- Billie Eilish is nominated for seven awards in 2022, along with other young icons like Olivia Rodrigo, Lil Nas X, and Doja Cat.
- Eilish rose to stardom overnight after self-releasing her song “Ocean Eyes”; she was only 14 years old at the time.
- At just 18, Eilish swept the four main Grammy categories, winning Best New Artist, Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Album of the Year.
She's gone from neon locks to bleach blonde and wearing baggy clothes to being a fashion darling, but she still croons with that iconic whispery goth sound. And yet, Billie Eilish epitomizes “pop star” just as much as pop royalty like Adele, Britney, Madonna, and Beyoncé. The singer-songwriter from Los Angeles is a boundary-pushing, auditorily and visually disorienting artist who gives zero you-know-whats about fitting into a neatly wrapped package. And genres be damned.
Eilish, who catapulted to stardom overnight with the self-release of her song “Ocean Eyes” in 2016 (when she was only 14), has been nominated for seven Grammys this year. That's on top of the seven Grammy wins she already has, after she swept the four major categories in 2020 and also took home record of the year in 2021. Eilish is also fresh off an Academy Award win for "No Time to Die," the most recent in a long line of James Bond songs.
From our perspective, what makes Eilish feel empowered is her smorgasbord of good, diverse music—and the way the world has eaten it up. Read on to learn more about the self-aware and outspoken singer who's redefining what it means to be a pop star.
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Billie Eilish got famous by accident on SoundCloud.
Late one night, the then-14-year-old uploaded her song “Ocean Eyes” to the streaming platform SoundCloud for her dance teacher’s listening pleasure. The next morning, she was a viral sensation. The song’s sudden popularity led to her signing with Darkroom and Interscope Records. Shortly after, her next instant hit, “Bored,” was featured on the first season of 13 Reasons Why and her first EP, Don’t Smile at Me, garnered rave reviews.
Her first album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, debuted at number one and won five Grammys.
In what today is a seemingly rite of passage for musicians, Eilish rocked the desert at Coachella—a set Variety hailed as triumphant—performing 13 songs and sending raging audiences into fits. Meanwhile, her debut album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, a blend of grim and goth compulsions unique to the wunderkind, was enjoying a stint at number one on the Billboard charts. In case you’re keeping track, that makes her the first artist born in the 2000s to achieve such a feat. At the 2020 Grammys, she took home wins in five categories: Best New Artist, Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album Record of the Year, and Song of the Year.
She’s breaking records like it’s her job.
Get this: According to Vox, Eilish’s debut album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, features 13 songs—12 of those songs charted on the Billboard Hot 100, a first for a female artist. Further, she “has the second-highest first-week album sales of 2019”—behind Ariana Grande. Consequence of Sound also pointed out that her album is just the seventh to enter the “300,000 Club,” pulling in more than 300,000 units. She joins the ranks of Beyoncé, Ariana Grande, Adele, and Taylor Swift. Man, to be a fly on that clubhouse wall. At the 2020 Grammys, Eilish also became the youngest person to Album and Record of the Year, as well as the first female to win those aforementioned four major awards. (She's also the second-ever person to do so, period.)
One Source Disticor WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?
Eilish is nominated for seven Grammys, including Record of the Year, and is performing at the show.
Along with nominations in the top categories—Album, Record, and Song of the Year for "Happier Than Ever"—she's also nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Pop Solo Album, Best Music Video, and Best Music Film. On top of winning Record of the Year in 2020, Eilish also won that category in 2021. Winning Record of the Year in 2022 would make her the first woman to win that award three years in a row. Oh, and she'll take the stage this year to perform something from the nominated record. Can we get a “Dang, girl”?
Eilish and her music don’t fit into a box.
She’s considered pop’s next big star, but there’s nothing bubble gum about her. Brooding, goth, and swathed in baggy duds, she doesn’t care about adhering her music to a specific genre, a certain sound, or even a defining gender role. And she’s certainly over the “dress normal” judgments. So those can just stop.
Each of her songs takes on a personality of its own. From “Bad Guy,” a provocative hit that plays with gender power dynamics, to “Bury a Friend,” a spooky nighttime fairy tale about the monster under your bed, her sound and her lyrics all say something different. But they all speak to her generation.
She once sat down for an interview with Gayle King.
Oprah Daily's very own editor at large quizzed Eilish on all things music and pop culture for an interview with CBS. During their chat, Eilish cited artists such as Lana Del Rey and Childish Gambino among her greatest sources of inspiration, plus films like We Need to Talk About Kevin. She said she'd be a director if she weren't a musician, and that she has zero desire to attend college. And she delivered the most Eilish response when Gayle asked who her dream collaborator is: "Nobody."
Eilish just won an Oscar for her James Bond theme song.
Eilish. Billie Eilish. The voice of the next generation took on the beloved franchise with her brother and collaborator, Finneas. They were tapped with composing and performing the 007 theme song for No Time to Die, the most recent installment in the James Bond saga starring Daniel Craig. And, say it with us, Eilish is the youngest artist to do so—and now has an Academy Award for it.
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DeAnna Janes is a freelance writer and editor for a number of sites, including Harper’s BAZAAR, Tasting Table, Fast Company and Brit + Co, and is a passionate supporter of animal causes, copy savant, movie dork and reckless connoisseur of all holidays. A native Texan living in NYC since 2005, Janes has a degree in journalism from Texas A&M and got her start in media at US Weekly before moving on to O Magazine, and eventually becoming the entertainment editor of the once-loved, now-shuttered DailyCandy. She’s based on the Upper West Side.
Cassie Hurwitz (she/her) is an assistant editor at Oprah Daily, where she covers everything from culture to entertainment to lifestyle. She can typically be found in the middle of multiple books and TV shows all at once. Previously, Cassie worked at Parents, Rachael Ray In Season, and Reveal. Her love language is pizza (New York slices, Chicago deep dish, and otherwise).
