Billie Eilish is the first artist born this century to hit number one in the Billboard
charts. From signing a record deal at 14, she's gone on to become an era-defining star.
Along the way, she's picked up seven Grammys, two Brits,
become the youngest star to headline Coachella and Glastonbury and won an Oscar.
She's grown up online in the public gaze, connecting her to a global digital generation.
Performing to sell-out arenas with her songwriter brother FINNEAS,
Billie's also joined by her environmentalist parents on tour.
She's also got over 100 million followers across social media,
making her one of the most influential young stars of her generation. And this
is the final night of her world tour, and I've come to have a chat with her.
Billie Eilish, welcome to BBC 100 Women, thank you so much for doing this.
Thank you for having me. How are you doing? I'm doing very well. So I'm gonna read you a
couple of descriptions of you in the press. Okay, go for it.
An icon. The hope for pop music's future. A weird but important feminist.
What does that even mean? How would you describe yourself?
Oh my God, I have no idea. I don't know. I feel like I might have known how to answer
that question like, couple years ago. I don't know anymore. Because I don't look at myself
in that way, I don't look at myself like I'm something to explain. You know what I
mean? I just exist. I'm just a person. I'm just existing and doing my part in life.
You said a couple of years ago that you don't think there are many headlining opportunities
for women. And then look at you, the youngest person to headline Glastonbury. What do you think
has changed for women in that time? Or has anything changed?
I think a lot has changed. I think like, we're in such a, I mean, I'm just in awe of the time we're
in right now, because of - women are just like at the top right now. I mean, top of all the charts,
it's women, women, women, I mean, it's like the most incredible thing for me to see. Because it's
just not been that way, you know? To see festival ad mats come out and it's like so many women on
them now. There was a specific period of time where I was just like, in this, like pit of just
like hopelessness about myself, because I didn't have much to look up to in terms of girls like me
being looked at taken seriously in that regard. Everything - completely male-dominated.
Not even a question. I mean, everything is still that way but it's better. I remember,
just like crying in my bed because I was, I was thinking about the kind of show that I
would want to put on. And I would just feel so like, hopeless, because I was like, I'm a girl.
And so I'm never, I'm never gonna be able to have a show like that. I'm never going to be able to
just be, you know, free up there and wild and like, not, you know, not have this and this
going on, and like, you know, perform in this way and be more physical and be more,
be more about the performance and less about the little, little things. And I just,
I just felt like that would never happen, because it hadn't really happened.
Just behind those windows, we've got people camped out, they were here last night when we popped in.
They were having so much fun, listening to your music, getting to know each other
and stuff. Do you feel the kind of pressure of being that role model for so many young
women now with this huge platform that you have? No, I don't feel pressure. I feel so stoked about
it. I feel so excited about it. And I don't even feel like, oh, I'm a role model. I just feel like,
I just feel like I'm truly in love with them. In love with them. And it's like you don't even -
when you're in love with someone, you don't think about how you might be affecting them
because they're affecting you so much. And that's kind of how I feel about them. I'm like,
I've just like over time with different experiences and relationships. I've just
been like, felt more and more committed to them. You know what I mean? It's like,
I feel like I'm like in a relationship with them. So any friendship or relationship,
romantic, whatever. They're like, one of the first things I say I'm like, just so you know,
you're getting me but you're also getting them. Do say that to boyfriends too?
Just FYI, they come first. Just so you know, if you want to get with me,
you gotta get with my fans. Four days. We've been here
since Tuesday night, And for this tour we've camped over 300 hours, close to 400 hours.
This is for You Should See Me In A Crown. And then I've got her playing cards on my forearms,
which are the Joker and the King. And then I've got a devil and an
angel. For All the Good Girls Go to Hell. I can't even explain it. She's just meant
so much to me since the beginning, since she was so young. The way that she is so open
about our emotions and like lets everybody else feel like it's okay to feel that way.
Like she’s unique, and it's very different. Like she doesn't speak about love songs as much.
She speaks more about personal issues that are really interesting.
Body image, environment, things like that. Yeah. just like everything,
pretty much everything that matters. Growing up in the public eye is a very
bruising experience. And it's really hard to develop and change,
for a lot of reasons. And so it was, it was hard for me and I just didn't really know what to do.
And so I was just grasping at straws and like, yeah, just like things. Things were, I just didn't
know what I was doing. I mean, I just had such severe imposter syndrome. I've had that so many
times in my life, and really just like, some parts of last year and the year before, just like -
was just in a downward spiral of imposter syndrome and just grasping it, whatever I could to make me
feel like myself again. But I didn't know. When you say imposter syndrome, you mean
feeling that you don't deserve the success? More just like, when you see yourself in the
public eye, especially me, I'm an internet kid. Like, I saw everybody else in the public eye and
then suddenly, it's me. And I'm like, I'm on the internet just as much as anybody else is.
But then it's like, oh, I'm part of the discussion now, instead of just in the comments,
which is a very strange thing. And when you see yourself and your name everywhere, it's really
hard to know who the hell you are. And also, what you like, and don't like, because you kind of,
especially because I got known as a thing. When I was 15, mainly, that was when it kind of started
really, even though I started at 13, like 15 was when people decided that that was who I was.
So it's really hard to change and grow and grow up and mature and like, become a human
when people decided that you were one thing, because then they think about you they think that
that's you forever, I mean it absolutely drives me insane that you can look up Billie Eilish and
videos that come up are things I said when I was 15! Like almost nothing I said before,
two months ago, I still believe so it's like,
it's a trip. One thing you did say though, was
like when you think about your identity, you like sort of amalgamating masculine and feminine. Do
you do you think about yourself like that still? Yeah, I mean, I feel the most powerful when
I feel masculine in my life, and I also can find power in femininity. It's kind
of a balance of both, but I - What do you mean by masculine?
I don’t know. I've like depending on how I walk and stand and my clothes, and
my face and my jewelry and my fingers and my like, just everything that I am day to day, like I feel
more masculine than feminine, it just makes me feel better.
Which I struggled with for a long time because I wanted to feel feminine and like it but I just
didn't really and so. But then it's like finding moments where you can have that
and it feels good still, you know, like right now I'm wearing a tighter shirt and I'm wearing
a more low-cut shirt and like, you know, the older me would have been like, oh, please
don't but I like it, it makes me feel good now, and it's just the balance of the two, you know.
In your Apple documentary, there was a lovely moment in where Katy Perry pulls you to the
side. And she says, you know, if you ever need someone to have a chat with, just give
me a call because it’s about to get crazy in the next few years. Have you taken her up on that?
No, I never called her, I should call her up. I mean, but it's so funny thinking about that now,
because at the time, I just didn't believe her, like, I just didn't know. Well,
I just didn't think it would keep going. You know, I mean, I think that it's really hard
to see your future like that, you know, when your future is so kind of in the hands of not just you.
Because I would hear that a lot. And not only is it hard to believe, but it's hard to
process, you know, and like, know what the hell to do at all. And when somebody says, like, you know,
it's about to get crazy. I couldn't imagine it being crazier. And also, I was just like, it you
just can't possibly imagine. It's like, you know, trying to explain a colour that doesn't exist. You
just you don't know, you don't know. So my final question is, you know,
this theme for this year's 100 Women is progress. As a woman in music, has there been progress?
I think so. I think there's been a lot of progress. I feel,
you know, I was excited with the idea of this being about progress, because
I feel that there has been a lot and there's been a lot of
back-peddling. Also, you know, with more like the world and the laws and all of that, but -
Laws like Roe V Wade? Yeah. You know, we're going
back in time in certain areas, which makes me want to throw up, but I do, I do think there has been a
lot of progress. And again, the way that women have been just like, absolutely towering over
everyone in this industry right now is so exciting to me. And it just makes me feel really, really
hopeful and inspired. And, and it's not only women doing one thing, it's women doing all kinds of
different things, and looking different and acting different and having different styles. Just like I
just love it so much. There's such a range right now. And it's so nice to see. And it's just so
it's just refreshing. I don't know, it's new. It's never been like that. And it's just really,
it's exciting. And it's really cool to be a part of it.
So feel hopeful. I'm hopeful.