Billie Eilish on the success of Chappell Roan, Charli XCX and Sabrina Carpenter: “It’s a crazy world when you get to the level they’re experiencing right now”
Eilish also touched on the downsides of fame, recalling a period where she thought she'd "never feel like a person ever again"
by Poppy Burton · NMEBillie Eilish has opened up about the success of her pop peers and acknowledged the “crazy” position they now find themselves in.
In a recent interview with the LA Times, the ‘Birds Of A Feather‘ singer, joined by her brother and collaborator Finneas, was asked if she felt threatened by the recent successes of Chappell Roan, Charli XCX and Sabrina Carpenter.
“Are you kidding me?” she replied. “I’m so happy for these bitches. It’s a crazy world when you get to the level they’re experiencing right now, and they’re doing great. Fans are drawn to them because they’re fucking awesome.”
All three have been praised by Jack Antonoff for their work this year, with him saying that “Brat summer” should be renamed “artist development summer” after their respective fanbases seemed to increase overnight after years of working on their material.
Eilish, whilst on the topic of sudden onset stardom, recalled a time early in her career when a TSA officer had taken a photo of her at the airport, and said: “I thought, this is just how my life is gonna be.
“I’ll never get to go outside again, and I’ll never feel like a person ever again. Every room is gonna be, ‘It’s Billie Eilish!’ and that’s gonna make me eventually kill myself.”
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Roan’s similar feelings about fame have consistently made headlines this year, with her recently comparing it to “an abusive ex-husband”, and revealing that she’d been diagnosed with “severe depression” that she attributed to her rapid rise.
Prior to that, she had taken to TikTok to share her thoughts on “weird” and “creepy” followers, calling out the “predatory behaviour” of so-called “superfans” that includes “nonconsensual physical and social interactions”.
While there was substantial backlash on social media, several female artists came to Roan’s defence, including Eilish and Carpenter, as well as Katy Perry, MUNA, Miley Cyrus and boygenius.
Asked if she’d heard Roan’s comments, Eilish appeared sympathetic, saying: “It’s hard out here, man, it’s hard.”
The singer has also stated that she never wants to talk about her sexuality “ever, ever, ever” again, after Variety seemingly outed her in a interview last year, which became a huge story. “I also underestimate that things I say will be blown up into the biggest news of the whole world.” she said. “That’s so unnatural.”
Elsewhere, Carpenter revealed that Taylor Swift had shared advice with her on handling fame and pressure, saying: “You find the people that you surround yourself with that make you feel safe and go from there.”
Meanwhile, XCX, who joined forces with Eilish on ‘Guess‘ earlier this year, threw an intimate listening party in celebration of the new remix album ‘Brat And it’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat’ in New York on Thursday (October 10).