Beyond that, she recently announced her third album, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, to be released May 17, 2024. She spent the days leading up to the announcement building excitement by adding all of her Instagram followers to her “Close Friends” list. Eilish had the most Instagram followers in 48 hours…with her count increasing by 7 million followers total.
While her debut album, when we all fall asleep…where do we go?, was a chart-topper in its own right, it landed Billie every GRAMMY it was nominated for at the ripe age of 18…Eilish has solidified herself as one of the most revered and sought-after popstars in the world.
Eilish recently caught media attention for quietly revealing her sexuality. In an interview with Variety, she states that she’s always liked girls…and assumed people always knew that. In a viral snippet from her new song, LUNCH, she details a love affair with a girl.
But people don’t only adore Billie for her catchy tracks that consistently top the charts. It’s not just her songwriting ability and unique vocals that keep us hooked. People love her because she’s unafraid to speak her mind.
Whether it be complaining about too many influencers being at an awards show, or calling out other artists for using unsustainable practices…Billie does not hold back.
Billie Eilish On Sustainability
Eilish home
rethinkingthefuture.com
The Eilish home is iconic for many reasons: it’s where Billie and Finneas recorded her debut album, countless other songs, and EPs, in an effort to conserve water there’s no grass, and the roof is covered in solar panels. And being environmentally conscious extends beyond the four walls of their home.
When the hottest young talent is discovered at such an early age like Eilish, record labels are chomping at the bit to sign them. It’s like when a D1 athlete is ready to commit to college…you have your pick.
But what Eilish and her mom, Maggie Baird, were looking for wasn’t about money or label-perks…they were seeking a solid sustainability program. And while that may seem like standard practice, most labels didn’t bring up environmental policies during these meetings at all.
After signing to The Darkroom via Interscope Records, the struggle didn’t stop there. Billie Eilish and her family have been consistent contributors to the fight against climate change.
Maggie Baird has since started Support + Feed, which focuses on the climate crisis and food insecurity. Support + Feed helped Eilish’s 2022 Happier Than Ever tour save 8.8 million gallons of water through plant-based meal service for the artist and crew members.
During Billie’s 2023 Lollapalooza performance, she aided the launch and funding of REVERB’s Music Decarbonization Project – which guaranteed all battery systems used during her set were solar powered. The MCD’s overall mission is to lower – and eventually eliminate –the music industry’s carbon emissions.
But more recently, Billie Eilish called out other artists for releasing multiple versions of vinyls in order to boost vinyl sales. In an interview with Billboard, she says,
“We live in this day and age where, for some reason, it’s very important to some artists to make all sorts of different vinyl and packaging … which ups the sales and ups the numbers and gets them more money and gets them more…”
Artists convince fans to buy different versions of their albums by offering exclusive features on each vinyl. Take Taylor Swift, for example, who released five separate vinyl versions of Midnights, each with a different deluxe “Vault” track.
While Billie may not have been trying to shade one artist in particular, the point is that she’s fed up. After being the rare artist in the industry who go out of their way to remain environmentally conscious, Eilish sets the bar high.
How Eilish’s New Album Is Sustainable
Billie for "Hit Me Hard and Soft"
William Drumm
Social media users were quick to claim Eilish was hypocritical by announcing that HIT ME HARD AND SOFT will have eight vinyl variations. However, each vinyl is made from recycled materials – either 100% recycled black vinyl or BioVinyl, which replaces petroleum used during manufacturing with recycled cooking oil.
This just illustrates that Eilish wasn’t directing criticism towards other artists for using vinyl variants to gain album sales…but she does think there are better ways to do it that benefit the environment without hurting their sales.
Strict Immigration Policies are Destroying Maryland's Crabbing Industry
On the other, immigrants provide the necessary manpower for businesses that require a high volume of low-skill workers, like restaurants. The current administration's anti-immigration policies don't just target potential illegal immigrants for deportation but have made it harder for laborers to get visas for seasonal work. As of right now, foreign workers are awarded work visas via a lottery system rather than a first-come, first-served based. Trump himself has derided this practice as unsafe and open to infiltration by criminals and terrorists, drawing ire for his wishes to abolish the program. This could be a devastating blow to many severely understaffed industries across the country, as the lottery itself leaves many business wanting for workers.
For example, the Maryland crab industry has reportedly lost 40% of their workforce for this year's crab season and nearly half of the Eastern Shore's crab houses don't have enough workers. This is bad news for crab lovers, as about 50% of the United States' blue crab harvest comes from Maryland. U.S. unemployment has steadily fallen since 2008, and as it has, the demand for seasonal workers in fields that require intense manual labor has shot up.There were reportedly 81,000 applications for work visas this January with only 33,000 visas available, presenting a huge problem, not just for the federal government but for the businesses that need these foreign workers to operate. On top of this, Mexican workers who depend on these jobs–some of whom who have been coming to Maryland for 20 years–are suddenly unable to feed their families.
Even fervent supporters of Trump's stance on immigration would be forced to admit that from a utilitarian perspective, this is a disaster, not just for the crabbing industry, but for the state of Maryland. Crab prices are set to skyrocket due to the limited availability of Maryland's crabs, and companies are losing millions of dollars, all because they can't adequately staff their warehouses. In order to help alleviate the problem, Maryland Representative Andy Harris successfully campaigned for an additional 15,000 visa approvals, but it may be too little too late. By the time the workers arrive and are situated, the crabbing industry will have already taken a huge hit, as we're already more than two months into crab season. This visa approval also doesn't guarantee that the crab houses' prospects will improve next year. The current lottery system makes it incredibly difficult for Maryland crabbers to know how well they're going to be staffed in a given season.
According to Harris, efforts to raise the visa cap have been stalled by labor unions claiming that that foreign workers are being used as a means to drive down domestic wages. This however, feels more like an attempt to shift blame, as the AFL-CIO is pretty firmly pro-immigration. In fact, most major unions strive to organize immigrants, undocumented or not. There may be local groups or factions attacking immigration, but the idea that these fringe groups are powerful enough to stop the passing of meaningful legislation is far-fetched.
Regardless of what Andy Harris can get done in Washington, crab picking houses can't continue to operate at a loss if the Maryland crabbing industry is to survive. This much is clear. The stringent immigration restrictions don't help Mexican workers trying to find seasonal jobs. And for all the lip service politicians have given to helping American businesses, these same laws have crippled one of Maryland's biggest industries. As a result, we're left with one question: who is the current immigration policy designed to help?
Matt Clibanoff is a writer and editor based in New York City who covers music, politics, sports and pop culture. His editorial work can be found in Inked Magazine, Pop Dust, The Liberty Project, and All Things Go. His fiction has been published in Forth Magazine. -- Find Matt at his website and on Twitter: @mattclibanoff