Billie went from VSCO girl to Emo Rapper style, why?

[gypsy101 5,428]

1 hour ago, LadyxGaGa said:

but that isn’t a reason to hate her. she works at interscope. just like GaGa so shouldn’t we be hoping Billie stays at the top because they are part of the same label? 

i completely agree with you, Billie and Gaga are both wonderful

[JustJames 797]

It's like there is no space for a rational, stable, discussion or debate about Billie Eilish without it devolving into nonsensical back-and-forth that literally has NOTHING to do with the topics that most of her critics have an issue with. People, thankfully, understand on the Gaga end of this site, that stan Twitter represents a fraction of the general population and that the way they behave should not be representative of any groups' actions in generalization. 

Yet, when it comes to Billie, any criticism or skepticism at all immediately triggers responses about the poster, typically comparing them to Madonna fans ca. 2011, accusing them in some way of cyber-bullying, or in some way or another saying that any discourse over this artist is off limits. Why?

I have many concerns about Billie Eilish as a musician, and also as a celebrity who now has a platform she is actively using to influence a younger generation. There are many music acts who rightfully say they never asked to be a role model - i.e., Britney Spears. That is an entirely different thread, though, since Billie is vocal about the influence she has over her listeners and has made it clear that she makes music for the purposes of modeling others. 

The "you stan Lady Gaga" defense is also lame rhetoric. Gaga, regardless of any similarities, did not break into the industry as easily as Billie. She had the upbringing and education that made the path easier for sure, but Billie was born into a show-biz family and if you think that it is merely coincidence that she and her brother are a 1-2 punch that stumbled onto a winning formula to sweep the Grammys on their first try, then you're actively choosing to ignore evidence. Interscope doesn't just hand out contracts to young teenage brother-sister producer-singer teams, let alone develop entire imprints within their label for them to create albums.

If you look at her career in rewind from the debut of her sure-to-be-Oscar-winning song, it is just not realistic that 2 superstar siblings (odds?) convinced Interscope to sign them (odds?), create their own imprint within the label (odds?), had a symbiotic evolution of their styles sonically and visually (odds?), that just happened to touch on the themes that an entire generation of listeners were craving (odds?), in a debut album of songs that was of such high-quality that it had to be nominated for every award it could possibly be (odds?), allowing promotional appearances that outnumbered any in the history of the Grammy voting season (odds?), before she ended up sweeping the Grammys (odds?) for "pushing pop boundaries" (odds?) yet having only one Top 10 song from the nominated album. 

None of that says you can't like her music or her sound. Nor does it say you need to believe they DIDN'T defy the odds. But, can you not see it is a little curious? Isn't it a little curious that she stated that her style of songwriting, where she tells stories rather than relays truth, was more authentic or less problematic than the way hip-hop artists do the same? Isn't it curious that an 18-year old who we are told has been driven to the spotlight by her own ambitions is using her platform to, in her own words, tell stories that are dark while essentially exploiting the emotional rollercoasters of her listeners by saying she is "writing stories" in some interviews, while saying she almost took her life in another? And, whether it is a story or a portrayal, isn't it disturbing that she is using her platform to put out visuals like driving a car into a body-of-water despite fulfilling her goals and dreams?

I actually don't care that much about Billie Eilish and can't believe how much time I just spent writing this about her. But, nothing I have heard of her music sounds more revolutionary than other debut artists that have come before her who have not earned the acclaim she has so unilaterally. 1 Top 10 hit from her debut album swept the Grammys, yet Gaga was 1 single shy of getting through 3 full album cycles without ever releasing a single that peaked outside of it. Bad Guy will transform pop more than The Fame, Pokerface, Paparazzi, Bad Romance, The Fame Monster, Born This Way, Edge of Glory? 

Despite the obvious connections to the industry that enabled her and her brother to become a dominant force in the industry, despite their over-aggressive campaigning, despite her inconsistent message to her fans over the authenticity of her lyrics while serving them depressing visuals, depsite her ignorantly putting down other genres of music, she seems to be untouchable. 

[FfFfFfFF 54,411]

8 minutes ago, JustJames said:

It's like there is no space for a rational, stable, discussion or debate about Billie Eilish without it devolving into nonsensical back-and-forth that literally has NOTHING to do with the topics that most of her critics have an issue with. People, thankfully, understand on the Gaga end of this site, that stan Twitter represents a fraction of the general population and that the way they behave should not be representative of any groups' actions in generalization. 

Yet, when it comes to Billie, any criticism or skepticism at all immediately triggers responses about the poster, typically comparing them to Madonna fans ca. 2011, accusing them in some way of cyber-bullying, or in some way or another saying that any discourse over this artist is off limits. Why?

I have many concerns about Billie Eilish as a musician, and also as a celebrity who now has a platform she is actively using to influence a younger generation. There are many music acts who rightfully say they never asked to be a role model - i.e., Britney Spears. That is an entirely different thread, though, since Billie is vocal about the influence she has over her listeners and has made it clear that she makes music for the purposes of modeling others. 

The "you stan Lady Gaga" defense is also lame rhetoric. Gaga, regardless of any similarities, did not break into the industry as easily as Billie. She had the upbringing and education that made the path easier for sure, but Billie was born into a show-biz family and if you think that it is merely coincidence that she and her brother are a 1-2 punch that stumbled onto a winning formula to sweep the Grammys on their first try, then you're actively choosing to ignore evidence. Interscope doesn't just hand out contracts to young teenage brother-sister producer-singer teams, let alone develop entire imprints within their label for them to create albums.

If you look at her career in rewind from the debut of her sure-to-be-Oscar-winning song, it is just not realistic that 2 superstar siblings (odds?) convinced Interscope to sign them (odds?), create their own imprint within the label (odds?), had a symbiotic evolution of their styles sonically and visually (odds?), that just happened to touch on the themes that an entire generation of listeners were craving (odds?), in a debut album of songs that was of such high-quality that it had to be nominated for every award it could possibly be (odds?), allowing promotional appearances that outnumbered any in the history of the Grammy voting season (odds?), before she ended up sweeping the Grammys (odds?) for "pushing pop boundaries" (odds?) yet having only one Top 10 song from the nominated album. 

None of that says you can't like her music or her sound. Nor does it say you need to believe they DIDN'T defy the odds. But, can you not see it is a little curious? Isn't it a little curious that she stated that her style of songwriting, where she tells stories rather than relays truth, was more authentic or less problematic than the way hip-hop artists do the same? Isn't it curious that an 18-year old who we are told has been driven to the spotlight by her own ambitions is using her platform to, in her own words, tell stories that are dark while essentially exploiting the emotional rollercoasters of her listeners by saying she is "writing stories" in some interviews, while saying she almost took her life in another? And, whether it is a story or a portrayal, isn't it disturbing that she is using her platform to put out visuals like driving a car into a body-of-water despite fulfilling her goals and dreams?

I actually don't care that much about Billie Eilish and can't believe how much time I just spent writing this about her. But, nothing I have heard of her music sounds more revolutionary than other debut artists that have come before her who have not earned the acclaim she has so unilaterally. 1 Top 10 hit from her debut album swept the Grammys, yet Gaga was 1 single shy of getting through 3 full album cycles without ever releasing a single that peaked outside of it. Bad Guy will transform pop more than The Fame, Pokerface, Paparazzi, Bad Romance, The Fame Monster, Born This Way, Edge of Glory? 

Despite the obvious connections to the industry that enabled her and her brother to become a dominant force in the industry, despite their over-aggressive campaigning, despite her inconsistent message to her fans over the authenticity of her lyrics while serving them depressing visuals, depsite her ignorantly putting down other genres of music, she seems to be untouchable. 

Very well-writen and organised post! I agree on pretty much all the things you pointed.