Everyone knows we overuse the word "cool", but I'll be damned if Billie Eilish isn't the epitome of it.
The 15-year-old artist came all the way from Los Angeles to play a one-off show in Auckland on Monday night, performing her full album to a crowd of excited (that's anunderstatement) fans at the Tuning Fork.
Billie Eilish performs at the Tuning Fork in Auckland. Photo / Shahlin Graves
She wore a ski-pants/oversized shirt/draped jacket ensemble in bright orange and blue, and soared around the stage, whipping her hair and popping and locking like no one was watching, and that's what's so cool about her.
She's 15. She's 15 and she's commanding the stage, playing up to the fans, and somehow being this superstar while simultaneously being her awkward teenaged self, tugging at her clothes that don't sit right, laughing at herself when she screws up a note, and shaking her head in disbelief when her fans sing every word along with her.
And her voice is incredible; something between a jazz-era lounge singer, a choir singer and a modern day pop singer. She hits high notes with crystal clarity, and her voice drawls and growls in the moody lower register, and she throws in R&B-style runs like they're nothing.
She covered Drake's Hotline Bling with an ukulele and soft, sweet, ridiculously-high vocals and a slowed-down tempo and later stared down the crowd while singing about the bodies in the back of her car.
She's unpredictable, but not in an annoyingly contrived way. And I for one, can't wait to see what she does next because it's going to be massive.
Also: A shout-out to Billie's equally talented older brother Finneas, who is her songwriting partner and producer and is only 19 years old. He performed a song of his own during the set and totally killed it. No wonder fans in the crowd were screaming to be adopted into this family - the talent is insane.
