Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell was born in Los Angeles, California, on December 18, 2001, and has since from being a sheltered, homeschooled teenager to one of the world’s most influential musical artists. Her music career began in 2015 with her first official song, “ocean eyes.” The song, written and produced by her older brother, Finneas O’Connell, was released on SoundCloud. With its ethereal melody and Eilish’s stunning vocals, “ocean eyes” took the world by storm, setting the foundation of Eilish’s musical career at only 13 years old.
In 2017, Eilish released her first EP, “dont smile at me”, which included songs like “ocean eyes” and “COPYCAT”. This EP was the base of her music career, displaying her soft yet powerful voice and her unique style, causing millions of people to fall in love with her music, even as a beginner in the industry.
Her debut studio album, “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?”, came out in 2019 and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 charts. The leading song from the album, “bad guy”, not only topped the charts around the world, but also demonstrated Eilish’s unique blend of pop, alternative, and electronic styles in a single song. At the 2020 Grammy Awards, Eilish made history by becoming the youngest artist to win the Big Four awards: Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist.
Eilish then released her second album, “Happier Than Ever”, in 2021. The album was acclaimed for its self-reflective lyrics and mature sound, further solidifying her status in the industry. The songs “Therefore I Am” and the title single “Happier Than Ever” were wildly popular with fans all over the world. Each song included metaphors and verbiage, which the online community struggled to decipher what each one was implying.
In 2023, Eilish created “What Was I Made For?” for the Barbie movie soundtrack. With its bittersweet lyrics touching on the challenges that women have to go through. along with its beautiful melody, the song earned itself high praise and two Grammy Awards in 2024.
Her most recent album, “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT”, was released in May 2024. This record showed her evolution as an artist, showcasing her signature style with new experimental sounds, causing the album to go straight in at number one in 138 countries. “LUNCH” and “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” became instant hits with “LUNCH” being streamed 728 million times and “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” 2.2 billion times. Other songs on the album such as “THE GREATEST” and “WILDFLOWER” also made quite an emotional impact on listeners, with their melancholy lyrics and meanings. Although the album did not win any awards in the 2025 Grammys, it did win iHeartRadio’s Album of the Year award, which was very well deserved. Regardless, fans are still shocked at the fact that it did not win any Grammy awards, being one of the most streamed albums of 2024.
Eilish has been touring the world for “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT”, with shows selling out on all continents. Most of her shows are performed with her older brother, Finneas, but for the first time, she is doing the majority of the shows without him, due to his busy schedule. She has said in interviews that it is a bit difficult to do shows without him, but she is getting through it very well so far. A good number of her performances in the United States were opened by the hit Latin-American band, The Marias, setting a very fun and lively atmosphere for the rest of the show. The tour’s Australian leg began in February of 2025, in Brisbane, where Eilish brought together fans with her incredible performances and intimate acoustic sets. Her world tour is said to end around July once she covers her shows in North America.
Eilish’s influence reached beyond the recording studio, with her participating in her eighth annual “Time Capsule” interview with Vanity Fair, in October of 2024. The purpose of these annual interviews is to reflect on her growth, goals, and the unpredictable nature of her career. Recognizing her immense impact on the music industry, Apple Music honored Eilish as the Artist of the Year in 2024, making her the first artist to receive this award twice, having previously won in 2019.
As of March 2025, Billie Eilish stands as proof of the power of authentic, and self-expressive artistry, constantly pushing boundaries and redefining the meaning of modern music, while also standing for causes like green energy, eco-friendly merchandise production, feminism, and more, donating and helping out whenever she can. Her music has helped hundreds of thousands of people, especially teenagers, all around the world, and with her planning to get back into the studio, her music career will continue to bloom, as well as her popularity and influence.
