- Last time I had a chance to see you,
we were on the Grammys red
carpet, where you won big there,
and now, you have six nominations
heading into the 2020 VMAs.
First of all, congratulations.
This is major,
including a nomination for
Best Direction for "Xanny."
And I wanna know, out of all
of the songs in your catalog,
how do you decide which ones
you'll direct the visuals for?
- It happens two ways.
I either have some idea
that I don't even know
what I want it to be for,
and then I kinda match it up
to whatever matches well enough.
Or, I think the more common
way that I've done it,
is, like, I just -- there's just certain songs
that something just jumps out at you.
And that one just came to me immediately.
What was the inspiration
behind the way you approached the video?
Is it one of those things
where once you get into
the visual process,
you start to think about
what this might look like?
Or do you envision certain scenes
as you're writing the music
and creating the music?
- It's honestly after the
song is done, completely.
It's pretty rare that I would
do it during writing a song,
'cause it's definitely two
different worlds for me.
You know, it's not the same
thing as creating music
and then creating the
actual visual for it.
But that one,
It was just so natural
and kind of magical,
the way that it came,
because I was just like,
I don't know, it's like
it came to me, you know?
I don't feel like I went
and -- you know what I mean?
It was just one of those --
- Yeah.
-- things that just naturally
just flowed out of me.
- Those are usually the special ones,
when it flows naturally.
That's how you know you have
something special there, man.
What are some of the
different challenges, though,
with collaborating and being directed
as talent on the video set,
versus being the talent on set,
but also directing as well?
How do you navigate those roles?
- Yeah, it's a lot.
(laughs) It's a lot.
(laughing)
A lot more work.
It's definitely a lot less...
I wanna say fun, but it is fun.
It's fun in a different way, though.
It's definitely not the same thing,
but (laughs), yeah, it's
definitely double the workload,
especially when it's not super simple.
- But really, it was
exactly what I've needed,
because I've wanted to direct my own stuff
for my entire life.
You know, since I was like nine years old,
I was making music videos
to songs that I just liked,
'cause I just wanted to so bad,
and as soon as I started making music,
I just was like, "I
need to do this myself."
And, you know, I went through
lots of working with other
directors and things,
and as much as I love the
videos that I've made,
it's just doing it myself
has made me so much happier,
and just been so satisfying for me
and I think everyone around me,
because when you know what you want,
why not do it yourself?
- Right. It's gotta feel freeing, too,
to be able to have that autonomy
over that part of the creative process.
You know, I'm thinking about
"Everything I Wanted," too,
which was another really beautiful visual.
What was the message
you wanted to get across with that video?
- The message was that was a cool-ass idea
to sink into the bottom of the ocean.
(laughing)
No, but the message was
what the song is, kind of.
It's like, we all should have a person
that makes us feel like we're not alone
in our world of being miserable at times,
and people that make us feel like
if nobody's on our side, they are.
You know, that video was just kind of like
the idea of when worst comes to worst,
I'm still there for you.
Literally, we're sinking
to the bottom of the ocean,
and I still got you.
And that's my brother, and
that's why he's in that video,
and we wrote that song about each other
and our relationship,
and how we've really pulled each other
out of really dark places,
and yeah, that's kinda the idea of it.
- I asked that question
not only because it's up
for Video of the Year,
but I have two big sisters,
and we are just as close,
and I like the way when you're sinking,
you guys smirk at each other, like,
"I got you, you got me, it's cool,
- Yeah, Yeah.
- "no matter what's going on right now."
So, I mean, "Everything I Wanted"
is up for Video of the Year,
and at the end of the day,
you've won so many awards for your music,
and of course, those awards are affirming
and they're meaningful,
but almost more meaningful
is the message behind the music itself.
What message do you hope to convey
in this season of your
career to the fans out there,
to everybody who's rooting
for Billie this year?
- I love the idea of making
you think about something
that you didn't even know
that you thought, you know?
Just being like, "Wow, I didn't
even know I felt this way,
undefined
And I've had songs like that over my life,
just you listen to, and you're like,
undefined
You know?
(laughing)
It's like when you have
a dream about something,
and you're like, "I didn't
know I even felt that way,"
and then you kinda realize,
"Oh, damn, this is really
affecting me in my life."
And I don't know, I mean,
the songs that I'm working on currently,
the videos I'm working on currently --
I've got a lot of things
I wanna say about my life
and about the world in general,
and you know, why not say them?
- That's beautiful, and you're helping us
figure out the words to convey
what we feel about our lives
and the world in general right now,
which is so complex right now.
So, we're thankful to have you,
and congratulations once
again on your six nominations.
The visuals are as beautiful
as the music itself.
Billie Eilish, thank you so much.
- Thank you, Dometi, I
appreciate it so much.
I'm excited.
