15 Year Old Billie Eilish is The Next Big Thing.. and We Have Proof | BILLIE EILISH, PORTLAND REVIEW
GOLD GIRL SAM KEELER PHOTOGRAPHS BILLIE EILISH FOR INTERSCOPE RECORDS - PORTLAND, OREGON
Review by Sam Keeler
If you haven’t heard the name Billie Eilish, you most definitely will be hearing it quite a bit within the next couple of months because this 15-year old artist is about to be the next big thing. After releasing her incredible debut EP, “dont smile at me” earlier this year, LA based pop star is currently on a sold out tour through the US. We were lucky enough to catch her at the Holocene in Portland, OR for a night full of emotional pop songs and even a ukulele rendition of “Hotline Bling.”
Standing in a packed room full of an audience ranging from 14 to 40 (guessing those were the several parent chaperones), the energy in the room could not be higher after Nigerian rapper, Thutmose, pumped up the crowd for Billie’s set. Eilish may be a new artist but her influence is already visible—high school aged girls are scattered through the audience dressed in Eilish’s very distinct style.
The moment the lights go down, the entire crowd is screaming and holding their phones up anticipating the pop sensation’s arrival. Eilish steps on stage with a smile on her face. Before saying anything, she starts with COPYCAT. Before I could even process what song they were playing the crowd sang in unison.
The audience quickly acknowledged Eilish’s older brother Finneas O’Connell, who works with Eilish as a co-writer and producer. The two mesh together in perfect harmony that only siblings can achieve. At one point, Finneas preformed his own acoustic song and had the audience in awe.
Eilish admitted to the crowd that she had a bad day and was mad, yelling “Let’s get mad!” You could tell thatwant to she was pouring her emotion into her performance—and it was amazing.
It is truly unbelievable that this girl is only 15. I can only picture myself at 15, in the peak of my awkward phase and barley knowing who I was. But it is clear that Eilish knows who she or sure is doing a good job of figuring it out. Her stage presence is so natural and her movements are overflowing with a powerful confidence.
Keep your eyes out for this girl, it is clear she is going places.
PRESS, Sam Keeler
Sam is a member of the Gold Hand Journalism Team
Tall, blonde, and slightly awkward, Sam is a creative currently taking a break from living in Portland to spend the summer in New York City. She’s fuelled by music, tater tots, dogs, girl power, and of course caffeine. You can probably find Sam taking photos of her latte art in a cute coffee shop or eating pad thai and binge watching any Shonda Rhymes show.
Instagram: @samkeeler
