Billie Eilish

American singer-songwriter (born 2001)

Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell[1][2] (/ˈˌlɪʃ/ AHY-lish; born December 18, 2001)[3] is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She is currently signed to Interscope Records.

Billie Eilish
Image of Billie Eilish with long black hair and red roots, wearing silver glasses and black clothes
Billie Eilish in 2023
Born
Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell

(2001-12-18) December 18, 2001 (age 22)
NationalityAmerican
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • actress
Years active2015-present
Height161 cm (5 ft 3 in)
Parents
RelativesFinneas O'Connell (brother)
AwardsFull list
Musical career
Genres
InstrumentsVocals
Labels
Websitebillieeilish.com

Career

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On November 18, 2015, Eilish released the song "Ocean Eyes". The track was written, mixed and produced by her brother Finneas. She released her first EP, don't smile at me, in 2017.[4]

Her debut album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, was released on March 29, 2019. It features the songs "Bury a Friend", "You Should See Me in a Crown", "When the Party's Over", "Wish You Were Gay", and her first number-one hit, "Bad Guy". The album reached number one in the UK, making her the youngest woman to top the UK Albums Chart.[5]

In February 2020, Eilish released her single "No Time to Die", the official James Bond theme for the movie of the same name. Seventeen years old at the time of recording, Eilish is the youngest artist to have recorded a James Bond theme in the history of the franchise.[6][7] For this, she won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2022.

Her second studio album, Happier Than Ever, was released July 30, 2021.[8]

On July 13, 2023, she released the song "What Was I Made For?" for the soundtrack of the movie Barbie. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 96th Academy Awards, making her the youngest person to win two Academy Awards.[9]

Music style

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Eilish's musical style has been compared to New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde and American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey.[10]

Her songs are considered dark. She suffered with depression and suicidal thoughts at age 11 and expresses her depression through her music. She has been accused of romanticizing death and mental illness.

Artistry

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Eilish has a three octave soubrette soprano vocal range. She has a soft, light, and airy voice that has become synonymous with an entire style of singing. As Eilish has risen to incredible career heights, she has likewise inspired many aspiring musicians and singers to mimic her artistry. She is well-known for her sensitive and emotive deliveries on songs like “When The Party’s Over,” she has also committed to colorful character deliveries like on her signature hit “Bad Guy.” While she has come under criticism for her “whispery” vocals, Eilish demonstrates considerable control of her instrument.

When Eilish sings low notes below G3 at a soft volume, she drop her breath support to phonate, but when singing at a louder or medium volume, she can carry a fuller tone down to E3. This shows that she has the capability to sing with “better” technique, she may purposefully opt not to in order to further her emotional deliveries.

This raises the point that as Eilish often sings at very soft volumes, it has led some to take digs at her vocals for being simply “whispers”, with a converse preference for louder vocalists. She proves, however, that singing softly can be every bit as valuable as singing loudly, as she demonstrates not only exceptional phrasing and musicianship in these passages but also great technical control to articulate words and phrases with the sound rarely cutting out. Even when exceptionally soft, she can relax her body enough to allow her natural, wispy vibrato to shine through.

Personal life

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Eilish has an older brother, Finneas, who works with her on her musical projects. She was part of the Los Angeles Children's Chorus and was home-schooled with her brother.[2] Her mother is actress Maggie Baird. Eilish has Tourette syndrome.[11] She also has synesthesia.[12] Eilish has also been through depression.[13]

Eilish is bisexual.[14][15]

Discography

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Headlining

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Opening act

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Filmography

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Film
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2020 Not My Responsibility Herself Short film; also writer and producer [24]
Coachella: 20 Years in the Desert Documentary [25]
2021 Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry Documentary [26]
Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles Concert film [27]
2022 When Billie Met Lisa Voice; short film [28]
Television
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2019 Saturday Night Live Herself Episode: "Woody Harrelson/Billie Eilish" [29]
2020 Justin Bieber: Seasons Episode: "The Finale" [30]
2021 Saturday Night Live Episode: "Billie Eilish" [31]
2022 Sesame Street Episode: "Elmo's Number Adventure" [32]
2023 Swarm Eva Episode: "Running Scared" [33]
Saturday Night Live Herself Episode: "Kate McKinnon/Billie Eilish" [34]
2024 CBeebies Bedtime Stories Episode: "Billie Eilish - This Moose Belongs to Me" [35]
Saturday Night Live Episode: "Michael Keaton/Billie Eilish" [36]

Awards

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Grammy Awards

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Eilish became the youngest artist to win all four of the major categories (the “Big Four” – Album, Record, and Song of the Year, and Best New Artist) at the Grammy Awards in 2020.[37] She has won five awards from six nominations.[38]

Year Award Ceremony Work Category Result
2020 62nd Annual Grammy Awards Herself Best New Artist Won
Bad Guy Song of the Year Won
Record of the Year Won
Best Pop Solo Performance Nominated
When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? Album of the Year Won
Best Pop Vocal Album Won

References

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  1. Savage, Mark (2017-07-15). "Is Billie Eilish pop's best new hope?". Retrieved 2019-04-07.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Who's Billie Eilish?". The FADER. Retrieved 2019-04-07. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":0" defined multiple times with different content
  3. "UPI Almanac for Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2018". UPI. Retrieved 2019-04-07.
  4. "Billie Eilish". SoundCloud. Retrieved 2019-04-07.
  5. McIntyre, Hugh. "Billie Eilish Makes History As The Youngest Female Solo Artist To Score A No. 1 U.K. Album". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-04-07.
  6. Goodman, Jessica (February 6, 2020). "Oscars 2020: Billie Eilish to have "special performance" at the Academy Awards". KNXV-TV. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  7. Snapes, Laura (January 14, 2020). "James Bond: Billie Eilish to provide No Time to Die theme". The Guardian. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  8. Happier Than Ever by Billie Eilish, retrieved 2021-08-08
  9. "Billie Eilish becomes youngest person to win 2 Oscars". ABC News. March 11, 2024. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  10. Bassil, Ryan; Staff, Noisey UK (2019-04-04). "Billie Eilish and the Rise of Moody Pop". Noisey. Retrieved 2019-04-07.
  11. Respers France, Lisa (May 23, 2022). "Billie Eilish finds having Tourette's syndrome 'exhausting'". CNN. Archived from the original on July 23, 2023. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  12. Nattress, Katrina (May 29, 2019). "Billie Eilish Explains How Synesthesia Affects Her Music". iHeartRadio. Archived from the original on November 8, 2019. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  13. Trendell, Andrew (December 9, 2021). "Billie Eilish on overcoming depression: "It's the most freeing feeling to be able to come out of that shell"". NME. Archived from the original on July 21, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  14. Stephan, Katcy (November 13, 2023). "Billie Eilish Was Made for This: 'Being a Woman Is Just Such a War, Forever'". Variety. Archived from the original on November 13, 2023. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  15. Fears, Danika (December 4, 2023). "Billie Eilish Accuses Variety of 'Outing' Her on Red Carpet". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on December 12, 2023. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  16. Cirisano, Tatiana (July 14, 2017). "15-Year-Old Pop Prodigy Billie Eilish Announces Debut EP & First-Ever Tour". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  17. "Billie Eilish Announces 2018 Tour Dates". BroadwayWorld. November 27, 2017. Archived from the original on October 1, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  18. Reed, Ryan (July 23, 2018). "Billie Eilish Plots North American Tour". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 25, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  19. @billieeilish (February 4, 2019). "see you soon I love you 5/29 – san francisco, ca – bill graham civic auditorium 5/31 – portland, or – theater of the clouds 6/1 – vancouver, bc – pne forum 6/2 – redmond, wa – marymoor park 6/4 – salt lake city, ut – the complex 6/5 – morrison, co – red rocks amphitheatre 6/7 – kansas city, mo – arvest bank theatre 6/8 – minneapolis, mn – the armory 6/9 – chicago, il – aragon ballroom 6/11 – toronto, on – rbc echo beach 6/12 – laval, qc – place bell 6/14 – boston, ma – rockland trust bank pavilion 6/15 – philadelphia, pa – the met philadelphia 6/19 – new york, ny – radio city music hall 6/20 – washington, dc – the anthem 6/21 – nashvillie, tn – ascend ampitheatre 6/23 – atlanta, ga – coca-cola roxy 7/11 – los angeles, ca – the greek theatre 7/13 – san diego, ca – calcoast credit union open air theatre". Retrieved April 18, 2019 – via Instagram.
  20. Nattress, Katrina (February 4, 2019). "Billie Eilish Adds More 2019 North American Tour Dates". iHeartRadio. Archived from the original on April 18, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  21. Spanos, Brittany (February 4, 2022). "Opening Night of the First Billie Eilish Tour in Two Years Was Everything Fans Hoped For (Plus Rain)". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 4, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  22. Harrison, Scoop (April 29, 2024). "Billie Eilish Announces "Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour"". Consequence. Consequence Media. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  23. Hertweck, Nate (May 29, 2018). "Florence + The Machine Announce High As Hope Tour Coming This Fall". Grammy. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  24. Langford, Jackson (May 27, 2020). "Billie Eilish tackles body-shaming and releases powerful short film 'Not My Responsibility'". NME. Archived from the original on October 15, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  25. Haring, Bruce (April 10, 2020). "'Coachella: 20 Years In The Desert' Documentary Bows Via YouTube Originals On Former Opening Day". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  26. D'Alessandro, Anthony (September 28, 2020). "'Billie Eilish: The World's A Little Blurry' Documentary Hitting Theaters & AppleTV+ This February". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 3, 2020. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  27. Kocan, Liz (September 3, 2021). "Billie Eilish's New Concert Starts Streaming on Disney+ Today—Here's How to Watch". USA Today. Archived from the original on September 12, 2021. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  28. Garcia, Thania (April 14, 2022). "Billie Eilish Joins the Simpsons in 'When Billie Met Lisa' Short For Disney Plus". Variety. Archived from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  29. Hoglund, Andy (September 28, 2019). "Saturday Night Live recap: Woody Harrelson and Billie Eilish kick off season 45". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 30, 2019. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  30. Weatherby, Taylor (February 25, 2020). "Billie Eilish Is In Justin Bieber's 'Seasons' Finale: Watch". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 29, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  31. Carras, Christi (December 13, 2021). "Billie Eilish lives out her acting dreams as host and musical guest of 'SNL'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  32. Song, Katie (November 9, 2021). "Billie Eilish Sings 'Happier Than Ever' With the Count on 'Sesame Street'". Variety. Archived from the original on July 16, 2022. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  33. Lambe, Stacy (March 15, 2023). "Billie Eilish Makes Surprise Acting Debut in Donald Glover's 'Swarm' Series". Entertainment Tonight. Archived from the original on March 16, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  34. Ausiello, Michael (November 29, 2023). "SNL Vet Kate McKinnon to Make Hosting Debut in December; Adam Driver Sets Fourth Emcee Stint". TVLine. Archived from the original on December 3, 2023. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  35. Keenan, Rachel (2024-07-15). "Billie Eilish latest star to read CBeebies bedtime story". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
  36. "Michael Keaton hosts 'Saturday Night Live,' Billie Eilish performs". The Boston Globe. October 20, 2024. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  37. Grein, Paul (November 20, 2019). "Grammy Awards: All the Artists Who've Been Nominated in the Big 4 Categories in the Same Year". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 20, 2019. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  38. Kornhaber, Spencer (2020-01-27). "How Pop's Biggest Weirdo Swept the Grammys". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2020-01-28.