In a recent interview with British Vogue, Billie Eilish explains how her new single, titled ‘Your Power’ is “an open letter to people who take advantage.”
The newly blonde pop star graced the magazine’s June cover in a 1940s pin-up style ensemble — a custom pink Gucci corset and skirt with lace Agent Provocateur lingerie and elbow-length latex gloves.
Other photos show Eilish wearing a number of form-fitting outfits, a marked departure from her usual baggy wardrobe.
Pre-empting potential backlash to the Vogue shoot, Billie told the magazine that she’s all about focussing on “what makes you feel good. If you want to wear a dress that somebody thinks that you look too big wearing, fuck it – if you feel like you look good, you look good.”
She later wrote on Instagram, “I loved doing this shoot,” telling her 83 million followers to “do whatever you want whenever you want” and “fuck everything else.”
The singer also talked at length about her new single ‘Your Power’ — which addresses the abuse of power dynamics in underaged relationships — calling it “an open letter to people who take advantage – mostly men.”
In the music video, a large snake wraps around the singer’s body, slowly constricting her as she stands alone on a mountainside. It takes aim at an unidentified figure, but Eilish says the song isn’t about one specific person. “It’s not about that,” she said.
“You might think, ‘It’s because she’s in the music industry’ – no, dude. It’s everywhere. I don’t know one girl or woman who hasn’t had a weird experience, or a really bad experience. And men, too — young boys are taken advantage of constantly.”
Eilish reveals that she was in such a relationship herself when she was younger. “I used to not understand why age mattered. And, of course, you feel like that when you’re young because you’re the oldest you’ve ever been. You feel like you’re so mature and you know everything… People forget that you can grow up and realise shit was fucked up when you were younger.”
The singer added that abuse can happen irrespective of your social situation. “It doesn’t matter who you are, what your life is, your situation, who you surround yourself with, how strong you are, how smart you are… You can always be taken advantage of… And it’s so embarrassing and humiliating and demoralizing to be in that position of thinking you know so much and then you realize, I’m being abused right now.”
‘Your Power’ is the first single from Eilish’s next album, Happier Than Ever, which is set to be released on 30 July.
Words by Bec Oakes
Image Credit: Vogue/Craig Mcdean
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