Billie Eilish has given so much to the world through her smooth airy sweet voice at just 16 years old as a singer and songwriter. Her success at such a young age has made almost every teen question what they are doing with their lives at the moment. She became well known to her first ever track, “Ocean Eyes.” Now she has gotten everyone talking after the release of her new music video for her new single “when the party’s over” released last week which has currently amassed more than 15 million views on Youtube. With very few props, she is able to deliver a powerful performance in the video, which includes images of dark fluid pouring out of Eilish’s eyes, a scene that is both disturbing yet captivating.
Though Billie herself has not spoken on the meaning of the song yet to confirm, many are interpreting that the song is about Billie walking into a relationship where she knows she could get hurt but goes in nonetheless only to be consumed by it, symbolic through the ink that pours out of her near the end of the video, spilling everywhere at the end. The lines of the song are few and simple, yet are nonetheless moving through the chant-like feeling of the song and the smooth transitions of Billie’s breathy pitch.
Now, this song is becoming Billie’s Highest Charting Song. Billie soon did comment on the video through her social media that the black tears flowing, staining her eyes were actually real, showing us a clip through her social media of the behind-the-scenes as she is being prepped for the video. Tubes had been draped right onto the inner corners of her eyes from where the black liquid would flow out.
The visuals of the video can rightfully be called minimalist. There’s a plain white background, the only objects are the table with the glass of dark liquid on it, and next to it the chair that Billie Eilish sits on. The minimalism helps to keep our focus squarely on Billie as we see her reluctantly drink the dark fluid only to be spilled out of her later, as she makes a futile attempt to wipe away the dark tears smudging her face even more. All of this is done in one continuous shot, which is quite impressive, especially considering that the liquid used was literally staining her eyes throughout that whole time, which Billie made sure to point out that it stung. This continuous shot is what gives the song and video its magic. It holds the attention of the viewer despite how uncomfortable that shot can make one feel.
It is clear that this is Billie’s best work yet. With every new project, she changes the way people perceive teenage emotions. She adds complexity to them without having to use cliche lines about broken hearts. Making this simple yet powerful song and video at just 16 years old shows that she truly is someone that cannot be ignored.