Billie Eilish Feels ‘So Solid’ in Her Relationship With Her Fans Now
It’s been six years since Billie Eilish sat for her first video interview with Vanity Fair. Since then it’s become an annual affair, in which the pop icon revisits her past interviews and gives updates about how her life has changed in the interim years. Vanity Fair recently posted her sixth interview, where the “Happier Than Ever” singer has grown from age 15 to 20, and from less than 300,000 followers on Instagram to more than 106 million.
Each celebrity’s experience with their fans is unique, especially when they’re figuring out their teenage years while suddenly in the spotlight. And though Eilish has had a few bumps along the way with her own fanbase, she says she’s in a fantastic place with the people who follow her every move.
Billie Eilish admitted in the past to struggling with creating boundaries with fans
In years past, the Grammy-winning artist called her relationship with fans “complicated,” to say the least. On one hand, she’s wanted to share every thought and conversation with them via social media. On the other, the backlash from that — or wanting to keep certain moments private — has proved difficult at times.
In the second year Eilish interviewed with Vanity Fair, the singer’s following had exploded from 257,000 followers on Instagram to 6.3 million followers. She went from being recognized “maybe once a week” in the first year to being a household name and instantly spotted everywhere she went within the span of a year. The Eilish in the second interview was decidedly more conflicted about her status: In a question about advice to her past self, Eilish looks straight at the camera and says, “Don’t post everything you think,” she shakes her head. “Don’t…If anyone is watching this, don’t post about your feelings. Don’t do it to yourself.”
Fans’ interactions still have a huge impact on the singer
Time, however, has proven kind to Eilish. The singer now says she is feeling “really good” — not just about her status with her fans, but with life in general. So much so, in fact, that she pokes fun at the morose 2017 version of herself.
In the most recent Vanity Fair interview, Eilish said even small interactions with her fans can mean a lot to her. Recently, someone in a crowd grabbed Eilish — hard — and it hurt. Another fan witnessed the incident, made eye contact with the singer, and mouthed, “Are you ok?” according to Eilish’s retelling. Eilish was, and said so. But that act of care was meaningful. “It was such a small moment, but it was nice. It made me feel good,” she said.
At another point in the interview, Eilish recalled a moment in New Zealand during an outdoor show with fans when she ran away from her security detail to just “be with” the people who had come to see her. It’s a snippet of her life she still thinks about six years later, she said. And now, things are trending in a positive direction with how Eilish interacts with her supporters.
“Right now, in this period of time, I feel so connected to the fans,” she said. “It feels so f****** good. I just feel solid.”
Moving forward, Eilish asked her fans to ‘trust’ her
Following the segment where Eilish expressed admiration for her fan base, Vanity Fair asked the “Your Power” singer what constructive criticism she would give to them. She paused to collect her thoughts, and then said, “Maybe trust me.”
She then elaborated, possibly alluding to the controversy surrounding her relationship with Jesse Rutherford, who’s more than 10 years old than her. “I’m in control. I’m in charge. I know what I’m doing,” she said. Lest anyone fret that she’s not going to be putting out new music or remaining in the public sphere, she added a promise: “You can trust me. I’m not going anywhere.”
