It was the kind of advancement that aspiring singers dream of, inspired by a platform that was not known for unearthing pop stars at the time. But if you ask her now, even the now 24-year-old Eilish doesn’t know if anyone else can replicate her success. “Oh my god!” When asked where to find the next Billie Eilish, she says. “I don’t know.”
Photograph: Darrell Jackson
These days it’s common for new artists to share their music on SoundCloud, but back then it was still relatively new. “I’m very curious to see what the future holds,” says Eilish. “I don’t know where the next person will come from. I can’t wait to see them and I can’t wait to cheerleader them, whoever they are.”
If they ever come. Ten years ago, artists could build a following like Eilish through livestreams, Instagram posts, and videos on social media. The scenario looks very different in 2026. It seems like everyone knows, or claims to know, how to beat the algorithms to get streams and views, but very little of it feels authentic, especially in a world full of AI sloppiness. Eilish and her fans have grown up online, but they may not want to hang out there like they used to.
To put it bluntly, Eilish still believes that true talent can break through the noise. Art, she says, should be “attainable to everyone” and the Internet, while messy, enables this. “There are all kinds of technologies now where it seems like we’re all doomed, but we’re not,” Eilish told WIRED. “If we continue to create real things, real art made by human beings—live music, live audiences—I don’t see it ever dying.”
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