Billie Eilish
The singer known for her unique style of music has been making waves since she burst onto the scene. She recently released her debut album titled “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and features songs like “Ocean Eyes,” “Bad Guy,” and “You Should See Me In A Crown.” Her latest single, “Don’t Smile At Me,” featuring Khalid, has over 15 million streams on Spotify alone.
Early life
Billie Eilish grew up in Los Angeles, California, where she attended high school. Her father, Finbarr O’Connell, is Irish and her mother, Erin Elizabeth Flynn, is American. They met while studying at University College Dublin, Ireland.
She began writing songs at age 10; her first musical project was called “The High Strung.” At 11, she wrote her first song, “My Boyfriend Gave Me A Gun,” about being bullied. She performed it live for the first time at a talent show at her middle school, and later recorded it herself.
Eilish moved to New York City at 14 to attend college. While there she worked part-time jobs including selling coffee and bagels, taking shifts at a restaurant, and working as an assistant director and stage manager at a theater production. She graduated from NYU Tisch School of the Arts in 2018.
Career
Finneas O’Connell, born February 11, 1999, is an American singer-songwriter and musician based in Los Angeles, California.
He is best known as one half of the musical duo Twenty One Pilots, along with drummer Josh Dun. Their debut album, Vessel, was released on June 25, 2013, through Fueled By Ramen Records. Following the release of their second studio album Trench, they announced plans for a third album, Vans Warped Tour 2017, which was released on May 4, 2017. They are currently recording their fourth studio album, Blurryface, due out October 28, 2018.
O’Connell attended high school at Santa Monica High School in Santa Monica, California. After graduating in 2017, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he studied music production at Belmont University. His father is Irish while his mother is English.
In 2012, O’Connell formed the pop rock band Twenty One Pilots, alongside lead vocalist/guitarist Tyler Joseph and bass guitarist Nick Thomas. The group released their self-titled debut album in 2013, followed by their second full-length effort, Trench, in 2015.
O’Connell began writing songs with his sister around 2011. At age thirteen, he wrote a song about his family called “Hannah Montana”. He later met Joseph at a party and the pair became friends. When O’Connell turned fifteen, he and Joseph began collaborating on music, eventually forming the group Twenty One Pilots. The name of the band came from a conversation they had about how many times they’d played the same show.
The band signed with Fueled By Ramen in 2012, releasing their eponymous debut album in 2013. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 chart, selling over 86,000 copies in its opening week. Its lead single, “Stressed Out,” peaked at number four on the US Hot Rock Songs chart, becoming the highest charting song by a female artist since Rihanna’s “Diamonds.”
Their sophomore record, Trench, was released in September 2015. The album debuted at number six on the Billboard 200, selling over 54,000 copies in its first week. The album’s lead single, “Levitate”, reached number five on the Hot Rock Songs chart. The duo embarked on their world tour, the Head Up High Tour, in support of the album.
2018–2020: When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do
We Go?
Eilish began working on her sophomore album around September 2017. She had already written several songs during her first run of touring, including “You Should See Me in a Crown,” “Lullaby,” and “All the Good Girls Go To Hell.” She wrote the song “Bad Guy” while she was recording her debut EP Don’t Smile At Me with producer Mike WiLL Made It.
In January 2018, Eilish revealed that she was planning to start work on the follow-up to Don’t Smile At Me early that spring. By late May, she confirmed that the project was complete. She later announced that she would begin writing for the album in July.
The singer told Rolling Stone in August that she planned to make the album sound like “a real record.” She added that it would feature elements of pop music and R&B.
On November 26, Eilish teased the album on Instagram, posting a photo of herself wearing a crown and saying “#WTF”. A few days later, she uploaded another picture of herself holding up a copy of the album cover art.
The album was officially announced on December 10, along with the tracklisting. Its lead single, “Bad Guy”, premiered on Zane Lowe’s Beats1 radio show on December 11.
The album received positive reviews upon its release, with critics praising its production and lyrical depth. It debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart, becoming Eilish’s first number one album.