For the handful of people who didn’t hear about it: Billie Eilish broke the internet last week. British Vogue reported that following the release of her new track “Your Power” – unveiled ahead of her sophomore album launch in the summer – the 19-year-old was revealed as the star of the magazine’s June 2021 issue. Save for glimpses of her newly platinum hair, which the singer had been posting intermittently on Instagram since March, Eilish’s Vogue shoot was the first time her fandom got to see her jaw-dropping new look in full. It was, as British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful put it, Billie “as we’ve never seen her before”.
Billie’s decision to trade her signature neon-green locks and typically baggy clothing for Old Hollywood curls and a pin-up inspired series of striking lingerie looks was bound to provoke a reaction. Sure enough, the response to the cover when it hit Billie’s Instagram feed was seismic – the post surpassed a million likes in just six minutes, breaking a record she herself had set earlier this year. Over on British Vogue’s Instagram feed, the cover has become the most-liked in the history of the magazine.
Stratospheric fame has not fazed the singer. Despite her global success, she remains refreshingly grounded, with an attitude that is never anything less than empowering. Billie’s accompanying interview, in conversation with Laura Snapes, touched upon her transformation, new music, confidence, and living life on her own terms. The quote that sums up the start of her new chapter best? “My thing is that I can do whatever I want.”
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