Billie Eilish has become a household name by this point. And none of us should be surprised.
For the past few years, the young pop star has been recording hit song after hit song, her ethereal voice gracing the presence of car stereos everywhere. She has also won multiple well-earned awards for her music.
Some people only know her name and one or two of her songs.
But aside from the music, what do we really know about her?
If you’re curious as to how this star rose to fame and what she’s like, let’s go over everything you need to know about Billie Eilish.
Her Childhood
Billie Eilish was born Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell to parents Maggie Baird and Patrick O’Connell, who are both amateur musicians. Yeah, her middle name is Pirate. Her older brother Finneas made that call.
She and brother Finneas homeschooled where her mother taught her and her brother music lessons, including basic songwriting, alongside traditional lessons.
Her first “official” song was actually written for her mom’s songwriting class and it was about the zombie apocalypse, because why wouldn’t it be?
When She Started Making Music
Unfortunately, we can’t find that zombie song anywhere.
After that one, though, her first big song, “Ocean Eyes,” was written, mixed, and produced by her big bro. He originally created it for his own band to perform, but we’re all pretty glad he decided her voice suited it better. The hit dropped on SoundCloud in 2015 where it quickly gained a lot of popularity.
If you did some quick math there, you guessed it, she was only 13 years old when that first song dropped.
Her Music Style
Billie Eilish has a different take on pop than some might imagine. The natural soprano has an ethereal, husky quality to her voice that makes her intriguing to listen to.
She combines a few subgenres including pop, dark pop, electropop, emo pop, and a few others for a dark but entrancing sound.
A Unique Sense of Fashion
Those who have seen Billie Eilish’s live performances know she has a funky sense of style.
The pop star strays away from our stereotypical “pop look,” opting instead for baggier clothes like sweats and oversized tees. Another style many people associate with Eilish is the iconic black-and-bright-green hair color she is known for.
She has said that she does this to stand out from the crowd in a unique fashion.
She also makes merch that fits her style, which can be found on the Official Billie Eilish website.
Accolades
When it comes to awards, Billie Eilish has plenty.
These include seven Grammy Awards, two Guinness World Record Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, and two American Music Awards, to name a few.
She is the first female artist, the youngest person, and the second person ever to win all four of the main Grammy categories in the same year. Yes, she did win Best New Artist, Song of the Year (bad guy), Record of the Year, and Album of the Year (When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?) for 2020.
Other Fun Facts About Billie Eilish
Aside from her numerous accomplishments and unique style, the 19-year-old artist has a few other interesting facts about her. Here are a few of them:
- She was raised a vegetarian and now advocates for animal rights and veganism.
- She participated in the Ad Council’s “seize the awkward” campaign, destigmatizing conversations around mental health.
- She experiences synesthesia, where one sensation (like sound) can lead to involuntarily experiencing a secondary sensation (like a specific image or color).
A Leader of the Industry
Billie Eilish is an incredible artist who deserves the praise she’s getting and it looks like she’ll be making hits for a while, so buckle in and read up on your Billie Eilish knowledge.