisted lyrics, will contribute to her success amongst a modern audience.
