When Billie Eilish was a child, she wanted to be a photographer. While that didn't pan out, the superstar has fulfilled that interest, to some extent, at 19 with the release of her new book aptly titled Billie Eilish.
In the 336-page hardcover book, which was released via Grand Central Publishing, Eilish delivers a concept similar to the mission behind a scrapbook, chronicling key moments from birth, childhood, rising teen star to global phenomenon. It serves more like a family album than a collection of overly curated images and that is what separates the release from other photo books. It screams Billie Eilish from beginning to end. "I don't want this book to feel like a chore, I want to feel like a photo book you might have of yourself," the singer wrote in the foreword — and that it does. "I don't want to spell out everything for you. I want to give you a big pile of pictures that speak for themselves."
Offering a candid look at life before fame, the book takes readers on an authentic journey from past to present, making note of all the good and bad times in between. Whether she's seen practicing aerial arts, recording "Ocean Eyes" or using "public transportation without being mobbed," Billie Eilish covers all grounds, while simultaneously offering fans with brief Insta-like caption to the never-before-seen images, which were shot by her family, friends and world-renowned photographers. What's most interesting is the trajectory in her personal and professional growth as we see a young girl investing in her friends, choir and, of course, her love for Justin Bieber, before evolving into the superstar that we know today.
In between the fans, fashion and injuries, Eilish exists in her element and unafraid to speak on it. "I probably was in the worst mental state that I've ever been in for this tour," she wrote in reference to her "1 By 1 Tour," which she described as "really difficult." "Every time I see pictures from this period of time, my chest clenches remembering the way it felt." Flip the page and it's a shot of her on-set of the video for her breakthrough hit, "bad guy," which she declared as her "least favorite and most popular video." After documenting her historic 2020 Grammy evening and canceled "Where Do We Go? World Tour," the book brings readers to the beginning of her quarantine amid the COVID-19 pandemic. "I adopted a little stinky puppy named shark," she wrote, alongside a photo of her cuddling with the Pit Bull Shark.
At the end of the foreword, Eilish offered the final part of its mission statement. "If there's anything I want you to take away from this book, I think it's that we're all just our three-year-old selves," she explained. "No one isn't annoying, nobody isn't cringey at a certain age. No one doesn't go through different phases, including ...puberty. I just want you to see me and see my life, with your own eyes."
Photo: Kelia Anne Mac Cluskey