How to Sing Like Billie Eilish: Three Talking Points About Whisper-Pop ⏱ 2 Mins

February 5, 2024

What do singers need to know before they emulate the breathy, whisper-pop vocal style of superstar Billie Eilish?

And how can a teacher help a student explore this style in a way that is sustainable from a vocal health perspective?

Here are three key takeaways from vocal coach Kaya Herstad-Carney, who recently discussed Eilish’s vocal style on the Singing Teachers Talk podcast.

Take a Balanced Approach

Creating an aspirate sound like the one Eilish uses on Everything I Wanted can be quite drying, and hence potentially damaging to the voice.

So Kaya recommends vocalists who want to sing like Billie Eilish maintain good vocal health and avoid overdoing it.

“You could use a fitness/health analogy. The more you exercise, the more you can get away with eating ice cream. It’s all about having a balanced diet.”

To protect the voice, Kaya suggests doing SOVTs regularly and warming down after a breathy studio session or gig.

“You could also ask: is that breathiness exactly what you need for what you’re trying to achieve artistically? Could you make an artistic choice to go for medium vocal fold compression that still has a softness to it but is balanced?”

Acknowledge the production process

Eilish’s music is produced by her brother Finneas O’Connell. He’s been open about how he plays around with instrumental and vocal effects during the production process. This includes sometimes adding a whisper track on songs.

To learn more, here is O’Connell explaining how he made What Was I Made For?.

Vocalists keen to sing like Eilish should listen to her live performances to get a more accurate sense of what she is doing as a singer.

Authenticity

While there’s nothing wrong with taking inspiration from popular artists, Kaya says it’s important for singers to develop their own authentic voice.

As Kaya explains: “I always say to my students: ‘You can never be another Billie Eilish or Chester [Bennington], but you can be the best version of you that you can be’.”

Eilish’s distinctive vocal style evolved over time as a way to convey vulnerability and intimacy to her audience – and because she didn’t feel she was a great belter. She told Vanity Fair: “My belt is not even f****** close to an Adele belt. You don’t have to be shouting to be good at singing.”