Billie Eilish Mental Health Advocate in Mainstream Music

“Step on the glass, staple your tongue. Bury a friend, try to wake up… cannibal class, killing the son. Bury a friend, I wanna end me,” 18-year-old singer and songwriter Billie Eilish says in her dark hit single “Bury a Friend.”

“For an artist who’s a part of a generation that can sometimes be criticized for being too sensitive to micro-aggressions, trigger words, etc., it’s confusing to me that she would be so celebrated for writing songs that romanticize murder, suicide, and… the devil,” Monica Moser, a freelance journalist wrote. 

Despite Moser and other’s aversion to Eilish’s out-there lyrics, ever since Eilish hit mainstream music, her songs revolving around depression, suicide and mental health issues serve as a voice for teenagers going through hardships themselves. 

No matter what age you are, people don’t deserve to feel pressure to stop listening to music they can relate to in some way just because real life topics are frowned upon in the mainstream music industry due to the sensitivity that lies within them.

The majority of of Eilish’s songs hold a dark and eerie underlying meaning, branding Eilish a controversial subject to several teenagers’ parents, mentors and therapists skeptical of her songs on their teens’ playlists. The reason for their worries seems to come from ideas that Eilish romanticizes murder, suicide and other topics fairly sensitive for the radio.

Though most of Eilish’s listeners belonging to the millennial or Gen-Z age groups, older generations have stated their opinions concerning Eilish’s music — they’ve deemed her songs unfit for adolescents’ ears.

Adults recall their teenage years spent listening to songs such as “My Girl” or “Don’t Stop Believin’,” two tracks that highlight the stark contrast in time and movement of the music industry itself.

For years, artists vying for Top 40 spots have shied away from writing and producing songs that reference depression or dark thoughts and mentalities. Eilish, on the other hand, writes songs revolving around her mental health journey that many teenagers can relate to. 

“I don’t want to be dark, but I genuinely didn’t think I would make it to 17,” Eilish said in an interview with CBS’s Gayle King before recalling one incident in Berlin when she was alone in her hotel room.

“I remember there was a window right there,” Eilish told King, adding that the only thing that stopped her was thinking of her mother. “I remember crying because I was thinking about how the way that I was going to die was, I was going to do it.”

Although within the last six months, Eilish has been working on her mental health, making it her mission to share her struggles and help others who may be suffering as well. 

Standing on stage at the 2020 Grammy Awards, Eilish won five Grammys, four of them being the biggest awards at the Grammys. 

Eilish took home Best New Artist, Record of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year and the award for Best Pop Vocal Album. She is now the second artist in Grammy history and the first woman ever to win these four awards. 

Eilish’s wins have signified a necessary moment in music history, one where mainstream artists are being celebrated for addressing mental health and sensitive subjects in their work.

We’re used to hearing songs on the radio with lyrics about falling in and out of love with the same overused beat, but teenagers are more complex than that. Artists like Eilish are now stepping out of the box to produce songs about more serious topics that most are too quick to shy away from.

According to I need a LightHouse, a depression and suicide education awareness program, approximately 20% of teens will experience depression before they reach adulthood. If artists truly want to connect with younger audiences, they can’t brush mental health aside.

Eilish continually publicly stresses the importance of teen’s asking for help when they need it or reaching out to others when they think they need it.

In fact, since May of 2019 Eilish has taken part in a partnership with the Ad Council, releasing a new PSA video for ‘Seize the Awkward.’ The PSA was a video interview with Eilish stressing the importance of seeking help, making her a clear advocate for mental health. 

“I think when people hear, ‘Remember to take care of your mental health,’ they think that everyone else is, and that is not at all accurate,” Eilish said in the video. “You know, for me I’m trying to learn still to make sure that I stay okay.”

Songs such as “Listen Before I Go” or “Bury a Friend” can serve as comfort for those who feel hopeless.

“Listen Before I Go” is a song about one on the verge of committing suicide, but talking to their significant other before. This song can serve as a sign to seek help for these suffering teens, leaving the ultimate message of the song up to that individual. 

According to Eilish, “‘Bury a Friend’ is “…literally from the perspective of the monster under my bed. If you put yourself in that mindset, what is this creature doing or feeling? I also confess that I’m this monster, because I’m my own worst enemy.”

“Bury a Friend” gives teenagers or people struggling the chance to address their feelings and seek help if needed.

More than ever, mental health has become something that people aren’t afraid to talk about — but does this hold true in the music industry? Sure, there are songs about breakups and heartbreak, but rarely do you come across a song that discusses some of the darkest times of those suffering depression, anxiety or any other mental health problems. 

It’s up to artists such as Eilish to spark conversations about mental health so it can be freely talked about, especially in the world of mainstream music.