Billie Eilish is, without a doubt, one of the most influential artists of the last decade. With her angst-driven alt-pop, the young American singer has given a voice to teenage girls worldwide. But there’s one album she sees as formative for women with an interest in music as an art form.
In conversation with another pop musician, Eilish joined Dua Lipa in conversation for the At Your Service podcast, a project that sees Lipa connecting with other musicians, including Elton John, Megan Thee Stallion and Charli XCX. Lipa has also hosted major cultural figures like director Greta Gerwig, Vogue editor Edward Enninful, and human rights lawyer Amal Clooney.
In her conversation with Eilish, the two pop stars discuss the key to a successful career, which Eilish credits to her mother’s influence. They also talk about growing up, both in and out of the spotlight.
“What are five formative albums you listened to growing up, and what do they mean to you then and now?” Lipa asks on the topic, to which the singer immediately answers, “Born To Die by my girl Lana”.
Eilish would have only been 11 when the debut album from Lana Del Rey was released, but she still considers it to be a formative release.
“I feel that that album changed music,” she said. Providing high praise for the record, the album pioneered a new wave of alt-pop that Eilish herself still rides the wave of. Merging literary and cultural references with rich emotion and genre-blending sounds, Del Rey burst onto the music scene with an incredibly captivating sound and aesthetic.
But for Eilish, Del Rey’s influence is more specific than that. “It especially changed music for girls and the potential of what is possible,” she added. Del Rey’s impact on female musicians is evident. Following Born To Die, there is a clear lineage of artists deeply inspired by her lyricism and sound, including the likes of Gracie Abrams, Suki Waterhouse, The Last Dinner Party, and others.
On Born To Die, Del Rey establishes the artistic voice she builds upon throughout every other release. Creating a highly glamorous character inspired by the golden days of Hollywood and Americana, the figure in her music is doe-eyed, poetic, hopelessly romantic and emotional. In contrast to all the other girl power pop stars that came before her or the radio-friendly voices of her peers, Del Rey was an outlier in offering a darker sound.
Del Rey’s influence on Eilish is obvious, given that Eilish made her breakthrough with ‘Ocean Eyes’, a track that almost sounds like her idol could have written it. Taking the baton and running with it, Del Rey’s influence on Eilish, along with a whole generation of women, girls and female musicians, is still revealing itself with each new artist and release.
