Hello everyone!
It’s Samantha!
From her controversial lyrics to her fearlessness on the sets of music videos, this is the truth
about Billie Eilish’s life!
16.
Captain Billie
This one-of-a-kind singer has a unique name to match.
Of course, Billie isn’t a common girl name anyway, at least in the United States.
But, her full name makes it even more out of the ordinary.
This young artist’s entire title is “Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell.”
Now, let’s address the elephant in the room.
“Pirate” is a bit weird, don’t you think?
Well, we’re not quite sure how her parents thought that one up, but there’s no denying
that it’s cool.
However, her uncle didn’t find the name as interesting as everyone else.
She told BBC that it was going to be her middle name, but said her uncle had an issue with
it because “pirates are bad.”
So, they made “Eilish” her middle name and added pirate after it.
So, what’s the origin of Eilish?
According to Nameberry, Eilish means “pledged to God” and is the English form of “Eilis”
and Irish form of Elizabeth in Hebrew.
This makes perfect sense because Billie is of Scottish and Irish ancestry.
Lastly, Baird is her mom’s name, and O’Connell is her father’s.
But, Billie didn’t always like her name; she told PopBuzz that she “hated” it while
she was growing up.
15.
No Smiling
In August 2017, Billie Eilish came out with her first extended play titled Don’t Smile
at Me.
Throughout her short, but successful, career thus far, Eilish has been recognized for her
signature melancholy facial expression.
Her eyelids are often half-shut, the sides of her mouth turned slightly downward, and
her piercing blue eyes complete her striking appearance.
But, although her expression is commonly mistaken for sadness, this assumption isn’t necessarily
the case.
Her first EP’s title was meant to portray her feelings about being expected to smile.
She told Harper’s Bazaar that she doesn’t like smiling.
Billie stated that it makes her “feel weak and powerless and small.”
But, she noted that she’s always been that way.
Eilish added that when someone smiles at you, you feel obligated to smile back out of politeness,
and people might think she’s awful if she doesn’t return the grin.
14.
Artistic Roots
There’s no denying Billie’s talent as a singer and songwriter.
So, it might not come as a surprise that she comes from an artistically talented family…
I mean, talent is genetic, right?
Billie was raised in Los Angeles, California in a family full of creative folks, two of
whom include her parents, Patrick O’Connell and Maggie Baird.
Billie told BBC that her parents are actors and that she was in a few plays as a child.
However, Billie didn’t enjoy acting.
She realized that it wasn’t for her after an audition that, apparently, didn’t go
very well.
But, she did join the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus when she was eight, and after she turned
eleven, Billie started writing her own lyrics and performing her own songs.
Her older brother’s name is Finneas O’Connell, and he is also a singer and songwriter, as
well as an actor, record producer, and musician.
He’s known for his role in Glee in 2015 and his band, The Slightlys.
13.
Belieber
Billie Eilish has certainly made a name for herself.
But, just a short time ago, she was a pre-teen girl with posters of Justin Bieber on her
bedroom wall.
There’s no question that the Biebs is one of the most famous pop stars of this generation,
and he turned Billie Eilish into a Belieber like so many others around the world.
During her appearance on The Ellen Show, she said that Justin Bieber had recently started
following her back on Instagram.
Although she tried to downplay her excitement a little bit, her grin gave it away.
Billie said that Bieber also sent her a message on the platform, but she refused to provide
any details.
However, she added that it was “crazy” and we’ll find out one day.
The signs point to a collaboration between the two stars.
So, hopefully, we’ll be seeing some new music from them shortly.
12.
Signature Sound
This young artist gained a following rather quickly due to her unique vibe, especially
her unique voice.
Billie Eilish’s sound is very airy and light, which contrasts many of her dark lyrics.
However, her voice is almost raspy at certain times and eerie at others.
The way she manipulates words as she’s singing adds to her singularity and keeps her listeners
captivated.
There’s no question that Eilish is one of the most interesting characters in the music
industry nowadays.
11.
Vegan
People all have their own reasons for going vegan, and Billie said why she did in response
to a fan’s question on her Tumblr profile.
In March 2018, she said she decided to switch to a plant-based diet about four years prior.
She noted that she loves animals and doesn’t see the point in creating food out of an animal
when the animal itself already exists.
Eilish said we should “leave animals alone,” and there are tons of people that agree.
She further stated that she’s lactose intolerant, and consuming dairy is terrible for your skin.
10.
The Notebook
Billie’s songs are definitely interesting, and some of you might wonder how she comes
up with her lyrics.
During her interview with PopBuzz, she talked about her secret notebook that contains all
of her ideas.
Eilish said that she often draws her dreams in the journal, which mark the beginning of
many of her songs.
Apparently, her friends told her she should put the diary on display somewhere down the
line.
But, Billie noted that it contains a lot of crazy things, and she might not be comfortable
with that.
She also stated that her book is extremely important to her.
She told the story of how she left it in Berlin one time and made a couple of her crew members
go back and get it for her.
9.
Ocean Eyes
Back in 2015, Billie was training to dance.
She noted later on that she’d been doing so since she was eight years old, and her
teacher asked her to make a song they could choreograph a dance to.
So, she and her brother, Finneas, got together to produce an original piece.
He had written “Ocean Eyes” for his band beforehand.
But, it was the perfect choice, and Billie loved it immediately.
After posting the track on SoundCloud, she pretty much became famous overnight.
She told Teen Vogue that they put a “download” link next to it for her teacher to use.
But, a music discovery site called Hillydilly found the track and shared it.
After people started listening, her popularity picked up speed.
Plus, Danny Rukasin, her now-manager, reached out to Finneas, letting him know that he thought
Billie was going to make it big and wanted to help.
8.
Spice Girls
Since Billie doesn’t like to be defined by her age and has the tendency to act more
mature than other teens, we easily forget that she’s only seventeen years old.
Considering her age, it might not surprise you that she had no clue who the Spice Girls
were.
She watched the girl group’s movie about “forty times,” she noted on Ellen, but
she believed the band was made up for the film.
Billie only realized the Spice Girls were a popular nineties group in 2017.
Does anyone else feel old yet?
Eilish also told Ellen that Sporty Spice came backstage while she was in London.
7.
Inspirations
Billie Eilish has a lot of influences, some of which you might not guess.
Some of her favorite music is hip-hop and rap, and she loves A$AP Rocky, Drake, Earl
Sweatshirt, and Tyler, The Creator.
While she was a kid, she also listened to Avril Lavigne, Green Day, and the Beatles.
Plus, one of her biggest inspirations for her musical style is Lana Del Rey.
6.
13 Reasons Why
A couple of Billie’s songs have also made it onto the soundtrack of Selena Gomez’s
popular Netflix series, 13 Reasons Why.
Her two songs on the show are “Bored” and “Lovely,” and her music matches the
series’ vibe really well.
5.
Wall Art
Most of Billie’s ideas are scribbled in her secret notebook, but that’s not the
only place the singer gets creative.
She still lives in her parents’ house in the same room she grew up in.
Over the years, she’s drawn pictures and written things on her wall, which she usually
keeps hidden under a Louis Vuitton scarf held up with thumbtacks.
4.
Stood Up
During her interview with PopBuzz, Billie talked about one of her songs that caused
some controversy, called “Wish You Were Gay.”
She said that the track was misinterpreted, and people were offended by it.
However, she didn’t write it in a derogatory way.
Billie wrote the song after a guy she liked hurt her feelings because he wasn’t into
her.
She said it was a “joke,” and she almost wished he was gay so he’d have a reason
not to like her other than just not liking who she is.
The guy Billie sings about in the song even stood her up once.
She said she waited two hours for him to come and he never did.
But, the surprising part of the story is that her crush turned out to be gay and came out
to her a couple of months after its release.
3.
Lyrical Controversy
Her songs have definitely moved a lot of people over the course of her short career.
However, Billie Eilish isn’t immune to the controversy that nearly every celebrity faces.
Many people believe that her lyrics are too dark, especially considering the age of her
primary fan base.
The song “Lovely,” which featured Khalid, was one that stirred up a lot of trouble.
The comments her fans left on the music video on YouTube were very concerning, to say the
least.
One person said they couldn’t stop harming themselves after listening to Billie’s lyrics.
Others were arguing over who actually had depression.
Some people believe the commenters were fighting over who had more mental health issues.
However, not all of her fans want to argue about who or who doesn’t have a mental disorder.
Many people have also been helped by Billie’s songs.
Plus, it certainly isn’t the first time that a singer’s lyrics haven’t been “happy.”
Emo music began in the eighties, and it’s still popular today.
Some rappers have even turned to a “sadder” style, including artists like the late Lil’
Peep.
There are different opinions surrounding these melancholy types of music.
They can have a negative effect on people but can have the opposite effect as well.
Eilish’s lyrics will probably be the subject of this debate for some time to come.
An article on The Telegraph that discussed “Billie Eilish and the worrying rise of
misery music” addresses how her songs might adversely influence people.
They compare her to a “fairy” with “blonde hair and pale skin,” suggesting that she’s
“romanticising” morbid subjects.
However, the article also states that her lyrics represent her “lived experience and
personal truth” like the artists that came before her.
So, the question remains whether or not Eilish and other artists’ songs are too much for
some fans to handle.
2.
Tourette Syndrome
Another thing you probably haven’t heard about Billie Eilish is that she has Tourette
syndrome and has been dealing with it for her entire life.
Somebody released a video online of various times she’s been on camera experiencing
tics related to the disorder.
Shortly after, she addressed it on her Instagram, confirming that she does have Tourette’s.
Billie also spoke about it on The Ellen Show, and the hostess commended her for being brave
and talking about it.
Eilish stated that Tourette’s is just a part of her life, and the people she’s close
with know she has it.
She added that she didn’t want to mention it before because she didn’t want to be
“defined” by the condition.
1.
Stunts
Although you probably assumed that the crazy things Billie does in her music videos are
green screen or CGI, most of them are the real deal.
In her PopBuzz interview, she talked about the creepy so-called “stunts” she does
to bring her ideas to life.
Billie said in her video for “When the Party’s Over,” she had tubes in her eyes that were
squirting out black stuff…
So, the black tears weren’t fake.
For the “You Should See Me in a Crown” video, she had a live spider in her mouth
before letting it crawl out.
However, there was one stunt her director wouldn’t let her perform for “Bury a Friend.”
When a bunch of syringes are shoved in her back during the video…it’s not real.
She noted that if they’d squirted needles full of black goo into her back, then she
probably would’ve passed away.
Despite the certain doom that would’ve come with injecting her back, Billie was still
upset that she couldn’t do it.
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