Why Billie Eilish Can Finally Understand Britney Spears' 2007 Breakdown

Billie Eilish opened up about her rise to fame in Vogue's March 2020 cover story. To read more from her interview, click here.

By Elyse Dupre Feb 03, 2020 5:53 PMTags

Billie Eilish is shaking up the music industry and doing it all on her own terms.

The "bad guy" star opened up about everything from her childhood and personal struggles to her rise to fame and life in the limelight during a candid interview for Vogue's March issue.

Eilish broke into the industry at a young age. According to the magazine, she wrote her first song on the ukulele at age 7. She then learned how to play the piano and the guitar from watching YouTube videos. When she was 13 years old, she was singing her breakout hit "Ocean Eyes."

By age 18, she had won five Grammys and had become the first female artist to sweep all four of the major categories in one night.

"That s--t was f--king crazy," Eilish said about the history-making moment. "If anything it's an exciting thing for the kids who make music in their bedroom. We're making progress, I think, in that place—kids who don't have enough money to use studios." 

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While Eilish realized pop stardom is "everything" she's ever wanted, she learned fame has its drawbacks. She even suggested she could identify with other pop stars whom, as the magazine put it, "fame has disfigured."

"As a fan growing up, I was always like, What the f--k is wrong with them?" she said. "All the scandals. The Britney moment. You grow up thinking they're pretty and they're skinny; why would they f--k it up? But the bigger I get, the more I'm like, Oh, my God, of course they had to do that. In my dark places I've worried that I was going to become the stereotype that everybody thinks every young artist becomes, because how can they not? Last year, when I was at my lowest point during the tour in Europe, I was worried I was going to have a breakdown and shave my head."

Eilish has opened up about touring before, including during a 2019 conversation with Billie Joe Armstrong for Rolling Stone.

"There was a period where I was like, 'Do I even enjoy music?'" she said at the time. "It just felt like so much touring. And I don't mean the shows. The shows are always my favorite part. But it was just traveling and being alone all the time, on a cold bus in Europe, horrible food, and when you come back, everyone's kind of moved on from you. This last tour I went on was the first I've ever enjoyed. I feel like I have this amazing thing that now I actually see."

To read Eilish's full interview, check out the March issue of Vogue