Billie Eilish: ‘I really don’t like the idea of doing a show, like, doing a show for people’

This morning on Fitzy & Wippa, we chat with the very talented Billie Eilish. While talking about her love for Aussie bird sounds and whether she was able to sample any more Aussie sounds for her music, Billie admits she stopped going out for a while when on tour, saying “I was just like, scared to step outside because I was just worried. I’m not gonna be able to, people are gonna… Now I’m more comfortable in it.” Plus, Billie says the first song she ever wrote was based on The Walking Dead and tells us what really happened when she met the Royals and why the protocol went out the window.

BILLIE EILISH TALKS ABOUT RECORDING AUSSIE BIRD SOUNDS AND REVEALS SHE STOPPED GOING OUT BECAUSE SHE WAS WORRIED [5:33]

WIPPA I love that Australia is important to you as well because of the sound that you got from the buzzer when you crossed the road, I love watching that. Have you picked up any new sounds in Australia since you’ve been here this time?

BILLIE Dude, I haven’t been like, I don’t go out… I used to go out and like walk around and do stuff. And I don’t do that as much. Because life is a little different.

WIPPA What about when you scan your food, like it’s self checkout in the supermarket.

BILLIE that could do it. I don’t know, I would have to go to a store to do that. But we did when we were in New Zealand, we went on a bike ride because I’ve been I’ve been going out more for the last couple years. I really, when I was on tour, I was just like, scared to step outside because I was just worried. I’m not gonna be able to, people are gonna… which is like, I’m more chill about it. Now I’m more comfortable in it. So I have been doing more stuff. But I also just been busy. But we were in New Zealand and we went on a bike ride. And there were these birds that like we’re making this crazy, robotic sound and it was so sick. And we were moving so I couldn’t record it. But I was with Dora, my friend and we were like, What is that sound? That is amazing. Dora and I she makes music too she’s on tour with me. But she’s all about using weird sounds too. And so we both heard the birds and we were like, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

WIPPA There’s the famous thing here too, our crows.

BILLIE Oh! *Makes crow sound* Doesn’t it sound exactly like that?

WIPPA That’s good. I mean jokes have been made that it sometimes sounds like they’re saying f****.

BILLIE Dude, actually,I do have a recording from the last time I was here and it’s called Sydney birds. And it’s from 2019. And it was I was standing on the balcony in the hotel room. And I was just going *crow noise* I’m telling you, dude, it sounds exactly like that

WIPPA Can I give you my dolphin?

BILLIE Please.

WIPPA *Dolphin noises*

BILLIE Your mouth isn’t even open dog! That’s pretty good.

BILLIE TELLS US WHAT REALLY HAPPENED WHEN SHE BROKE PROTOCOL MEETING THE ROYAL FAMILY “I WAS SO WORRIED ABOUT IT” [7:59]

FITZY You’ve written a James Bond song. You’ve won an Oscar for that. Congratulations. Queen’s just passed away. And we’ve been dedicating our show to it a bit over here and obviously meant she meant a lot of us here in Australia. Yeah, you met the Royals, but protocol went out the door apparently when you met the royals?

BILLIE I had it all ready to go. I was like, I was like studying what the etiquette was supposed to be. I was like ready to curtsy. I was ready to not shake a hand. I was ready to not ask questions and not speak unless I was spoken to. And I was so worried about it. I was like, I’m not gonna know how to do it. And they all walked in and they were like, what’s up? How are you? How’s it going? And I was like, Oh my God. And it was funny. I was with Phoebe Waller bridge and she was standing there. And Phineas and I were we were like Phoebe do you know the protocols and like, do you know that you have to curtsy? Like no, no, we were like, oh, okay, nobody, like nobody prepped you on the protocol? And she’s like, No, like, we’re just meeting like, are we supposed to do something specific? And we thought it was like this big like it had to be like… And they walk in and it was great. They were so they were just so nice and friendly and charming.

BILLIE EILISH TALKS ABOUT THE FIRST SONGS SHE EVER WROTE WHICH WAS INSPIRED BY THE WALKING DEAD [0:24]

FITZY Fourth time to Australia? Wow at the age of 20 already?

BILLIE Yeah I know.

FITZY You’ve got three shows. It’s going to be unbelievable. Are you nervous? I mean, it’s crazy that you were playing to 500 people when you were 16. And then a year later, you’re playing to like, 20, 30,000 people. So I mean, this is this must be cruisy now, isn’t it?

BILLIE It’s not, it’s so sick. Like, the show that I get to do. I mean, you know, I just did three in New Zealand. And like, God, I just get up on stage. And I’m just like, I just have to like every single show. It’s never it never feels normal. Yeah. And every show I have to stand there for a second and actually just look around the room, and take it in. And it’s a crazy feeling.

FITZY the best thing that you, you like to converse with the crowd as well. So you have conversations, you get people up, you talk? Is that a big thing for you?

BILLIE It’s got to be that way. To me I really don’t like the idea of doing a show, like, doing a show for people. I want them to be like with me at the show, like doing the show with me. And like the idea of.. I was saying, like, I made this point yesterday, I’m just gonna make it again, because it sounded good. If there was a show that I did, and I come offstage, and I wasn’t happy about it for whatever the reason was, it’s almost always that it felt like the crowd was there watching a show. And I was the show that they were watching instead of, it wasn’t interactive. Like, that’s what I want is like the connection and like I want, I want them to be doing as much of the show as I’m doing.

FITZY I was at your first Coachella performance. And you had technical problems. But see, like we knew with lights and stuff we understood, but the way that you interacted with the crowd, I would not have known because, and then watching your documentary, The world’s a little blurry, I could see like you beforehand, like I would have had a meltdown and just about to go out and everything just shuts down. But you then all of a sudden, as soon as you hit that stage, Billy is it you switch on? You have to don’t you?

BILLIE Mhm it’s crazy.

WIPPA But then you go from that extreme, like the show that you’re gonna do tonight and some of the other big performances. And then when you go home to just the family, and you know, Mom and Dad. It’s like such a vast change. It’s such a different world. I mean, I know that you go back to the basics of just being at home. But even when the party’s over and you’re going through the idea for the film clip in the backyard with your mom. Your mom’s going on, I don’t know if that’s gonna work and you’re just sitting around the table in the backyard. Like to be able to have those conversations which just seems so simple and so normal for any family. But then to be able to take that to the world. It must be phenomenal to see it develop and grow.

BILLIE I’m telling you dude it is a surreal experience in my life.

FITZY Can you remember you started writing music at 11. What was your first song?

BILLIE Well, okay, when I was a kid, I was writing songs like a kid like I was constantly singing and constantly making stuff up but it wasn’t like a song song. So I wrote like little songs, when I was like five I wrote a song with a friend on my ukulele about like, ukuleles and then like, grass and flowers.

FITZY Give it to us we’ll play it on Nova.

BILLIE I will I’ll just record it now. But my first song. I think the first song that I wrote was a song called, I think it was either a song that I wrote called why not? Or a song that I wrote called fingers crossed. Fingers Crossed was about I mean, it was like a lost love song, but it was really about walking dead. Yeah, because it was a, I’ve said this before, but it was a song exercise. My mom actually was teaching a songwriting class and one of the exercises was, like, go home and watch your favorite TV show or watch a TV show or whatever. And anything that sticks out to you that could be a lyric or could be like, just anything interesting. Just write it down. And I was watching The Walking Dead because I was like 11 and I like The Walking Dead. And I wrote down a bunch of the things that they said in it and like the episode titles and like, so I wrote a song like about it, but it’s very like you wouldn’t know. We put it out on SoundCloud when I was like 13.

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