‘SAD-POP’ SUPERSTAR

BILLIE EILISH IS JUST 17, BUT SHE’S MAKING A BIG NOISE ALL OVER THE WORLD. SHE ARRIVES IN MANCHESTER ON HER FIRST UK TOUR NEXT WEEK

AT just 17 years old, Billie Eilish is on everyone’s radar.

The young star has sold out her first UK tour, and will headline Manchester Academy next week

Her brand of dark, disturbing pop music is hard to ignore. In her music videos, Eilish lurks beneath beds with artificially dark eyes, cries black tears, is trapped beneath rain clouds in a glass cage.

Cheery, her music is not - but it is unforgettable, affecting, and beautiful, and its slow pace doesn’t stop her from putting on an impressively energetic live performance.

The young Californian ‘sad-pop’ sensation has already amassed over a billion streams online and acquired celebrity fans including Dave Grohl, who generously compared her to Nirvana.

It’s been a rapid rise to the upper echelons of the music industry, too, with a particularly busy 12 months.

In the last year, Billie has released her hit single Lovely, a collaboration with Khalid packed with violins and heart, which was added to Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why soundtrack.

2018 also saw Eilish embark on the Where’s My Mind tour, taking her across Canada, the USA and Europe.

Already this year, her single Bury a Friend has become her highest charting single to date and has amassed some 93 million listens since its release just three weeks ago.

She was also due to support Florence + The Machine on selected arena dates, before being forced to pull out due to scheduling conflicts.

She’s bolstered by family in everything, raised by actor/musician parents and joined on stage by musician brother Finneas O’Connell (who also produces her music).

Her hotly-anticipated debut album, When We All Fall Asleep Where Do We Go?, will drop next month, and until then she’s heading out on her very first UK tour including a stop at Manchester Academy.

The 1 By 1 tour, which will also take her to Glasgow, Birmingham, and three nights in London, sold out with barely a shrug.

Support acts have yet to be announced.

Manchester Academy / manchesteracademy.net / 0161 832 1111 / Wednesday, February 27, 7pm / £15