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.
More often than not, movements that seek progressive social reform are led by young people. Maybe this is because young people are less risk-averse. Maybe it's because those who have their lives ahead of them have a clearer view of society's flaws. Whatever the reason, activists tend to be on the younger side.
Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. was in his twenties when he began protesting. Marx and Engels were 30 and 28 respectively when they published the Communist Manifesto. There are some activists who are even younger when they're inspired to action. And many of the most famous social movements have been led by teenagers.
With this notion in mind, we've rounded up ten of the most important youth movements in world history.
Newsboys Strike (1899)
One of the major contributing factors to the United States' involvement in the Spanish-American War was the prevalence of anti-Spanish propaganda in Joseph Pulitzer's New York World and William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal. Towards the end of the 19th century, these papers were in a vicious circulation war and used cheap, tabloid-esque tactics in order to gain popularity.
While circulation continued to climb, pay for New York City's newsboys stayed stagnant. Following a slew of strikes in the 1880s, their frustration came to a head in 1899. During the 1899 strike, the newsboys reduced the amount of papers in circulation and were subsequently successful in increasing their wages.
Vietnam/Cambodia Protests (1964-73)
From the beginning, the Vietnam war was heavily protested in the United States. The protests of 1968 following the Tet Offensive were worldwide, occuring not only in U.S. cities, but Rome, London, and Paris. More famously, after Richard Nixon elected to invade Cambodia in 1970, unarmed students at Kent State took up picket signs. During this demonstration, the national guard open fired upon the youth activists, killing four and wounding nine others. Their deaths spurred a 100,000 man march in Washington D.C. protesting the war, but the United States' involvement in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos would not stop completely until 1975, nearly five years later.
Black Panthers (1966)
The Black Panthers aren't typically thought of as a youth organization, but when the group was formed in 1966, Huey Newton was only 24. The group was originally formed to protect the citizens of Oakland from police brutality. Outside of this, their goals were socialist in nature and sought to free black Americans from the oppression of American Capitalism. While they officially disbanded in 1982, their mission lives on.
Tiananmen Square protests (1989)
These protests were conducted by large groups of students and intellectuals to protest the economic policies of China's Communist Party. While not entirely cohesive, the demonstrations were largely peaceful until the Chinese Army arrived, massacring between 300 and 3,000 citizens (reports vary widely). The next day, the famous video Tank Man was filmed. In it, a single man stood in front of a column of Chinese tanks and blocked their path. His fate is unknown.
Arab Spring (2010-2012)
The Arab Spring was born online and started during the Tunisian Revolution. Both violent and non-violent protests swept North Africa and the Middle East, and resulted in the toppling of several totalitarian regimes in the region. While these protests started out strong and cohesive, various interests began to collide, and some of the destabilized regions are still in civil wars today; the most newsworthy being Syria.
Dakota Access Pipeline (2016-2017)
The Dakota Access Pipeline was built from North Dakota to Southern Illinois and connects oil fields in each locations. Unfortunately, the pipeline runs through the Standing Rock Reservation and threatens the regions clean water supply. After a long, protracted struggle and hundreds of arrests, the pipeline was put on hold for an environmental evaluation. When President Trump was elected, he bypassed this evaluation and the pipeline delivered its first oil in the spring of 2017. The pipeline has already leaked several times and is proving to be exactly the type of ecological nightmare that the protestors were worried about.
Muslim Ban Protests (2017)
When President Trump signed executive order 13769, or the travel ban, protesters gathered at major airports all around the country, delaying flights and offering legal aid to various deportees. Following the protests, the U.S. Court of Appeals found the travel ban to be unconstitutional on three separate occasions.
March for Our Lives (2018)
Perhaps the most famous youth movement in recent history, March for Our Lives was a nation-wide rally advocating for stricter gun-control laws. Led by the students of Stoneman Douglas High School, it is one of the youngest (and largest) peaceful protests in American history and had close to 2 million people in attendance. David Hogg, Emma Gonzalez, and the rest of the the Stoneman Douglas students who helped organize the rally showed tremendous resiliency and strength of character; this protest took place about six weeks after the shooting. While no gun control laws have been passed yet, the protests certainly have the nation's attention.
Palestinian Protesters Against Israeli Occupation (Present)
Palestinians have been protesting Israel's government at the Gaza border and are currently in a standoff with the Israeli military. Palestinian refugees are seeking equal rights within Israel and to be allowed to enjoy the same comforts as the Israelis. While the Palestinian protest has been a peaceful one, the Israeli military has already killed and injured several protesters, many of whom are mere teenagers.