Billie Eilish Makes Her Directorial Debut With ‘Xanny’ Video (Watch)
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In a week with lots of other Billie Eilish things going on — including Variety’s two cover stories, her acoustic performance at Apple’s headquarters and, not least, reports of a multi-million-dollar documentary deal with Apple — a new video from the 17-year-old singer has also arrived.
The clip — for the song “Xanny,” from her multiple Grammy-nominated album “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go” — is Eilish’s directorial debut, but it follows a similar theme to many of her previous ones, in that she’s in a state of physical discomfort. Where “Ocean Eyes” saw her smearing makeup across her face; “When the Party’s Over,” showed her with black liquid pouring from her eyes like tears; and in “All the Good Girls Go to Hell,” she’s a winged reptile who emerges from an oily swamp while explosions erupt around her, for this one she’s sitting in an off-white room, in a very-Xanny-like state, while unseen people’s arms stab out lit cigarettes on her face. Ouch! The video’s message may be anti-smoking, echoing that of the song, which is actually anti-Xanny (“I don’t need a Xanny to feel better”).
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