Billie Eilish never thought she’d be considered "cool or interesting".
The 17-year-old singer has rocketed to fame this year after releasing her debut album, ‘When We All Fall Sleep Where Do We Go?’, which garnered chart-topping hits, a sold-out world tour, and six Grammy award nominations.
But despite being a role model for many young women, Billie says she used to be "so anxious" about her future, and never believed anyone would think she’s "cool".
She said: "Right now, there are so many young females who are actually looked at as cool. I remember a year when I was so anxious about my future.
"I was worried that because I was a girl, people wouldn’t think I was cool or interesting. They would think I was just super basic and lame. And a lot of people do think that, which is whatever. But the majority are giving me a really good reaction and validation for what I do.
"As a young female artist, you are looked at differently."
And the ‘Bad Guy’ hitmaker feels "lucky" to be making music in this era, because she says nothing is "off limits".
She added: "I’m lucky enough to be in a generation that’s able to break every rule – and that’s crazy. When I think about artists who grew up in a time where you could only have one genre and one look, and couldn’t change that ever … that must have been torturous. Especially to people who wanted to change. It’s really cool that I get to do this in a time when it’s more freeing. To be honest, there isn’t really anything that’s off-limits."
Billie is keen to start projects outside of music too, as she listed the likes of Childish Gambino, Tyler the Creator, and Rihanna as her inspirations.
She told Billboard magazine’s Women in Music issue: "They take what they have and actually turn it into more. That’s what I’ve always wanted to do. I really want to design shoes, and I really want to f***ing design a car. I direct my own videos and edit them myself most of the time, so hopefully more of that. I think Rihanna is f***ing murdering it. Everyone who is like, ‘Stop with the [Fenty] brand and put out more music,’ I think, ‘Shut the f**k up.’ She is doing exactly what she needs to do, and that’s fire."
Billie Eilish: I never thought I’d be ‘cool or interesting’
