The Grammy Award winner does not write about the pressure of fame in a boring way for listeners, but from a different, new and more unique perspective.
Pop star Billie Eilish has released her second studio album “Happier than ever” (via Darkroom/ Interscope) was written with his brother and music producer Finneas. A 16-track album was released, including previously released singles such as “My future”, “Therefore I am”, “Your power”, “Lost cause” and “NDA”.
Billie Eilish released her debut album “When we all fall aslepp, Where do we go?” in March 2019. Album and single “Bad Guy” helped her make history in 2020 by becoming the youngest artist to win in four 2020 Grammy categories: “Song of the Year”, “Record of the Year”, “Best Pop Album” ; and “Album of the Year.” In addition, she also took home the 2020 Grammy Award for “Best New Artist”.
This album not only took the world by storm, but was also an album that brought about many significant changes to the mainstream pop music genre. Two years later, music streaming platforms are covered by these female singers/songwriters who realistically portray life’s hardships.
“When we all fall aslepp, Where do we go?” is an album that shows the struggles that any teenager faces such as love, friendship,… under somewhat scary images. That sarcasm has faded in subsequent songs, but Billie’s overall musical style is still sad.
In an interview with Laura Snapes in British Vogue, Billie Eilish opened up about her single “Your power” hers, saying: “It’s an open letter to those who only know how to take advantage of others – mostly men”. She continued: “I want people to listen to me. And not just trying to figure out who I’m talking about, because it’s irrelevant to that. The song isn’t really about any specific person. You might think, “That’s because she’s in the music industry” but no. This happens everywhere”.
Speaking to Rolling Stone’s Britney Spanos, Eilish commented: “There’s almost no song on this album that’s fun.” And when mentioning “Your power”, the female singer shared: “I was concerned about releasing this song because it is my favorite song. I feel like the world doesn’t deserve to hear it.”
The two songs “Your power” and “Getting older” all deal with sexual coercion, but the main theme of the album is fame and its negative impact on the person in the eye of the storm: stalkers, damaged relationships, invasion of privacy. violations, public gossip… This theme even permeates the album’s love songs like “My future”. This is a song expressing the female singer’s hesitation when choosing between love and career.
Eilish also talked about “Happier than ever” with Amy Kaufman in an interview for the Los Angeles Times. “I think these are the emotions I want my album to have”, Eilish said, referring to American singer Julie London – who is famous for the song “Cry me a river”. “Not just songs, but it must bring a deep, dreamy and curious feeling”.
Listening to a pop star complain about being famous is often tiring. However, it proves Eilish’s songwriting talent that when this topic is in her hands, it brings sympathy and understanding. Obviously Billie’s music is not like Black Sabbath or Nirvana, but there are moments of spirit, “Happier than ever” sounds like a 21st century pop song on par with “Sabotage” and “Utero”, two albums that succeeded in portraying a bleak and heavy picture of the world of fame.
Additionally, Eilish told Vevo: “I wanted to create a work that is eternal, not just for the listeners, but truly eternal for me”. She also mentioned legendary names such as London, Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee as inspirations for “Happier than ever”. “The main thing I want is for people to listen to what I have to say and then say, “Oh, my God, I feel the same way. I didn’t know I felt this way, but these are really my feelings.” And maybe, you know, make a change in their lives that makes them happier,” the female singer born in 2001 shared.
Notably, the songs released from “Happier than ever” So far, it has only received a small amount of feedback. Most of the public is looking forward to more catchy and exciting songs like in the female singer’s debut album. But even though this is a gentler, quieter album than before, “Happier than ever” Still an extremely quality music product. Billie Eilish’s melody and voice are both amazing. The female singer does not write about the pressure of fame in a boring way for listeners, but from a different, new and more unique perspective./.
