Billie Eilish is one of the hottest artists of today and is taking control of music worldwide. The 18-year-old sensation has taken a different route on songwriting which expresses her struggles dealing with suicide, drug use, death, eating disorders and overall depression. Lots of people are saying that her music is almost glorifying these subjects to the point where parents are beginning to get concerned. The interesting part is that Billie is aware of the controversy she has created and is digging even deeper into the idea of depression. Her music videos show her bleeding from her eyes, praising death and many more dark concepts. Not only is she being attacked by concerned parents but also by the large LGBTQ+ community due to her recent song “wish you were gay”. She later tweets that she was not attacking the gay community and was trying to be as sensitive as possible without being offensive.
One of the articles I read stated, “Billie Eilish clearly hasn’t shied away from the topic of mental health — in fact, she’s truly worn her heart on her sleeve. While coming off as genuine with her emotions, she’s spoken out about being sad or depressed on multiple occasions.” This quote really backups my point about most of her music being based on darker thoughts.
Personally, I wasn’t a fan of Billie when she first started out. I had heard the song that made her famous, Ocean Eyes, and I liked it but I never thought it was anything special. However, my friends around me thought otherwise. Both males and females loved her music and loved her as a person. All I could think about was why would someone follow a person who only talks about death? Interestingly enough, my mindset started to change as I got to know her by watching interviews. I started to realize that she is coming from a raw place where she wants to make it okay to talk about feelings and to be open about how someone feels. I began to respect her more as an artist as well as a person. I began to listen to more of her music to try to interpret the messages behind the lyrics.
Today, Billie swept all the Golden Globe awards away from artist who have been around for much more time, like Ariana Grande. Billie even stated in one of her speeches that she didn’t deserve all of these awards, that she thinks Ariana should have won and that she only makes music to bring people together and make the world a happier place. I respected this a lot because it shows so much humanity in a place where it can be hard to find when you are in a world that usually strips it away instantly due to the never-ending praise and spotlight, especially for a teenager. Overall, this is only the beginning of Billie Eilish’s career and she has only just started to change the world to a more real place. I am very excited to see what’s next for this teen sensation
It is inspiring how such a young artist can pursue her dreams and become this successful - yet be so humble. It was shocking to find out how humble she was when she won the Golden Globe over Ariana Grande! Billie Eilish clearly hasn’t shied away from the topic of mental health. Her music is very unique and emotional which is something that has caught the attention of a large audience. Coming off as genuine with her emotions, her music is something that many young individuals can relate to. I am also very excited to see what Billie Eilish will do next with her talent! She inspires such creativity and her music shows young talent arising from the entertainment industry.
Isabela,
It's so interesting to read and hear about young female creatives taking the industry by storm. I really like Billie Eilish's music and her brand. I think her message is so important, and she's authentically herself while also being a really prominent figure for young people suffering from mental illness.
Like yourself, I'm also very excited to see what Eilish does next. I think she's going to change the conversation surrounding young people and mental disorders and I think it's so important to have people like her in the creative industries.