Songwriter Billie Eilish has always been in the spotlight. The teenage celebrity got famous after releasing her beautiful 2015 track, “Ocean Eyes”, chock-full of emotion and sorrow—and her fame has continued to skyrocket since.
With almost a hundred million followers on Instagram and having been the youngest person ever to receive a grammy, it’s hard to claim that she’s unsuccessful: however, people have many conflicting opinions on the artist.
Critics think she’s overrated and have accused the artist of queerbaiting. Additionally, they mention her boyfriend, Matthew Tyler Vorce, who allegedly made racist, homophobic, and fat-shaming posts. However, fans on the website “quora” say that she is “real, talented, fashionable, and relatable.”
Billie is known for her soft yet powerful vocals, heavy-hitting lyrics, and her trendsetting street-wear style of bucket hats, sweatpants and oversized jumpers. Dressing outside of her comfort zone, Eilish tends to catch people’s attention with her dyed hair and memorable outfits.
In 2017, Eilish released her debut EP titled “Don’t Smile at Me” from Interscope Records. The album was produced by her brother, Finneas (who assists Billie in much of her music) and included the song “idontwannabeyouanymore”. She was only 15 when it came out, and the song was a hit as it was very relatable to many teenage girls because it discussed insecurities and self-loathing,
Eilish sings in a heartbroken, defeated voice about her self-esteem issues. She conveys her wishes of how she wants to be someone else in the lyrics “Tell the mirror what you know she’s heard before/I don’t wanna be you, anymore”.
She states how even the prettiest girls can be insecure and go through numerous struggles in the lyrics: “If teardrops could be bottled/There’d be swimming pools filled by models”. Although many teen girls look up to models and see them as glamorous and perfect, these celebrities are often forced to starve themselves and get multiple plastic surgery procedures to fit into society’s beauty standards.
And yet, no matter what women do to make themselves more appealing to the male gaze due to pressure, Eilish sings that they are then “Told ‘a tight dress is what makes you a wh**e’”. It’s frustrating because many teen girls feel like they just can’t do anything right despite how hard they try. This circumstance intensifies for celebrities because they are under the criticism of millions of people, which is increasingly easier to communicate and spread because of social media.
Billie has explained before that she wears baggy clothing to prevent people from judging her body, which makes sense because as soon as a photo of her wearing a tank top was released, the internet went rabid with rude remarks and sexual comments. She was only 17 at the time.
Also in the lyrics, Billie implies that she wants to change herself, not “fall apart twice a day”. Disappointed in her constant sadness, she desires to just be happy with what she has.
When interviewed about her song on Genius, Eilish explained that “Even though I have a great life with many wonderful things in it, I have still dealt with depression. ‘idontwannabeyouanymore’ is about times I’ve felt this way. The real truth is that depression can happen to anyone no matter who you are or what you have and there is no shame to admitting that you feel this way.”
Additionally, she desires to really feel what she says and to truly love herself, instead of lying to herself and others when they ask her how she is doing. Judging by her lyrics, “Got a mood that you wish you could sell,” she isn’t a fan of her personality, either.
This slow song with its sad tone and relatable lyrics can touch your soul. It showcases her beautiful vocals and her incredible ability to communicate her emotions and create a mood for the listener. If you need a good cry, or just a song that you want to feel a connection to, you should definitely go listen to it.
