17-year-old singer Billie Eilish only gained popularity in the last three years or so – but what a rise to fame it’s been. Eilish’s emergence has been littered with number-one hits, gold and platinum singles, and this year, expected contention at the Grammy Awards.
Here’s a little more about this incredible breakthrough artist’s background, and why she looks like the industry’s next big thing (and the Grammys’ next big winner).
Rise to Fame
To some, 2019 might have felt like it brought an overnight rise to stardom. But Eilish has been singing since a young age. She made her first real recording four years ago, and released her debut single in 2016. Since then, she’s recorded two albums, toured four times (often to sold-out crowds), and made a name for herself as the first person born in the 2000s to record a #1 single in the U.S. Her music videos have hundreds of millions of views, and the fans don’t seem to be losing interest.
Through it all, Eilish has said that she felt the claws of depression. It wasn’t until she sought help and turned her focus to making healthy decisions for herself (like deleting her Twitter account) that she made real progress. “I’m in the happiest place of my life,” she’s said, also stating that she expected to die before seeing age seventeen.
Grammy Potential
Even if Eilish has had a somewhat gradual rise to fame, even at her young age, 2019 has represented a major popular breakthrough. And as a result, she’s expected to have – perhaps – a rare performance when the 2020 Grammy Awards come around.
While nominations for each Grammy category won’t officially be announced until November 20, fans and industry experts are already expecting a boatload of honors for the young artist. U.S.-based betting outlets are going to release odds likely as soon was the nominations come out (if not before), and early indications are that she’s going to be one of the bookies’ favorites in a number of prominent categories. Her song “Bad Guy” will likely be nominated for Song of the Year and Record of the Year; her album When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? should likewise be nominated for Album of the Year; and it will be a shock if she doesn’t win Best New Artist.
The Grand Slam
“Grand Slam” is typically a sports term. In tennis, it refers to the four biggest tournaments on the annual calendar; in baseball, it refers to a four-run home run. But some also use the term to refer to the unofficial most prestigious Grammy awards: Best New Artist, Song of the Year, Album of the Year, and Record of the Year. To date, a handful of artists have earned all four nominations, but Christopher Cross, of all people, is the only one to have taken home all four awards in a single night (back in 1980).
It’s always a long shot, particularly when you consider some of the big names that have fallen just short. But with Eilish likely to get the necessary nominations, some are starting to discuss the possibility that she could actually become the first person to pull off the Grand Slam.
Buckets of success haven’t changed Eilish’s outlook on life. She loves fame and she loves being who she is through her music. In fact, given how she overcame the aforementioned struggles, it may even be fair to say her rise to superstardom has helped in some ways. And with this kind of buzz already building for a Grammys ceremony that’s still months away, it doesn’t sound like that success is going anywhere anytime soon.
Related posts:
