Photo courtesy of PopCrush
Trigger Warning: This article touches upon topics of predatory behavior and grooming
Although Billie Eilish’s upcoming album “Happier Than Ever” already had two singles out, the 19-year-old singer-songwriter gave fans a first look at her new era Thursday morning with the release of the single “Your Power.”
The song, which mesmerizes listeners with her trademark lullaby-esque vocals and an acoustic guitar accompaniment, is seemingly about the way that older men in the entertainment industry – and the world – use their power and fame to manipulate young women like herself. Billie doesn’t cut any corners getting this message across, with lyrics such as “try not to abuse your power” (which opens the song), “she was sleepin’ in your clothes/but now she’s got to get to class” and “will you only feel bad if it turns out/that they kill your contract?”
“It’s really a big subject. It’s about a lot of different things. It’s sadly very relatable for people. I’m not gonna make it about my experiences because it’s really hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of thousands and millions of people have experienced this every single day,” Eilish told Annie Mac in a BBC Radio 1 interview. But despite her hesitation to make it about herself, fans can’t help but draw connections between a relationship that Eilish had been in when she was 16.
It was revealed earlier this year in Billie’s Apple TV documentary “The World’s A Little Blurry” that at the age of 16, she had been dating then 22-year-old Brandon Quention Adams, also known as “Q” or “7:AMP”. Although the relationship had been speculated about at the time, the confirmation caused many fans to worry about the age gap between the two, feeling that Billie, who was also significantly less famous then, was being taken advantage of.
On their breakup, Eilish said, “I just wasn’t happy. And I didn’t want the same things he wanted and I don’t think that’s fair, for him. I don’t think you should be in a relationship, super excited about certain things that the other person couldn’t care less about.” However, it’s hard not to draw parallels between the lyrics of “Your Power” and this relationship. It seems to many listeners that Billie may be coming to terms with the fact that she was taken advantage of and is taking her voice back.
Whether or not the song is a personal tale, “Your Power” provides an important message about the power dynamics that are at play in an entertainment industry that put young people in such close proximity with people significantly older and powerful than them. At the same time, the song is a soothing, stripped down, pleasing-to-listen-to ballad that gives listeners a peek at what’s to come and will surely top charts.
Billie Eilish’s album “Happier Than Ever” comes out on July 30.
