Billie Eilish, 16-year-old up-and-coming singer-songwriter, released her first EP in August 2017. It initially featured eight alternative-trap songs that were written and produced with her older brother, Finneas O’Connell.
At only age 11, she began writing music after singing in the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus for three years.
“That’s where I‘ve gotten all my singing technique, even though it’s mostly choral stuff,” Eilish said in a 2016 interview with Vogue. “It’s helped me learn the proper way to sing and not ruin my voice completely.”
Her first songs were released on Soundcloud with her brother in 2015. The songs were just intended for friends. However, after coming out with the song “Ocean Eyes” on Soundcloud, they knew their music was going beyond that.
“It kind of started getting traction,” Eilish said to Vogue. “I would refresh and it would have a bunch of new plays. We were like, ‘What the hell is going on?’”
Her album “Don’t Smile At Me” reached #35 on the charts after a month of being out. In January 2018, the album was still on the charts at #96. She is currently the 434th most listened to artist in the world, according to Spotify.
“People ask me what I want to have accomplished in 10 years,” Eilish said to Interview Magazine in October 2017. “What I say is, ‘I don’t want to have taken all of this for granted’.”
Eilish announced a “Where’s My Mind Tour” on her Instagram Nov. 27, 2017. Just four days later, the tickets went on sale and sold out on the same day. Eilish posted the same tour poster as before with sold-out plastered over every location captioned, “bruh.”
The tour starts in Los Angeles, her hometown, and concludes in Salt Lake City. Atlanta is also a stop on the tour and several Grady students acquired tickets through resale or whatever way they could get their hands on them.
“I was gonna buy them [concert tickets] for $17, but it sold out an hour before I got home,” said Lucy Fazenbaker, Grady freshman and Eilish fan. “My mom ended up getting them for me through a family friend who owns Terminal West.”
Eilish is unique because she is a teenager who is relatable for high school students due to their closeness in age. She and many of her fans are in the same stage in life which makes her music even more enjoyable because they understand what she is writing about.
“I like her because she is so different and so so young,” Fazenbaker said.
People are drawn to Eilish because of how she doesn’t conform to society’s expectations. She is younger than most of her fans and yet makes music that does not even resemble today’s pop hits that most teens listen to. She is so obviously herself, which is so refreshing to many young people who struggle to enjoy anything on the radio. Her unique style and sense of self will likely continue to spread as this talented teen makes it big.