New Artist of the Year: Billie Eilish
Concentus’ Artist of the Year goes to Billie Eilish! Billie sky-rocketed this year, after the release of her debut EP ‘Don’t Smile At Me’ was released last year.
Billie Eilish is someone the whole world is currently obsessed with. Her vibrancy and admirable candidness is one that the music industry has not met for a number of years. When her name appears on a festival bill, or there is a new release on the horizon, it always becomes one of the most anticipated moments.
A huge element of Eilish’s widespread appeal is that she brings something new to the table. That is, hip hop influenced pop music. Her songs have a minimalistic rhythm and melody to them, and incorporate an innovative use of technology.
The undoubtable contemporary commercial appeal to Eilish’s art however does not take away from the genuinity which characterises each of her songs. Natural rebellion is in every form of her, (including a disregard for capital letters and punctuation in her releases). The song titles themselves are transparent of the Eilish’s assertive nature, starting with EP title ‘don’t smile at me,’ which includes track titles including ‘bitches broken heart,’ or ‘i dont want to be you anymore.’
There is a stark poeticism in her lyrics, which, behind the persona she has created, reveal her developing musicality. Song COPYCAT flows rhythmically (‘Silver dollar, golden flame / Dirty water, poison rain / Perfect murder, take your aim / I don't belong to anyone, but everybody knows my name’). Honesty in ‘idontwanttobeyouanymore’ (‘If teardrops could be bottled / There'd be swimming pools filled by models / Told ‘that tight dress is what makes you a whore.’’) And the best one, where ‘my boy’ has lyrics like “My boy loves his friends like I love my split ends / and by that I mean, he cuts them off,” which show the playful side of this persona too. The list can go on and on for Eilish’s top lyrics.
Her summer release ‘you should see me in a crown’ sees the singer channeling the anger towards the small-minded folk who surround her, where her grit becomes a strong force of inspiration: ‘You should see me in a crown / I’m going to run this nothing town.’ Song ‘ocean eyes’ particularly hit a note with audiences, taking a more melodic, ballad style within the otherwise hip-hop pop album.
Her bold, bling-heavy fashion style goes hand in hand with her fearless music, her dance moves and colour schemes. You definitely have to have a certain sort of suave to carry off hoodies and tracksuits on stage and make it look stylish in the way she does.
The first thing people often notice about Eilish is, “I can’t believe she’s only 16.” True, she’s achieved a lot for someone so new to the industry. But her free spirited, zero-fucks-given nature, merged with the sophistication she carries through her artistry, is just who she is, and a quality she is sure to maintain throughout her long career ahead of her. Already boasting collaborations with the likes of Khalid on her artist CV and a record deal with Interscope Records / (via Polydor in the UK), Eilish is an artist who’s going to stick around for a long time - so get used to her!
2019 is due to see Billie’s debut album ‘When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go’ to be released. Catch the full Billie Eilish feature in the latest issue of our magazine here!