Alrighty its ALT 98.7 LA's new Alternative. Hi it's Tamo joined by Billie Eilish. How are you? I just have to say I mean you just got named Forbes 30 under 30, you hit a billion streams, which is insane and you just wrapped up your three sold out shows at the Fonda last week. How are you feeling?
Overwhelmed but like in a good way now, you know cuz I don't know getting home from that tour was such a beautiful thing, especially the one you were at. I was so happy, you know, like the next day especially I don't know. It's been cool. It's been like insane and it's about to get more insane.
A lot of what I hear and I read is oh, she's 16. She's your age is only part of the story and I'm sure you've got to be over talking about how that is the Forefront. Do you ever feel like your age overshadows your message or your talent for your accomplishments?
honestly thats a question I get a lot but I feel like age is almost beneficial. It's kind of like you can kind of use it to your advantage. Not even in a good way sometimes necessarily because it's like you could just be like, I'm only 16 like what do you expect but that's like what I hear a lot from people that are 15 and 16. So I think its used as an excuse a lot of the time but also people look at you sort of a higher level because of your age and I feel like people would think that it's like they're young so people don't take them seriously. In my experience it has been kind of an advantage even though people kind don't think it is. It's like yo I am going to be old for so long. The things that are like flawed because of my age I'm going to wish that I had in a couple years. I am not going to have my mom, dad and family later on. Like my family, it's a lot of being around them all the time, but it's like I love my family and I won't be able to have it one day. So while I have it I'm just going to try as hard as I can just take it in .
I noticed at the show Friday night was in the crowd you have all different types of ages and people but there were so many women of all ages and it was this emotional experience and the singing was almost chanting and it was every word to every song was that intentional when you were writing and making your music?
Yo crazy, dude, I would never ever have thought that would be my show ever. You know, I remember like there's certain things that specifically happened that I think back on now that just like blow my mind. It's like I think at the beginning of 2017, I was asked to play some festival called crossed that I was at all and I saw the picture of the stage and it was like bigger than I've ever seen in my life. It wasn't at all big. It literally wasn't now if I look back at it, but at the time it was crazy and I remember my set time was the first of the whole day. So like 12 p.m. I went on the stage and there was like 8 people in the in the in the front right right in front of the barricade are like right next to the market and nobody else on the whole field. It was literally like 8 people and maybe like two people really far back like nobody basically and It was crazy to me. And I remember these two girls knew the words to the chorus of ocean eyes. They didn't know anything else really but it was just like the chorus of ocean eyes they sang along and I almost cried. I think I teared up because I just it was unbelievable to me that they knew my lyrics and I knew my song that well, you know, I like it was insane to me that was like two girls one song and one chorus and you know, I'm a little crew of 8 people in the middle of a big ass field in out to see whoever I am, you know, and just to think back about that feeling. I remember saying afterwards like oh my God, I don't think I could ever handle people singing My lyrics. I just I couldn't I couldn't handle cuz it was so beautiful. Because it was so beautiful. And then I remember playing London my first headlining show and it was like 100 cap room or something. Tiny tiny little venue the backstage area literally was the size of my toe and they saying every word to everything and I me and my brother just stood on the stage and cried at the end. We hugged each other and we cried like so it's insane. It's insane to think about it. Insane.
Do you think that that's the fuel cuz I mean the show was awesome. I mean your energy it enveloped blankets the room is that the fuel for it is you're just like looking down at these people and it went from two people to hundreds of people and they know every word to every song? Do you feel a sense of responsibility that you have the ear to especially other young women or are you just going to you're still having fun and making the music and connecting and just grateful that you can connect?
That, you know because I want to I don't want to stick with that. I don't want to think of myself as as being an inspiration because the if if somebody does think of me as an inspiration, the reason I think of me is that is because I'm I'm doing what I'm doing without thinking otherwise, you know, like without really caring what anybody thinks and that's what they like, you know, so it's like I don't know but it's it's crazy because that's every show like every show for about a year now because my first tour was in October last year and that blew my mind, you know, when that was pretty tiny venues in and in the beginning of the year that was even more insane and then this last tour it's just like it's just I can't. What the hell is my life? I don't know.
It's awesome is what it is. Awesome. It is pretty very much deserved. Everybody loves the label and when I was telling a couple friends and going to the Billie Eilish show on Friday night a handful of people were like, ah that's awesome. And there's a handful that, you know, haven't heard your music and so is she pop is she Rock and your music like bitches broken hearts, which is almost like jazz and then like the Hip Hop Vibes. You should see me in a crown that there is no nailing you down so lets throw the all to you. How do you describe yourself as an artist? And what are your musical influence? Does it you to one genre or?
No, not at all. I feel like if I tried to put on a front that I listen to 1 type of music. That's where I get all my inspiration. I just, that's a whole cap. I could not tell a lie than that one. So I don't know. It's actually a really hard thing to answer because sometimes I mean like Uber's and they're like are you an artist? I'm like, how can you tell I'm like Uh sure but always feel like so corny saying that because a lot of people say that and they're not but you know what who cares. everybody asks but I don't even know if anybody ask me if the doctor or the dentist I don't know if they're like what kind of music do you make I'm just like...... Somebody came up with a title for it, and called it alternative trap, which I actually really fucked with. It's going to be a thing somebody said glue and pop before but I'm not pop though. You know and especially the stuff I am making it's not like the first couple songs. Like, especially this time I'm making now.
And what are you listening to everything?
I'm like such a an advocate to like just liking music to like it, you know, cuz I don't I have the whole thing. I say it to everybody all the time. It's just like if it's a good song. It's a good song. It's like I just I feel like I have no respect for people that are like I only listen to this. People don't even know what they like because if you're like, I only listen to Hip Hop, I'm like you were just playing that.I grew up on everything because my parents used to make you know, cause I grow before it was like iPhones and stuff. It was just more like MP3 players and DVDs. I mean CDs and stuff in the car. And so my dad would make like just like a little bit disc of you know, like Avril Lavigne and and the Beatles and then I grew up on a lot of Green Day and then My Chemical Romance and then Tyler the Creator and then Earl Sweatshirt, Johnny Mathis like what's-her-name Etta James, Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra, Childish Gambino, Lana Del Rey and you know, like just so many and then and the thing is I used to listen to a lot of like I used to be like a SoundCloud head. So I would just like dig into some kind of fun stuff I just thought was dope because there's so much and like SoundCloud what is the best honestly because anybody can make it anybody can listen. But that's how I found most of the music I listen to now. My favorite artist, a lot of my friends even because I grew up listening to people and being a big fan of a lot of people and now I have sort of becoming friends with them which is literally insane. I don't know how that happened to put it did and I don't know but I feel like the main people that that really like created you know, who I am. It was it was a mix between musicians and and fashion icons kind of which was just it's like Tyler the Creator and Childish Gambino. Anyway, it was a lot of that, you know a lot of ASAP Rocky, Future and Earl Sweatshirt. I mean these people like created who I am. It's crazy to think about.