Billie Got Real About Her Experience With Depression After Her Rise To Fame
At only 18 years old, Billie Eilish is considered one of the top artists of 2020, and her six Grammy nominations make that abundantly clear. Her sudden rise to fame came after she released her debut studio album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? in March 2019. From the outside looking in, it seems like Eilish handled her newfound fame like a pro, but she admitted it actually wasn't so easy. Billie Eilish's quotes about depression reveal how fame really affected her mental health.
Eilish has been on the music scene since 2015, but her debut album catapulted her to superstardom almost overnight. When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? produced huge hits, like "Bury A Friend," "All The Good Girls Go To Tell," and, of course, her most successful single to date, "Bad Guy," which went No. 1 in August 2019, breaking Lil Nas X's 19-week run at No. 1 with "Old Town Road."
Following the success of her album, Eilish snagged six Grammy nominations for Best New Artist, Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, and Best Pop Solo Performance, and even earned the honor of recording an original song for the upcoming James Bond film, No Time to Die, due out April 10.
Ahead of the Grammy Awards on Sunday, Jan. 26, Eilish spoke with Gayle King for her Grammy Special, and opened up about her sudden rise to fame in 2019 and how it took a toll on her mental health.
"I was so unhappy last year," Eilish said. "I was so unhappy, and I was so, like, joyless. I don’t want to be too dark, but I genuinely didn’t think I’d make it to 17."
"Did you think that you would do something to yourself?" King asked.
"Yeah. I think about this one time I was in Berlin and I was alone in my hotel, and I remember there was a window right there. I remember crying because I was thinking about how the way that I was going to die was, I was going to do it," Eilish revealed.
Due to her own experiences with mental health issues, Eilish wants to help fans through their own challenges by offering words of encouragement.
"I just grab [my fans] by the shoulders and I’m like, ‘Please take care of yourself and be good to yourself and be nice to yourself. Don’t take that extra step and hurt yourself further and then you can't take it back,’” Eilish said.
Watch Eilish's full interview with CBS This Morning below.
As always, Eilish's fans appreciate her raw honesty.
If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741. You can also reach out to the Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860 or the Trevor Lifeline at 1-866-488-7386, or to your local suicide crisis center.
