KWXY Presents ● The Music of Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish – Life is Beautiful Las Vegas September 19, 2021 Photo Louie Comella
Billie Eilish is a singer, songwriter and musician who first reached commercial success with her 2015 single, “Ocean Eyes.” Her EP and LP releases since then also went on to be commercially successful, beginning with the EP, Don’t Smile at Me in 2017. During that time, Eilish has earned seven Grammys, two American Music Awards, a Guinness World Record and was only the youngest person and first female artist to win Grammys for Best New Artist, Record of the Year, Song on the Year and Album of the Year all in the same year. She was one of the most successful artists of the 2010s according to Billboard and she continues to be successful in the 2020s.
She was born Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell on December 18, 2001 in Los Angeles, California and grew up in the city’s Highland Park district. Her father is actor Patrick O’Connell, and her mother is actress Maggie Baird, both musicians. Her brother, Finneas O’Connell, known professionally as “Finneas,” is her producer with eight Grammy Awards of his own to his credit. Baird homeschooled the children and taught them songwriting. Eilish played the ukulele by age six and was a member of the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus by age eight. At age eleven, a songwriting assignment given by her mother led to her first composition about the “zombie apocalypse.”
By 2015, Eilish began collaborating with her brother as both a writer and a singer, uploading the music to SoundCloud. “Ocean Eyes” was released on the SoundCloud platform in November of that year. The song amassed several hundred thousand views within two weeks, prompting Danny Rukasin, Finneas’s manager, to discuss bringing her music to an even wider audience. In 2016, she had signed to an A&R company and hired a publicist. A music video for “Ocean Eyes” was released in March 2016 and her second single, “Six Feet Under” in June.
Eilish’s success continued throughout 2016 with a contract with Interscope Records and in early 2017, she released the first of two back-to-back EPs. When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? became her first LP in 2019. The tour began that year at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, but further touring was delayed soon after due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She became the youngest-ever performer of a James Bond title theme with No Time To Die in 2020.
Her second LP, Happier Than Ever, was released in July 2021. Critically acclaimed, the album is downtempo and draws heavily on the influence of jazz. The title track received seven Grammy nominations that year and the album also produced seven singles. A 2021 documentary by R.J. Cutler, The World’s a Little Blurry, follows the artist and her family, focusing on the creation of her first LP.
Billie Eilish also has a brand of perfume, Eilish launched in 2021 and is active as an animal rights advocate and an advocate for veganism.
KWXY Music Radio supports musicians and artists performing in the Coachella Valley, as well as independent music labels, and emerging talent all over the country. Billie Eilish is scheduled to perform at the 2022 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Friday April 16th and Friday April 23rd.
Listen to the music of Billie Eilish on KWXY Presents hosted by Louie Comella, tonight at 7pm on KWXY Music Radio 92.3 FM ● 1340 AM ● streaming at kwxy.com and ivoxradio.com