It’s that time of year again: Billie Eilish’s annual interview with Vanity Fair has arrived. 2021 marks the fifth iteration of the format, which sees her answer questions on how her life has changed in the year gone by, how many more millions of Instagram followers she’s gained, and how many not-so-secret tattoos she’s acquired (three, for the record).
Looking back on her answers from the previous four years from a new, blonde-haired perspective, the 19-year-old singer says that she’s “starting to have an adulthood” in the new interview. “Which is new, for me, and very exciting,” she adds. “I’ve had new experiences, and new people, and lots of love.”
This year, she’s also come to terms with constantly being recognised whenever and wherever she goes out. “My attitude used to be, ‘Well I can’t go out’,” she says. “I used to not even be able to go to a park, or go get food or get coffee. It freaked me out.”
“In the last year, I have been opened up to it,” the Happier Than Ever singer goes on. “I really feel grateful for that. Because being able to feel confident, and stepping outside without a hat, and a hood, and glasses, and a mask and jacket… It’s so much better. And you don’t have to live like that. I realised that this year.”
Of course, the seven-time Grammy winner is still recognised plenty, but adds that getting rid of her slime green roots has helped her to “manage (her) way around people without them noticing” on a daily basis. As does her new, “any thing goes” approach to style, which has seen her swap between her signature oversized look, the Old Hollywood glamour of her Vogue cover, and the more lowkey aesthetic of her Happier Than Ever visuals.
“Literally the thing that I’ve been preaching about since I first started is to wear what you want,” she explains, discussing the public backlash against changing her style. “Dress how you want. Act how you want. Talk how you want. Be how you want. It’s all I’ve ever said.”
Elsewhere in the annual update, Billie fills us in on some of her recent career highlights, including her latest album, her Disney movie, the “terrifying” release of The World’s A Little Blurry, hosting the Met Gala (and making Oscar de la Renta promise to stop using fur), and bagging two more Grammys.
However, she says that the “most exciting thing” is the release of her debut fragrance, “Eilish”, which she announced earlier this year. “No disrespect to all of the other things I’ve accomplished,” she says. “But that’s very exciting.”
Watch the fifth annual 2021 Vanity Fair interview with Billie Eilish below.
