Billie Eilish: “dont smile at me” Album Review

2017 was the year of new artists. From Post Malone to Khalid, the new styles are endless. One of 2017’s biggest new artist is Billie Eilish with her album “don’t smile at me”(sic.). This album (EP) consists of 6 original songs, 2 singles, and a remix featuring Vince Staples. Not to mention Eilish is 16, and was 15 when the album was released on August 11th, 2017. Along with her remarkable talent, her brother, Finneas O’Connell assists her in writing every song. He’s only 19.

I have been a fan of Billie Eilish since I stumbled across her song “ocean eyes”(sic.) that came out in early 2017. From there, her two singles, “bellyache” and “bored” were both extremely successful and unique. Her single “bored” was apart of the “13 Reasons Why” soundtrack, which blew up in the spring of 2017. From there, the EP was a must.

“don’t smile at me” starts off with the daunting song, “COPYCAT”(sic.) which introduces not only the album but also Billie Eilish’s rebellious character. “COPYCAT” has over 11 million listens on Spotify, which is not even her most popular song. Following “COPYCAT” is her song “idontwanttobeyouanymore”(sic.) which talks about problems in society for women. One of my favorite lyrics from this song is “If teardrops could be bottled, There’d be swimming pools filled by models, Told a tight dress is what makes you a whore” which portrays how women are treated by society and how women’s standards are set so high. Next on the album is one of my favorite songs; “my boy” which has a similar style to “COPYCAT” which talks about her toxic relationship with a boy and how she can’t stop it. “my boy”(sic.) is currently holding over 11 million listens, and is #2 on her popular list on Spotify.

Following “my boy” is my all time favorite for its unique style and original lyrics, “watch”. Holding over 23 million listens on Spotify and over 1 million views on her music video, it still is only her 5th most listened to song. “watch”(sic.) was one of Billie Eilish main advertiser for her EP which definitely drew attention. “party favor”(sic.) is the 5th song on her album, which has an extremely interesting style. Starting off as a phone message, it seems very simple, using only one instrument, but then changes into an upbeat song. “bellyache”(sic.) takes a close second in my heart for being so original. It was one of her first singles, later to take on over 27 million listens on Spotify and over 8.4 million views on her youtube music video. Next is “ocean eyes” which really brought attention to Billie Eilish’s music career. With nearly 32 million listens, “ocean eyes” is clearly a fan favorite.  “hostage” (sic.) has a similar take to the music as “party favor”, showing Eilish’s insane soulful vocals, which she learned through her church group that she attended as a child. Finally is the most recently added song, “&burn” featuring Vince Staples, which is a remix of “watch” with a slowing and more techno styled song along with rap verses. Listening to Billie Eilish’s first album, having most songs reaching over 10 million listens, she is clearly going to have a huge future in the music industry.

Billie Eilish is possibly one of the most talented 16 year olds I’ve ever seen. Having 5 million monthly listeners on Spotify,155K followers on twitter, 639K followers on Instagram, over a million subscribers on Youtube, and sold out concerts left and right, Billie Eilish will take 2018 by storm. While already catching the eye of Apple Music, her impact on society is only growing. Introducing to the world her different her style and taste is going to influence millions. Not to mention, her fashion sense is not only intriguing, but strangely cool, which makes her fans like her just that much more. What she has coming up is bound to be amazing, just like “dont smile at me”.

Check out Billie Eilish on her Instagram, @wherearetheavocados, and check out her music on iTunes or Spotify.