Billie Eilish has opened up about the unconventional rule her parents had when she was younger.
Just as the Happier Than Ever singer's set to make history as Glastonbury's youngest ever headliner today, 24 June, it seems only right to learn a little more about the people who got her there.
As Billie, like her brother Finneas, credits most of their success to their creative upbringing.
The singing sensation's humble home in LA was full of creativity, with their actor parents, Maggie Baird and Patrick O’Connell, running the show.
Maggie and Patrick decided to homeschool their kids, a choice we can all agree went wonderfully.
However, things weren't always easy for the family, with the devoted parents supplementing income from their acting jobs with teaching gigs and even sleeping on a futon in the living room, as reported by the New York Times.
Still, the family found time to spend together, with Billie and Finneas encouraged to embrace their musical talents.
Billie even told Vanity Fair during a recent interview that there was one particular rule she loved growing up: "Well we had a rule growing up, that was like a household respected thing that was: no matter what time it was, you know, no matter how old we were, if we were creating, writing music, playing piano, playing guitar any instrument at all, we could stay up as long as we were doing that."
.jpg)
Honestly, we wish we had that rule so we could play on our Nintendo DS a little longer – all in the name of creativity, of course.
Still, there was some pretty sound reasoning behind the rule, with Billie adding: "You know you only have creativity when it comes to you and sometimes it's really random, sometimes it's in the middle of the night, sometimes it's in the middle of the day, wherever, whenever, you know with who – whatever.
"So, we had a rule that was just like, no one is gonna push that away from you. You get to be creative when you feel creative, which I think is really important, for us."
And clearly, the rule worked, because after working late on their music, Billie released Ocean Eyes on Sound Cloud at just 14 years old with a little encouragement from Finneas and her dance teacher.
This teacher had a considerable impact on Billie's life, after she struggled with depression following a hip injury at 13 that impacted her ability to dance.
She reflected on her experience in the Apple TV+ documentary Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry.
"It’s funny when anyone else thinks about Billie Eilish at 14, they think of all the good things that happened, but all I can think of is how miserable I was. How completely distraught and confused. Thirteen to 16 was pretty rough," Billie said.
The star's honesty about her mental health struggles that has allowed her to connect with fans across the world, thousands of which will be supporting her tonight as she gears up for her set on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury.
Featured Image Credit: @billieeilish/Instagram/ShutterstockTopics: Billie Eilish, Celebrity, News, TV and Film, Glastonbury
Shola Lee