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Next-generation pop star Billie Eilish gains popularity

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At only 18 years old, she became the second person in history to win all the Grammy Big Four awards in the same year: Best Album of the Year, Best Song of the Year, Best Record of the Year, and Best New Artist of the Year. She has made soundtracks for multiple famous movies like 1984 and the new upcoming 007 film. As a worldwide internet pop sensation, Billie Eilish consistently had her albums top multiple music charts in both the US and the UK with hit singles that have taken the world by storm.

Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell, who is more commonly known as Billie Eilish, first began singing when she was only 12 years old. As she was homeschooled with her brother, Finneas O’Connell, the two naturally developed a hobby of making music together; Finneas would write the songs and Billie would sing them. They would then upload songs on Soundcloud with no intention of sharing their music with anyone other than close relatives and friends. However, once Billie Eilish released her first song called “Ocean Eyes” at the age of 14, the song instantly became popular, shocking both Billie and Finneas. Interscope Records subsidiary Darkroom heard the song and offered to release it as an official song.

“Finneas called, like, ‘Dude! Our song got 1,000 plays. We made it.’ We were just so over the moon about it getting 1,000 plays. We were like, that’s it. We’ve reached our goal. We thought we were bosses. And then it just kept going. And then Hillydilly found it . . . I didn’t realize how big it was getting until it had reached 50,000 plays. I haven’t really processed it. It’s just hard because it doesn’t happen to everyone, and it’s rare,” Eilish told Vogue.

After releasing more hit songs like “I don’t want to be you anymore,” Billie Eilish quickly rose to become a legendary pop icon, gaining recognition not only for her voice but also for her pessimistic attitude, through which she expressed her dissatisfaction of her own appearance or voice. By pouring those emotions into her music, Billie Eilish touched the hearts of teenagers all over the world who feel  the same lack of confidence that she did. But as she gained more popularity, Billie also began to make a darker style of music as well. In her first album “Don’t Smile At Me,” Billie incorporated songs such as “COPYCAT” that had a sadistic and evil feel to it. Her most recent album, “when we all fall asleep where do we go,” includes horror and devilish songs that have been streamed over 15 billion times on Spotify. Many people struggle to categorize her style of music in a single category because of how unique it is.

“I’ve never heard any music like hers before,” said Sophia Eu (10), an avid fan of Billie Eilish, “I’ve been to her concert before and the fact that she’s only 3 years older than me makes her so much more relatable and friendly.”

But more notable is the way she combats the modern perception of female pop stars. Billie hates being told what she can and can not do and she has said multiple times in interviews that she does not want to conform with the traditional image of a pop star. Especially in Korea, the image of female celebrities is becoming more and more sexualized. But Billie desexualizes herself by wearing baggy and bright clothing, dyeing her hair multiple colors, and owning a pet spider as an act of rebellion against the modern perception of female pop stars. Billie Eilish’s success at the Grammys this year proves that women do not have to be skinny and pretty to rise to the top.

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