Danielle Saunders
Billie Eilish has dropped her new single ‘Your Power’. The track was released on 29 April, ahead of her new album release Happier Than Ever on 30 April.
At 19 years old, she continues to impact the music industry and youth culture, and push boundaries with her music. The artist became extremely popular after her debut album When we all fall asleep, where do we go?. She was initially recognised after uploading her song ‘Ocean Eyes’ to Soundcloud in 2015. Despite her expansive career and previous single releases, her debut album was a huge success and she quickly became a household name.
Since making her first album she continues to flourish alongside her co-collaborator and brother Finneas, releasing multiple singles including Bond theme ‘No Time to Die’, and tracks that will also appear on the new album ‘My Future’ and ‘Therefore I Am’. ‘Your Power’ differs from Eilish’s electronic pop style. Although her music can’t be placed in one genre, this new track brings a different edge, embracing her tenderness and exposing her vulnerabilities.
An intimate conversation
The song is a soft ballad, and although the sound slightly differs to previous work, it holds onto her contemporary vocals and hypnotic tone. It’s her woozy sensibility and distinctive vocal quality that makes her voice so unique. Stripping things back, it’s an intimate conversation between her and the listener.
“Will you only feel bad if it turns out that they kill your contract?”
‘Your Power’ delves into the sensitive subject matter of sexual abuse, her dreamy sound confronts the topic of a man preying on a young woman. She discusses male dominance, taking advantage of authority, and highlights power imbalances within our society. With the lyrics “You were the devil / how dare you, how could you?” she responds to coercion and control, singing “Try not to abuse your power”. Her silky tone makes the words even more disturbing, “You said you didn’t know / You said you thought she was your age”.
She doesn’t just refer to older men, but the power imbalances in society as a whole, sharing her experience of gaslighting, and remorse for anyone caught up in similar allegations, “Will you only feel bad if it turns out that they kill your contract?”. The video features her sitting alone on a mountain as a snake wraps itself around her body.
Raw lyrics and a chilling delivery
Despite her vocals remaining gentle and drowsy and the melancholy acoustic guitar throughout, her lyrics remain raw and harsh in their condemnation. It’s an extremely influential and potent song, the contrast between the lyrics and the way she delivers them makes the track very chilling. This disparity heightens both vulnerability and hidden pain and trauma. Equally moving and harrowing.
Her talents shine through in this track, its intimacy hits you with her tender tone yet haunting lyrics. It certainly speaks to you as a listener, it’s effective in increasing awareness, conversation and making you think about what needs to change when it comes to social constructs and dismantling harmful behaviours within our society. “I hope this can inspire change”, she says.
Out now on Darkroom/Interscope.
Featured Image courtesy of Daniel Leone on Unsplash. Image license can be found here. No changes were made to the image.
Danielle Saunders
Danielle is an aspiring Journalist. She currently has her own Blog sharing stories throughout lockdown and removing the stigma that surrounds mental health. Passionate about allowing news to reach a wide demographic, she runs a TikTok 'newswithdanielle' where she shares digestible daily news update in 60 seconds. She has previously written articles for the likes of 'The Mindful Word' and 'The Mental Health Foundation' and 'The Meridian'.