The latest epic drama between Kendrick Lamar and Drake might have made the brutal diss observe stylish once more, however within the pop realm, oblique shade-throwing appears to be the order of the day. When the conflict includes two of the most important pop stars alive, and their mighty fandoms are those decoding their insinuations, even delicate or unintentional slights can grow to be amplified to the purpose of absurdity.
But that additionally leaves the remainder of us asking what’s and isn’t actual. Are Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift actually feuding? From a sure angle, it actually appears like Eilish has spent the previous couple of months utilizing her promotional cycle for her new album, Hit Me Onerous and Gentle, to drop informal however pointed criticism at Swift. From one other angle, it looks as if Swift might have retaliated in her personal Swiftian approach — by releasing bonus editions for her new album, Tortured Poets Division, timed to compete with Eilish’s album launch.
Whereas Swift’s status for petty feuding is so well-known that she made an entire album about it, this battle appears completely out of character for the notably laid-back Eilish. But it appears to have been Eilish whose thinly veiled barbs in opposition to Swift first gained discover and steadily fueled the fireplace. Have we entered an period the place followers look to show every thing into an epic rivalry — they usually’ll discover a strategy to do it, even when there’s nothing there in any respect?
Or is the Eilish/Taylor beef — with layered jibes resulting in battles waged by fandom foot troopers on social media feeds throughout the web — simply how pop stars battle as of late?
The drama is all about which album tops the Billboard chart — nevertheless it’s additionally about shade
On the coronary heart of this feud is the Billboard album chart. Swift’s Poets has been on the high since its April 19 launch, and Swifties have a single-minded purpose of holding it up there so long as attainable. One of many methods artists gamify the charts in a extremely aggressive digital age is by releasing variant album editions — a trick Swift is well-known for utilizing. For Poets, she launched an ordinary album, then instantly expanded it to a double album with 30 songs, then abruptly dropped three extra shock, limited-time album variants on Might 17.
To Eilish followers, the timing of those three new album drops was sus: They landed the identical day as the discharge of Eilish’s personal new album, Hit Me. Swifties argued the timing was purely coincidental — only one extra approach of boosting Swift’s purpose of holding her album at No. 1 for so long as attainable. For Eilish stans (who don’t have a collective identify, oddly sufficient), that rationalization fell flat: If the timing didn’t matter, why did Taylor step on Eilish’s launch date? Particularly since they have been restricted editions, which means followers had a slim window of time to purchase them — a window of direct competitors with Eilish.
For his or her half, Swift’s followers have been side-eying Eilish’s camp: They quickly realized Eilish’s supervisor, Danny Rukasin, had favored and retweeted (and rapidly deleted) a tweet implying that Swift had a protracted historical past of deliberately “blocking” different artists’ paths to the highest of the chart by strategically dropping her personal releases. The calendar is finite, so Swift’s releases are prone to be much less about spiting different artists and extra about restricted area, and Rukasin might have been motivated much less by this specific gripe and extra by a common dislike of Swift as an artist. Followers quickly dug up one other occasion when he shaded Swift on social media, which fed the flames of hostility between the 2 camps.
In the meantime, each artists waged a back-and-forth with competing bonus editions of recent tracks all through the week, in an effort to cinch the highest. In the end, Swift retained the No. 1 spot, with Eilish slotting in at No. 2.
In fact, all of this would possibly simply have been chalked as much as unlucky coincidence, inevitable competitors, and heated feelings relatively than beef — nothing that actually rises to the extent of a full-blown, two-sided battle.
However what fandom as of late thrives on a lack of battle? It’s straightforward to see why neither fandom has backed off the drama. You don’t must dig deep to seek out proof that the meat may be actual, and that Swift might need meant to go head-to-head with Eilish. That’s as a result of Eilish would possibly have been sitting on some longtime animosity towards Swift — a resentment that might have began with one other artist altogether.
If this feud exists, it might need began, not with Eilish or Swift, however with a person’s garden-variety sexism
To seek out the supply of this mess, we’d have to leap again to 2022. Damon Albarn, the frontman of seminal British bands Blur and Gorillaz, kicked off the 12 months by bizarrely bashing Taylor Swift’s songwriting skill. In a January interview with the Los Angeles Occasions, Albarn first flatly claimed that Swift “doesn’t write her personal songs,” then doubled down by including that she doesn’t even co-write her personal songs. Since Taylor Swift’s main declare to fame is her songwriting skill, this was a really odd — if not outright misogynistic — hill for Albarn to randomly die on.
However inside virtually the identical breath, he took issues in an excellent weirder course, by evaluating Swift’s music to that of Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas O’Connell, with whom Eilish regularly co-writes:
I’m not hating on anyone, I’m simply saying there’s an enormous distinction between a songwriter and a songwriter who co-writes. Doesn’t imply that the result can’t be actually nice. … A extremely attention-grabbing songwriter is Billie Eilish and her brother. I’m extra drawn to that than to Taylor Swift. It’s simply darker — much less endlessly upbeat. Far more minor and odd. I feel she’s distinctive.
For all we all know, the incident might have ended there — Albarn apologized to Swift after huge backlash, blaming the Occasions for “clickbait”-editing no matter he truly mentioned.
Nevertheless, fast-forward a couple of months, and Billie Eilish herself took issues a step additional. Throughout her history-making gig at Coachella, the place she was the youngest headliner in historical past, Eilish introduced out Albarn for a shock visitor efficiency. This might have been a purely fannish gesture on Eilish’s half. Nevertheless, whereas Eilish was praising Albarn and the affect he had on her personal music, an unidentified male voice on a sizzling mic could possibly be heard on the live performance livestream joking, “We’re getting sued by Taylor Swift.”
On the time, Swifties leaned towards the wrongdoer behind the voice being Eilish’s brother O’Connell. Followers appeared torn on whether or not or to not view this as deliberate shade towards Taylor on the a part of Eilish and O’Connell: In any case, O’Connell had beforehand praised Swift’s songwriting as “inspiring,” and he attended her party in 2021.
Nonetheless, it’s straightforward for issues to get twisted within the cutthroat recreation of leisure, and we all know how Swift can maintain a grudge when she feels her artwork has been disrespected. And judging by a number of feedback Eilish has made within the promotional cycle for Hit Me Onerous and Gentle — feedback that actually appear to be directed at Swift — the vendetta would possibly go each methods.
Eilish can’t appear to cease shading Swift — or are followers simply studying into issues?
On March 23, weeks earlier than Swift’s Poets launch, Billboard revealed an interview with Eilish during which she spoke of the “wasteful” follow of artists releasing vinyl albums primarily to garner extra album gross sales and safe longevity or increased gross sales rankings on the Billboard charts. Though the whole interview was about Eilish’s broader efforts to advertise environmental sustainability, she was particularly sharp in her criticism of this (admittedly, sure, wasteful) follow:
I discover it actually irritating as any person who actually goes out of my strategy to be sustainable and do one of the best that I can and attempt to contain everyone in my crew in being sustainable — after which it’s a number of the greatest artists on the planet making f–king 40 completely different vinyl packages which have a unique distinctive factor simply to get you to maintain shopping for extra. It’s so wasteful, and it’s irritating to me that we’re nonetheless at some extent the place you care that a lot about your numbers and also you care that a lot about being profitable — and it’s all of your favourite artists doing that sh-t.
Since, once more, it is a tactic for which Swift is known, followers learn the whole sidebar as a swipe at Swift particularly. Eilish herself rapidly responded through Instagram and denied that she’d meant to slight any particular artist. “It will be so superior if folks would cease placing phrases into my mouth,” she reportedly wrote. “I wasn’t singling anybody out.”
If this had been a one-off assertion, it might most likely have been simpler for followers to consider Eilish. As an alternative, this was only the start of a string of moments when Eilish’s common complaints may be learn as particular criticism of Taylor Swift. It’s price noting that every of those subsequent interviews got here after Swift’s Might 17 “block” of Eilish’s album, so it’s additionally attainable that what began out as pure coincidence on Eilish’s half rapidly turned private.
In a Might 21 interview for Apple Music, Eilish drew nonetheless extra consideration for remarks that appeared to shade overtly autobiographical songwriting — you realize, like the type Swift is once more infamous for.
“I actually wished the songs to not be like, ‘Oh, I do know what that’s about,’” Eilish says.
I feel that we stay in such a world the place everybody is aware of every thing … Everyone seems to be conscious of the meat that occurred and conscious of the those that don’t like one another and conscious of this and that.
Folks put songs out, particularly within the pop world — and I’m not saying there’s something fallacious with it essentially, nevertheless it’s simply, we stay in a world of, like, any person places a tune out and everybody’s like, ‘So that is who that is about and that is the whole story of what occurred,’ and it’s like, it doesn’t even give the listener an opportunity to interpret it how they wish to interpret it and the way they naturally hear it. And that I discover actually irritating. I don’t wish to hear a tune that I’m like, ‘Ooh, my god’ — each single lyric, I’m like, ‘Oh, my god, that is about that particular person.’
At this level, her brother, O’Connell, chimes in, agreeing, “No, it may be gross … I don’t hearken to ‘The Luckiest’ by Ben Folds and take into consideration his spouse. I take into consideration who I’m in love with.”
Taken by itself, that is all fairly innocuous kvetching concerning the inventive course of. However taken as a part of an ongoing sample of the siblings subtly shading Swift, her songwriting, and her manufacturing course of, it feels much more damning.
Oh, after which Eilish apparently added Swift-style performances to the guidelines of issues she doesn’t like.
It’s no secret {that a} superstar rivalry like this one drives gross sales. However there’s one thing irritating concerning the ephemeral nature of this one.
Final 12 months, Eilish referred to as each Swift and Beyoncé “untouchable superstars” within the LA Occasions, referencing their epic stadium exhibits, which may every run three hours or extra. “The truth that they will placed on a present that lengthy, and it’s crammed with so many unimaginable moments, is de facto wonderful,” she mentioned. On the time she sounded admiring, not confrontational.
Following the album launch conflict, nonetheless, her tone modified dramatically. In a Might 23 broadcast on social radio platform Stationhead, Eilish acknowledged, “I’m not doing a three-hour present. That’s actually psychotic. No person needs that. I don’t need that … I don’t even need that as a fan. My favourite artist on the planet, I’m not attempting to listen to them for 3 hours.” As soon as once more, Swifties rushed to allege that Eilish was shading Swift particularly (and Beyoncé, however the Hive appears much less pressed).
We’ve by no means identified Eilish to overtly antagonize Swift earlier than, and certainly in 2019 she thanked Swift for “caring for [her]” by way of her music when she was a baby. But this wouldn’t be the primary time a youthful feminine artist discovered herself in opposition to Swift. Simply have a look at Olivia Rodrigo, who borrowed liberally from Swift as a key affect in her music. Swift embraced the younger singer, till the pair had a rumored falling-out over the difficulty of tune credit. That kerfuffle might or might not have led Rodrigo to burn Swift within the scathing 2022 tune “Vampire,” during which she depicts the titular fang-bearer as a considerably older determine who exploits the singer’s youth and naivete.
Have we talked about Rodrigo and Eilish are good pals? And that Eilish has mentioned she feels “very protecting” of her? Certainly, in a Might 22 interview with Stephen Colbert to advertise her new album, Eilish riffed poetically concerning the want for younger artists to have the liberty to repeat different artists whereas they’re discovering their very own type. “Inspiration goes to show into extra inspiration goes to show into extra inspiration,” she mentioned. Although Eilish was ostensibly speaking about her personal vocal improvement, some gawkers watching the unfolding beef interpreted it as Eilish commenting on the Swift-Rodrigo feud.
It is sensible; there’s some hypothesis that Swift tapped Sabrina Carpenter to open for her “Eras” tour partly as a result of Carpenter and Rodrigo have a longstanding enmity over a messy love triangle. Rodrigo likewise has been teasing an upcoming remix of “Vampire” as a collaboration with Lana Del Rey — who’s allegedly at the moment on the outs with Swift. Different celebrities additionally appear to be taking sides within the dispute. Sza, who by the way is among the artists whose album Swift was beforehand accused of attempting to “block,” had beforehand denied there was ever any beef between the 2. She was just lately noticed “liking” an Instagram submit dinging Eilish for her excessive live performance costs and brief efficiency instances — an obvious delicate shade on behalf of Swift.
For her half, Swift has but to touch upon the continued struggle between her fandom and Eilish’s — although her PR crew’s Twitter account did make a submit on Might 25 referencing the road “try to come for my job” from Swift’s tune “I Can Do It With a Damaged Coronary heart” — a submit that many followers interpreted as a diss in opposition to Eilish for being unable to swipe the No. 1 chart rating from Swift.
Is any of this actual or is all of it only a manufactured face-off? It’s onerous to inform. However the animosity has actually pushed consideration and renewed power towards each artists. In the midst of the feud, Swift’s album Midnights reportedly turned the quickest album by a lady in historical past to succeed in a whopping 9 billion streams on Spotify. In the meantime, Eilish’s album lead, the racy bop “Lunch,” reportedly turned her quickest single ever to succeed in 100 million Spotify streams.
It’s no secret {that a} superstar rivalry like this one drives gross sales. However there’s one thing irritating concerning the ephemeral nature of this one. On the one hand, there’s loads of believable deniability round every of the statements from Eilish that followers are up in arms about. On the opposite, the actual fact there are so many statements throughout an lively press tour implies Eilish isn’t taking part in. She additionally hasn’t bothered to make clear that she’s not speaking about Swift. (Vox has reached out to each camps for remark.)
When hip-hop artists create diss tracks, the overall sentiment is that the gripes create good music, and the music is what issues. We’ll undoubtedly hear Swift’s facet of this newest dispute in her subsequent album. However the vacuum of actual details about what’s happening right here has left a spot that followers have chosen to fill with plenty of finger-pointing and side-taking. It’s a well-known routine for anybody who’s frolicked round stan tradition, however the drama detracts from the accomplishments of each artists. It’s onerous to really feel served by this battle the way in which, for instance, Kendrick’s beef with Drake doubled as a commentary on authenticity in hip-hop tradition. If Eilish actually does assume Swift’s songs are too literal, her live shows too lengthy, her launch technique too wasteful, and her feuds too petty, there should be higher methods to air these grievances.
Maybe she ought to write a tune about it.
