Billie Eilish Opens Up About Vocal Insecurities Early in Her Career

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Billie Eilish has become one of the most celebrated artists of her generation, but her path to stardom wasn’t without its struggles. On the December 8 episode of CBS Sunday Mornings, the 22-year-old “Bad Guy” hitmaker shared that she didn’t feel like a “real singer” early in her career due to her soft vocal style.

“I was told for so many years that I wasn’t a singer because a singer has a big powerhouse voice,” Eilish revealed. “Every judge on the talent shows I watched would say, ‘If you’re a soft singer, then that’s not enough’.”

Eilish admitted that watching singers with similar vocal styles be rejected in televised talent competitions deeply impacted her self-perception. “I sang kind of quietly when I started out, and people always said I whispered. That was the whole thing”, she said.

Fast forward to today, Eilish has firmly silenced the doubters. With two Billboard 200 No. 1 albums, nine Grammy wins, and seven new nominations ahead of the 2025 ceremony—including Song of the Year for “Birds of a Feather”—her artistry speaks volumes.

Eilish’s third studio album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, released in May, continues to earn critical acclaim, and she’s already hard at work on new music. During her Sunday Mornings segment, she shared snippets of her upcoming project, signalling that her artistic evolution is far from over.

Despite her early insecurities, Eilish has embraced her unique sound and is proving that there’s no one-size-fits-all definition of being a “real singer”.