Billie Eilish

Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell (born 18 December 2001) is an American singer and songwriter.

Quotes



 * My whole family is really musical. My brother and my mom both write songs and my dad has always played the piano and ukulele. When we were little, my dad would make us mix tapes with songs by artists like the Beatles and Avril Lavigne, so we learned a lot from those. Even though I never really thought of being a singer, I’ve always loved it. I’ve been in the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus since I was about 8, which has helped my technique so much. It’s showed me all of the different types of classic music there are and how beautiful they can be. When I was 11 or 12, I started writing songs because it’s a good way to express your feelings. My brother is a really good songwriter so we’d give each other notes and write stuff together.
 * "How Billie Eilish's "Ocean Eyes" Turned Her Into an Overnight Sensation" by Ariana Marsh, Teen Vogue (24 February 2017)


 * Aside from singing, I'm also a dancer. I've been dancing since I was eight. Last year, one of my teachers asked if I would either write a song or have my brother write a song to choreograph a dance to. I was like, "yes, that's such a cool thing to do!" Then, my brother came to me with "Ocean Eyes", which he had originally written for his band. He told me he thought it would sound really good in my voice. He taught me the song and we sang it together along to his guitar and I loved it — it was stuck in my head for weeks. We kind of just decided that that was the song we were going to use for the dance. We put it on SoundCloud with a free download link next to it so my dance teacher could access it. We had no intentions for it, really. But basically overnight a ton of people started hearing it and sharing it. Hillydilly, a music discovery website, found it and posted it and it just got bigger and bigger. It was really surreal. Then, Danny Ruckasin, who is now my manager, reached out to my brother and was like, "dude, this is going to get huge and I think you’re going to need help along the way. I want to help you guys." We were like, "that’s swag!"
 * "How Billie Eilish's "Ocean Eyes" Turned Her Into an Overnight Sensation" by Ariana Marsh, Teen Vogue (24 February 2017)


 * I really wanted to be a model when I was little. I loved photography and I loved being on camera. But I was short and chubby so I couldn’t. Anyway, being an artist is way more interesting than just being a model because it’s about you and what you want to be. You’re not being treated like a clothes hanger.
 * "Billie Eilish interview: The 15-year-old pop sensation aiming right for the top" by David Smyth, Evening Standard (30 October 2017)


 * I have never done drugs, I’ve never got high, I’ve never smoked anything in my life. I don’t give a fuck, I never have. It’s just not interesting to me. I have other shit to do. … I know people around you doing that shit makes you want to, but you don’t have to … [her song "xanny" is] less "don’t do drugs"; it’s more "be safe" …. I don’t want my friends to die any more.
 * As quoted in "Billie Eilish: the pop icon who defines 21st-century teenage angst" by Hannah Ewens, in The Guardian (29 March 2019)


 * Bing? Who the fuck uses Bing?
 * After being asked "What about Bing?", after stating stats of 152 million Google searches for her name, in "Billie Eilish: Same Interview, The Third Year", Vanity Fair (25 November 2019)


 * Yeah, I'm definitely successful. … I was thinking about that earlier today, because of this interview, I was like — back then I thought, it's was like the biggest it was ever going to be, and I thought, it was the most I was ever going to be recognized and it was the most anyone was going to know me... and it was the most money I was going to have, the most clothes I'd have, the most shoes I'd have — and what's crazy is: it wasn't. … "Success" is not how well people know you, it's how you're like "looked at". I genuinely did not think people would care. It's like I can't even stress it enough: I can't believe people care so much — about me. It's crazy to me.
 * "Billie Eilish: Same Interview, The Third Year", Vanity Fair (25 November 2019)


 * I am vegan. I've been vegan for, damn, seven years. I learned about the dairy industry and the meat industry, which I already knew about. But, you know, once you know that kind of thing and you see it, it's really hard to go back. And now, even though I have lots of friends that eat dairy and meat and I don't ever want to tell anybody what to do, I just can't go on in my life knowing what's going on in the animal world and like, not doing anything about it.
 * "Billie Eilish Answers Questions From Justin Bieber & 22 Other Famous Fans", British Vogue (3 May 2021)


 * As a woman, I think porn is a disgrace. I used to watch a lot of porn, to be honest. I started watching porn when I was like 11 … I think it really destroyed my brain and I feel incredibly devastated that I was exposed to so much porn. … I’m so angry that porn is so loved, and I’m so angry at myself for thinking that it was okay.
 * "Billie Eilish Opens Up About Surviving COVID and Hosting ‘SNL’", The Howard Stern Show (13 December 2021)

Singles (2017 - present)


Is your cup half full or empty?
 * Wake up and smell the coffee
 * "Come Out and Play" (20 November 2018) · YouTube audio, co-written with Finneas O'Connell.

You don't have to keep it quiet
 * You'll never know until you try it

And I know it makes you nervous But I promise you, it's worth it To show 'em everything you kept inside Don't hide, don't hide Too shy to say, but I hope you stay Don't hide away Come out and play
 * Come Out and Play (20 November 2018), co-written with Finneas O'Connell.

I was a sailor On an open sea But now I'm underwater And my skin is paler Than it should ever be
 * When I was older
 * When I Was Older, Music Inspired by the Film Roma (9 January 2019)

I got everything I wanted Not what you'd think And if I'm being honest It might have been a nightmare To anyone who might care
 * I had a dream
 * "everything i wanted" · First live performance, Mexico City (12 December 2019)

I got everything I wanted But when I wake up, I see You with me
 * I had a dream

And you say As long as I'm here No one can hurt you Don't wanna lie here But you can learn to If I could change the way that you see yourself You wouldn't wonder why you hear "They don't deserve you"
 * "everything i wanted"

Too much to bear You were my life But life is far away from fair. Was I stupid to love you? Was I reckless to help? Was it obvious to everybody else That I'd fallen for a lie? You were never on my side Fool me once, fool me twice Are you death or paradise? Now you'll never see me cry There's just no time to die.
 * I saw you there
 * "No Time to Die" (13 February 2020), co-written with Finneas O'Connell · Official video (1 October 2020) · Live performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (5 October 2020)

And you don't seem to notice I'm not here I'm just a mirror.
 * I can't seem to focus
 * "my future" (30 July 2020) * my future animated video (30 July 2020) · Live performance (19 August 2020)

I've changed my plans 'Cause I, I'm in love With my future Can't wait to meet her And I, I'm in love But not with anybody else Just wanna get to know myself.
 * Do you understand?
 * "my future" (30 July 2020)

Know I'm supposed to be unhappy Without someone (someone) But aren't I someone? (Aren't I someone? Yeah)
 * I know supposedly I'm lonely now (lonely now)
 * "my future" (30 July 2020)

You think that you're the man I think, therefore, I am.
 * I'm not your friend or anything, damn
 * "Therefore I Am" (12 November 2020) · Official Music Video (Nov 12 November 2020)

What Was I Made For? (2023)

 * Single for the film Barbie (2023) and Barbie the Album (2023) · Official music video · Saturday Night Live performance (16 December 2023)

I used to know but I'm not sure now What I was made for What was I made for?
 * I used to float, now I just fall down

But I wanna try I don't know how to feel But someday I might Someday I might
 * I don't know how to feel

Think I forgot how to be happy Something I'm not, but something I can be Something I wait for Something I'm made for.

Dont Smile At Me (2017)
You committed, I'm your crime Push my button anytime You got your finger on the trigger, but your trigger finger's mine
 * Don't be cautious, don't be kind
 * "Copycat"

There'd be swimming pools filled by models Told a tight dress is what makes you a whore If "I love you" was a promise Would you break it, if you're honest Tell the mirror what you know she's heard before I don't wanna be you anymore
 * If teardrops could be bottled
 * "Idontwannabeyouanymore" · Official video

When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? (2019)


Like-it-really-rough guy Just-can't-get-enough guy Chest-always-so-puffed guy I'm that bad type Make-your-mama-sad type Make-your-girlfriend-mad type Might-seduce-your-dad type I'm the bad guy, duh
 * So you're a tough guy

I'm the bad guy
 * "Bad Guy"

They just keep doing nothing Too intoxicated to be scared Better off without them They're nothing but unstable Bring ashtrays to the table And that's about the only thing they share
 * I must be missing something

I'm in their second-hand smoke Still just drinking canned Coke I don't need a Xanny to feel better On designated drives home Only one who's not stoned Don't give me a Xanny now or ever
 * "xanny" · official video

Happier Than Ever (2021)
I'm happier than ever Wish I could explain it better I wish it wasn't true. Give me a day or two To think of something clever To write myself a letter To tell me what to do.
 * When I'm away from you
 * "Happier Than Ever" · Official video at YouTube · Performance on Saturday Night Live (12 December 2021)

I don't relate to you, no 'Cause I'd never treat me this shitty You make me hate this city. And I don't talk shit about you on the internet Never told anyone anything bad 'Cause that shit's embarrassing, you were my everything And all that you did was make me fucking sad So don't waste the time I don't have Don't try to make me feel bad.
 * I don't relate to you
 * "Happier Than Ever"

Always said you were misunderstood Made all my moments your own Just fucking leave me alone.
 * You ruined everything good
 * "Happier Than Ever"

Guitar Songs (2022)
While they're overturning Roe v. Wade. Now all of my friends are missing again 'Cause that's what happens when you fall in love You don't have the time, you leave them all behind And you tell yourself it's fine, you're just in love. And I don't get along with anyone Maybe I'm the problem.
 * The internet's gone wild watching movie stars on trial
 * "TV" • pre-release live performance used on the released version • TV (Live from the Cloud Forest, Singapore)

On a bridge, where there wasn't a rail in the way? Or a neighborhood street where the little kids play? Or the Angeles Crest in the snow or the rain? What if you weren't alone? There were kids in the car What if you were remote? No one knows where you are If you changed anything, would you not have survived? You're alive, you're alive, you're alive.
 * What if it happened to you on a different day?
 * "The 30th" • The 30th (Live from the Cloud Forest, Singapore)

Misattributed
Can't stop thinking of your diamond mind Careful creature made friends with time He left her lonely with a diamond mind And those ocean eyes
 * I've been walking through a world gone blind
 * "Ocean Eyes" — though her breakthrough hit after she posted her performance of it to SoundCloud for her dance teacher on 18 November 2015, the lyrics were written entirely by her brother Finneas O'Connell, who also collaborates with her on most of her other musical work. · Official Music Video

Quotes about Eilish
Written and produced by her older brother and featuring her vocals, the song was originally created for Billie's dance teacher, who wanted to choreograph a routine to original music. Within hours, the tune garnered praise from various websites and she's been on the upswing ever since.
 * Imagine going to sleep as a regular 14-year-old girl and waking up the next morning with your inbox flooded with email messages inquiring about your bourgeoning music career. That's what happened to Billie Eilish who, in 2015, made a somewhat unintentional arrival onto the music scene after uploading a track called "Ocean Eyes" to SoundCloud.
 * Ariana Marsh, in "How Billie Eilish's "Ocean Eyes" Turned Her Into an Overnight Sensation", Teen Vogue (24 February 2017)


 * Billie Eilish is a cultural phenomenon. The singer and her songwriter brother, Finneas O’Connell, have created a debut body of work that transcends genres, reflecting the vast multi-artist listening habits of the music streaming generation — while at the same time tearing apart the notion of the album’s death in the age of the playlist. Oh, and she owned Coachella for fun, too.
 * Murray Stassen, in "Behind Billie Eilish: Meet the managers guiding the artist’s global success", Music Business Woldwide (2 May 2019)


 * Eilish has a disarmingly intimate, unadorned vocal style born of a two-pronged education: a member of the soft brigade of Gen Zers who grew up posting bedroom karaoke videos on YouTube, she also learned technique in the Los Angeles Children's Chorus, where blending matters more than belting.
 * Ann Powers, in "Billie Eilish Is The Class of 2019's Weird Achiever", National Public Radio (10 December 2019)