Like many of us, Billie Eilish is stuck at home due to the Covid-19 pandemic. And though she's missing her normal life, it's also the first real break she's had since she was 12 years old.
The Grammy Award-winning star is using her break to foster two puppies, but she still took some time out to speak to Telekom Electronic Beats on its 50th podcast about how she's coping with the lockdown.
Highsnobiety was treated to a first listen of the interview, the best and biggest takeaways we've collected for you below. Read what she has to say about being a loner in lonely times, what she thinks we might learn from the pandemic, as well as the best advice she got from Jared Leto.
Listen to the podcast below and keep scrolling for our favorite quotes.
On staying connected during the quarantine.
"If I'm being honest, I haven't wanted to. It sounds so introverted and lonerish but I've really enjoyed being alone. I feel like everyone on the internet has been talking about how they've been on FaceTime all day long with their friends. I love my friends, but I'm good being alone. I haven't had this time off since I was 12."
On having famous friends.
"I do envy people that have friend groups that are famous, but I don't have one."
Does she have friends in LA who keep her grounded?
"Not anymore, I have like two really close friends, and then a lot of 'kinda-close friends.' The weird thing is that normally when I'm home is the only time I can see them and now I'm home finally and I can't see them. Which is super weird, but that's weird for everyone right now."
On what she thinks we'll learn from the pandemic.
"If I'm being real, I feel like as soon as we can see people again and go out we're going to be so happy and grateful that in three days we're going to take it for granted again. That's the way people work, that's the way humans are made. You miss something so bad once you don't have it. Then when it comes back you fall back into that place of 'I'll have this for the rest of your life.' It's crazy we never thought we'd lose going out and having fun and seeing our friends."
The best decision she's ever made.
"The best decisions weren't the best until way later. Maybe sticking to my own ideas and treatments for videos and artwork. Another one was making music with my brother and not a bunch of randos.”
The best advice she ever received.
“Jared Leto said, no is the most powerful thing you can say. My brother and I have used that over the years, even if it will bring you heaps of money.”
How she imagines the future.
“I don’t wanna picture it because I don’t wanna get my hopes up and I don’t wanna picture it sucking. I'm trying to always live in the moment and not worry about what the future holds, but not so much that I ruin my life because of it. I'm obviously always thinking about my actions and how they're affecting the world, so I'm never going to be like 'fuck it, I don't care about my future.' I just don't want to get stuck in thinking about it too much.”
On her dreams.
"They're more about my actual life than my music goals. Also I feel like any time I say what I want, or a goal that I have, people try and try to get it for me. My whole thing is that I just wanna do things myself. Sometimes there's an element of sabotage to telling people what you want."
On her achievements.
"Who knew this would be my life? I love my life. I wish it could be happening right now."
What she wishes for.
"I think animals should be treated better. I wish people didn't eat them. I wish people would use less plastic. I wish I could change a million things in the world"
