At the tender age of 14, Billie Eilish made her music debut in the UK with the song “Ocean Eyes.”
Billie was always going to be famous; she was raised in Los Angeles, California, and was used to pushing boundaries. She started her career by taking the wheel, deviating from the standard, and making her own path.
Ever since making her musical debut, Billie has gained recognition for her ability to approach things a little unconventionally. It is hardly surprising that the singer was able to build a devoted following and start her incredible career at the age of 14. She went on to achieve enormous success, including two 2024 Grammy wins and a Golden Globe nomination for her song “What Was I Made For?” Her signature green hair and catchy lyrics and videos round out her appeal.
Let us examine Billie’s amazing career highlights and rise to fame from 2015 to the present.
Early life
The US songstress was born on 18th December 2001 to Maggie Baird and Patrick O’Connell. Before Maggie Baird became Billie’s momager, travelling on every tour with her, she was a ground-breaking actress and screenwriter. Coming from a famous family, Billie was always destined for fame!
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2015: ‘Ocen Eyes’
Releasing her first track to Soundcloud would have been a gamble for other singers, however the singer-songwriter released ‘Ocean Eyes’ herself, at age 14, in 2015. A definite ‘bad guy’ move, as it allowed her to have autonomy over her work and career.
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2017: Debut EP
‘Don’t Smile At Me’ was released in 2017, when Billie was only 16, to critical acclaim. For her first album, the success was unprecedented. Following suit, her breakthrough hit ‘When The Party’s Over’ entered the Official Chart as a Top 40 hit, proving that her success was only going to exceed from here.
2018: First tour
The ‘lovely’ singer blew up and grew up in 2018! This was the year that saw the singer-songwriter embark on her 2018 tour. Billie boasted 74.7M Instagram followers, with a fanbase of 52M monthly listeners, growing her fanbase organically after that first Soundcloud release.The singer’s young fans also see her as a role model. The ‘Wish You Were Gay’ singer-songwriter has paved the way for young women, as an activist for LGBTQIA+ rights, feminism and mental health.
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Billie has inspired her Gen Z generation of young women by standing out and speaking up! Most notably by having her own distinctive, androgynous style, which in itself is making a stance for women’s empowerment.By just being herself and resisting gender norms, Billie has done her bit to reduce the societal pressure placed on women and their appearance. She has made a stand to push against this and make the path smoother for the women breaking into the music industry after her. Inspiring fans with her cutting lyrics, cool persona and success, Billie Eilish has become the voice of this generation.
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2019: Debut album ‘When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?’
Unsurprisingly, the US singer-songwriter scored Number 1 with her debut album ‘When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?’ in April 2019. Eilish broke a Guinness World Record for being the youngest woman at Number 1 on UK album charts, and for having the most simultaneous US Hot 100 entries by a female.The album consists of HUGE tracks such as ‘Bad Guy’, ‘Xanny’, ‘You Should See Me in a Crown’, ‘When the Party’s Over’ and ‘Bury a Friend’.
2019: Coachella
2019 was the year that saw Billie’s iconic Coachella performance. As well as being the year she cemented herself as a fashion icon, she wore head-to-toe Louis Vuitton and burst onto our TV screens in a Calvin Klein ad ‘I Speak My Truth in #MyCalvins”, sporting her iconic baggy look and opening up about why, saying “I never want anyone to know everything about me. I mean, that’s why I wear big, baggy clothes,” she says. “Nobody can have an opinion, because they haven’t seen what’s underneath”.
2020: The Grammy Awards milestone
In 2020, our favourite ‘bad guy’ became the first artist since 1981 to do a full sweep at the Grammy’s, winning all four major awards. Billie won Best New Artist, Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album. She was the youngest to win these. At age 18, she made history, yet again!
2020: Bond theme ‘No Time To Die’
2020 was Billie’s year as the star also joined the Bond hall of fame! The US singer-songwriter became the youngest artist to be chosen to lend her voice for a Bond film. Her theme song ‘No Time To Die’ became Number 1 as well as featuring on the 2020 Bond film.This placed Eilish alongside worldwide superstars Adele and Sam Smith who have been initiated into the Bond elite too, though Eilish did it at only half their age. Impressive!!
2021
In 2021, at the ripe age of just 19-years-old, Billie had already performed over 450 concerts on tour.
2021: Billie continues working with her brother Finneas
Billie continued to do things differently, being produced by her brother, making her career a family affair. Billie showed how doing things your own way can pay off. Finneas O’Connell is a singer-songwriter in his own right, and has reached his own success.
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Working with her brother, Billie and Finneas have written songs together, directed videos and even got Billie’s mum onboard to help out! A family affair that will be expecting more stunning collabs from the sibling pair. If it will be anything like ‘Everything I Wanted’ we are here for it…
2021: New album and tour
Billie released her second album ‘Happier Than Ever’ on Friday 30th July 2021, featuring singles ‘My Future’, ‘Therefore I Am’, ‘Your Power’, ‘Lost Cause’, and ‘NDA’. She’ll also be the subject of a Disney+ documentary – ‘Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles’ – which will be released in September 2021, as well as taking her new record on tour around the world in 2022.
2021: Fragrance announcement
In October 2021, Billie confirmed the exciting news that she’s set to launch her very own fragrance called Eilish. The perfume was made available to purchase from November of that year. Bottled in a amber-bronze gilded bust, of the chest, neck, and collarbone, the singer described the scent as her ‘favourite smell in the WORLD’.Billie then launched Eilish 2.0 in September 2022 – another perfume in that collection, this time in a darker bottle.
2022: Billie live streams her first European concert
In May 2022, Billie Eilish announced that she will be live streaming her first ever European concert. The singer was on her ‘Happier Than Ever’ Tour, and headed to Deutsche Telekom headquarters in Germany on 1st June. The show marked her first ever show in Europe.Announcing the live stream, Billie said on Instagram: “Hi it’s Billie! Telekom and I would like to invite you to a very special stripped-down show this summer in Europe. For everyone who can’t make it, there will be a live stream by Telekom, so make sure to sign up to be notified.”
2022: ‘Happier Than Ever, The World Tour’
Billie Eilish kicked off her world tour in the US and brought her amazing shows to the UK and Ireland in June.She played 13 dates across Belfast, London, Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham, and Dublin.
2023: ‘What Was I Made For?’
In July 2023, Billie released a new track called ‘What Was I Made For?’, which features on the soundtrack of the Barbie movie.
2023: ‘bad guy’ gains Diamond certification
In July 2023, Billie’s smash hit single ‘bad guy’ became Diamond certified. Diamond certified songs are those which have exceeded 10 million sales. Announcing the news on Instagram, Billie wrote: ‘bad guy went diamond………………………. HUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?????????? forever and ever grateful for this silly little song man. love you guys so much its stupid @finneas.’ (sic)
2023: Billie releases the final perfume in the Eilish collection
In September 2023, Billie announced the third and final fragrance from her first collection. Called Eilish 3.0, the bottle resembles the two fragrances before it, however is dark red.Revealing the perfume would be available from November 2023, the singer wrote: ‘aaaaaaaaaaaand introducing Eilish No. 3 !! ;)) my first limited edition fragrance & the last in this collection!!out this november’. (sic)
2024: Billie wins two Grammy awards
At the 2024 Grammy Awards, Billie took home the Song of the Year and Best Song Written For Visual Media gongs, both for ‘What Was I Made For?’
2024: Billie reveals that her third album is complete
Billie Eilish took to Instagram to reveal that her third studio album is now finished. Sharing a series of photos, Billie wrote: ”my album is mastered.’
