The Positive Influences Of Billie Eilish 🙈🙈🙈

Asiya B. Dallawar                                                                                                                         Dallawar 1

Mrs. Melissa Buell

World Literature 

24 March, 2022

The Positive Influences Of Billie Eilish 

    The bed swings up in the air, and out falls a figure, hanging merely by ropes tied to her feet and hands. 

The crowd go wild. People start screaming and dancing as the music begins playing, and the singer gets 

lowered down to the ground. She disappears under the stage before emerging all the way towards 

the end of the cat walk yelling and chanting; thus begins a Billie Eilish concert for you. 

    There has been a pretty huge dispute, about whether or not, Billie's music can be seen as a good 

impression on children and youth. I grew up listening to hard-core country/pop to the point of memorizing 

and idolizing the singers that I listened to, making sure to have listened to each of their songs, and to have 

added their virtual albums to my Spotify account. When I had first been introduced to Billie Eilish, it 

hadn't been a good start: I had thought that Billie was a boy, mispronounced her last name a couple 

thousand times, and couldn't grasp the understanding of such "quiet music". People at school were 

absorbed with her newest album that had come out at the time, and I just didn't get it. 

    Until 2021. 

    My cousin had mentioned Billie's music a couple times, and since I like being open to new things, I 

gave it a try. Her music completely transformed me- from the high beats and spikey theme, to the soft and 

sweet voice singing such a melancholy song. It literally did feel like was being taken to a whole other 

universe at a different level. But what really changed me about her: was the lyrics. 

    Anybody can listen to a love song and anybody can agree with what the singer is saying or just go with 

the flow; in order to fit in with whatever singer is popular at the time, but to really bond and feel connected 

to what a singer portrays- is a whole other level. Eilish has written plenty of songs with that type of 

content, from her debut (and my sister's favorite) Ocean Eyes: "I've been watchin' you for some time/ 

Can't stop starin' at those ocean eyes/ Burning cities and napalm skies/ Fifteen flares inside those ocean 

eyes/ Your ocean eyes" (Eilish, stanza 1), to my personal favorite, Hostage: "Gold chain beneath your 

shirt/ The shirt that you let me wear home/ Gold's fake and real love hurts/ And nothing hurts when I'm 

alone/ When you're with me and we're alone" (Eilish, stanza 5), this singer really grasps you in whatever 

emotion and mood she wants you to feel. And to a young woman like myself, who feels exactly what her 

lyrics will say at times and want to be immersed in them, that really makes a good impression. 

    There are many reasons for why the alternative/indie-rock artist can be considered as positive or as 

inspirational, from the fact that she started writing music at age 13, to producing her first most-listened 

song by "only intending one person to hear it; her dance teacher" (Vox Company) until many other 

listeners started hearing in, to how she herself, as an individual is. Eilish is known notoriously for her 

activism, she supports the B.L.M. movement and is a huge advocate for being vegan as well as animal 

rights in general. I don't even want to get started on how happy I was at finding this stuff out. 

    On a personal level, people can also connect to Billie in ways that have rarely been done between 

generations with music. Her newest and most popular album; Happier Than Ever, had extremely deep and 

coming-of-age music, that my mom and I were able to connect with each of her songs. Some of her music 

in this album, would talk about the power a man has over a woman and how no one does anything about 

it, her music really breaks it down and lets the listener think and contemplate what this really means. A lot 

of her other music in this album, conveys the stress and intolerance people have toward one another, and 

how it is more than fine to sit and listen without jumping to assumptions right away. 

    One of my ultimate favorite parts about this singer: is her fashion. If you haven't seen Billie before, and 

you do now, you will most likely be guaranteed to never forget her exquisite taste in clothing and style. 

From baggy and loose clothing, that isn't see-through and hides the form of her shape and figure, anyone 

can tell at how rebellious and unique her sense of modesty and richness in creativity can be conveyed. 

Eilish herself, made it clear in numerous statements, that she wants to be known for her voice and not her 

form. Of course, the artist who already made a huge move in the music industry, clearly made a big move 

on how women are seen as models in the presentation of the music industry as well. I love how she's 

proud of her body, and how she doesn't need to show every aspect of it in order to gain audience 

"acceptance", if anything, the artist shows that she is the boss of her body and she alone. And when she 

wants to show any of her skin, it's her choice, not anyone else's. 

    From N.B.C. News, Eilish commented on Instagram that "The slogan 'Black Lives Matter' does not 

mean other lives don't." as she later went on that "No one is saying your life doesn't  matter. No one is 

saying your life is not hard. No one is saying literally anything about you. This is not about you, stop 

making this about you. You are not in need. You are not in danger." literally wiping out the entire 

comment section of posters who kept tagging #alllivesmatter. The artist ended her post with "Black Lives 

Matter" four times in a row, and tagged #justiceforgeorgefloyd. The fact that she was eighteen when she 

posted this, is a huge hint at what priorities are important to the artist; morals over fame. Even then, the 

post achieved over six million likes. Period. 

    As for the vegan and animal rights advocation, Eilish became the youngest person in the world (at the 

time, she was age nineteen) to achieve the Person of the Year award, after using her social media platform 

to inform about animal rights and support them. According to this webpage "Eilish has been a vegan since 

the age of 12" and later on through the page "This year, the teen pop star launched a collection of 100% 

vegan leather Air Jordan shoes with Nike – which contained over 20% recycled materials." (Vegan Food 

And Living Company), can show the commitment of this singer to her principals and teachings. Her mom 

is a vegetarian, and had actually raised her on a vegetarian diet before Billie switched to full-on veganism. 

I find that stating how clear you are on such stances- especially with animal cruelty free advocacy- 

conveys the speaker or whoever is presenting, as smart, intelligent, and well informed. Billie is definitely 

one of those. 

    I can't really think of what else to say about her aside from praise, this artist has just done so much for 

the community and me, especially during the lockdown in quarantine, that it's very hard to think of any 

negative connotations. When learning about her personal life, and how she had decided to take into foster 

care; two pit bull puppies, but ended up adopting one of them because of how cute it was to her, shows 

how relaxed and caring this person really is outside of the singing industry. She even went on to adopt the 

most adorable little kitten ever (who's name is now Misha), and to encourage people to adopt pets instead 

of buying them. If there is any major takeaway that I want to have clearly known, it's that no one should 

ever judge a person/singer until they fully understand them. No one should be judged in general, and Billie 

is a huge example of how someone that gets misjudged so often, can actually turn out to be a really 

intriguing person. These are just a few of the positive influences that Billie Eilish has on others. 

Works Cited: 

Harding, Charlie. “Billie Eilish, the Neo-Goth, Chart-Topping Teenage Pop Star, Explained.” Vox, Vox, 18 

        Apr. 2019, https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/4/18/18412282/who-is-billie-eilish-explained-

        coachella-2019. 

“'Stop Making Everything about You': Billie Eilish Denounces 'All Lives Matter' Cause.” NBCNews.com, 

        NBCUniversal News Group, 1 June 2020, https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/celebrity/stop-

        making-everything-about-you-billie-eilish-denounces-all-lives-n1221216. 

Living, Vegan Food and. “Billie Eilish Becomes PETA's Youngest Ever 'Person of the Year'.” Vegan Food 

        & Living, 4 Dec. 2021, https://www.veganfoodandliving.com/news/billie-eilish-peta-person-of-the-

        year/. 

“Billie Eilish.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 

        https://www.britannica.com/biography/Billie-Eilish. 

“How Billie Eilish Is Changing Pop Music.” Beat, https://vocal.media/beat/how-billie-eilish-is-changing-

        pop-music.