Pop

Even though they were born just 14 months apart, Billie Eilish said she sometimes feels a mama bear vibe about fellow pop idol Olivia Rodrigo. “I think everybody’s experiences are so individual,” Eilish, 21, told the Los Angeles Times about the kinship she feels with the 20-year-old “Vampire” singer. “Nobody has had anybody else’s life, you know? But I do feel a protectiveness over Olivia.”

The question came up because Eilish is working on her third studio album and after releasing her first two in her teens, the prospect of dropping an LP in her 20s is blowing her mind. “It feels somehow very different from the rest of what I’ve ever put out,” she said. “Like, now I’m in my 20s — oh, my God, that’s so weird — and I’ve never been an adult putting music out before.” 

So, asked if she keeping up on the big pop records that have defined this year, Eilish ticked off SZA’s SOS as one that is “great” and Rodrigo’s sophomore effort, GUTS as “adorable.”

In fact, she also revealed for the first time that the track “Goldwing” from her Happier Than Ever album was “kind of” inspired by Rodrigo. “It’s not only about her. I was just thinking about her when I was writing it,” Eilish said, adding with a laugh, “She was coming up, and she was younger than me, and nobody had ever been younger than me.”

The song opens with some lines from a hymn Eilish used to sing as a kid in the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, before dipping into scenario that any young artist in the industry might recognize. “They’re gonna tell you what you want to hear/ Then they’re gonna disappear/ Gonna claim you like a souvenir/ Just to sell you in a year,” Billie sings on the track.

“Olivia was getting big, and she was just, like, this little dainty child,” Eilish says of the former Disney star. “I felt so nervous. I was worried about her. She came up in that acting world, and people are so weird. I don’t know — I just felt very protective over her.” Eilish said she can just “see myself in all these young girls. And it’s the girls, man. Boys can handle themselves. They’re dudes — they don’t have to deal with it like we do. I just want to hold everybody in a little glass box and never let anything touch them.”

The interview also features Eilish talking about reading late Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain’s suicide note recently and feeling a “deep, deep sorrow” for the grunge icon while also understanding Cobain’s hatred of the fame machine he was enveloped in. “It’s just not what you think it’s going to be,” she said. The reference makes sense when you realize that Cobain is an artist she and her brother/producer Finneas often look to as a guidepost to understand the loneliness of success.

“It’s that existential-crisis vibe where you could be sitting in a room with people you love,” Eilish said, “and you’re like, Oh, my God, what the f— is going on with my life?”

British singer PinkPantheress announced the dates for the North American leg of her Capable of Love tour on Tuesday (Nov. 14). The Live Nation-produced 12-date run is slated to kick off on April 6 at Saint Andrews Hall in Detroit and feature gigs in Toronto, Montreal, Boston, New York, Chicago, Nashville, Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Diego before winding down with an April 30 show at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles.

Bktherula and Kanii will open select North American shows that will take place after a string of February Capable of Love dates in Ireland, the UK, the Netherlands, France and Germany, marking the 22-year-old “Boy’s a Liar” singer’s biggest headlining gigs to date.

A Citi presale for the North American shows will kick off on Wednesday (Nov. 15) at 10 a.m. local time through Friday (Nov. 17) at 9:59 a.m.; click here for the Citi presale information. Additional presales will roll out throughout the week before the general on-sale, which will start at 10 a.m. local time on Friday here.

The singer just released her full-length debut album, Heaven Knows, features the hit single “Boy’s a Liar Pt. 1,” as well as the Ice Spice-blessed remix, “Boy’s a Liar, Pt. 2.”

Check out the dates for PinkPantheress’ Capable of Love North American tour dates below.

Apr. 6 – Detroit, MI @ Saint Andrew’s Hall ^

Apr. 7 – Toronto, ON @ The Danforth Music Hall ^

Apr. 10 – Montreal, QC @ Théâtre Beanfield ^

Apr. 12 – Boston, MA @ Royale *^

Apr. 14 – New York, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount ^

Apr. 17 – Chicago, IL @ Metro * ^

Apr. 20 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl Nashville +

Apr. 22 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues Dallas +

Apr. 24 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall +

Apr. 25 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s Austin +

Apr. 28 – San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park +

Apr. 30 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium +

* Non-Live Nation Date

^ With Bktherula

+ With Kanii

P!nk has teamed up with non-profit PEN America to fight censorship and book bans in Florida. The organization announced on Monday (Nov. 13) that the “Trustfall” singer will be giving away thousands of banned books at upcoming shows in the state where conservative authorities have taken aim at books that include themes of racial and sexual identity.

“The following are some titles of books that have been banned from schools in Florida…. Lmk which book is pornography…. To Kill A Mockingbird, The Hate You Give, Forrest Gump, A Catcher In The Rye, The Hill We Climb, Girls Who Code, Atlas Shrugged, 1984, The Kite Runner, The Bluest Eye, A Wrinkle In Time, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Fault In Our Stars, etc etc.,” P!nk tweeted about a number of literary classics after announcing the effort.

The plan is for P!nk to give away 2,000 banned books at her TRUSTFALL tour shows in Miami on Tuesday (Nov. 14) and Wednesday (Nov. 15) in Sunrise. The mother of two and fierce advocate for the rights of the LGBTQ community and marginalized voices said in a statement that, “Books have held a special joy for me from the time I was a child, and that’s why I am unwilling to stand by and watch while books are banned by schools. It’s especially hateful to see authorities take aim at books about race and racism and against LGBTQ authors and those of color. We have made so many strides toward equality in this country and no one should want to see this progress reversed. This is why I am supporting PEN America in its work and why I agree with them: no more banned books.”

Among the books P!nk will give away are four that have appeared in PEN America’s Index of Banned Books: The Family Book, by Todd Parr, The Hill We Climb, by Biden inaugural poet Amanda Gorman, Beloved, by Toni Morrison and a book from Girls Who Code, founded by Reshma Saujani. The effort was announced in an Instagram Live with PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel and Gorman; click here for more information on the giveaway and how to fight book bans.

According to PEN, Florida — whose Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, is running for president — has overtaken Texas over the past school year as the leader in banning books in public schools and libraries. The organization said that in the midst of a 33% rise in book bans nationally, Florida ranks first, accounting for more than 40% of all documented bans, predominantly affecting books by Black and LGBTQ+ authors.

The singer was happy to mix it up with haters on Twitter following the announcement, explaining of her Instagram announcement, “I think I talk about reading. Books. Classics. Not porn. Porn isn’t my thing. Supporting freedom of speech is. Allowing hateful, narrow minded bigots to decide what all children can read is not my thing either. FREEDOM! MERICA!” DeSantis signed legislation publicly dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill last year, which puts strict limits on the discussion of LGBTQ+ topics and bans instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity in grades K-3, while banning instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity in grades 4-12 that is deemed “not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students.”

In addition, P!nk responded to a commenter who claimed that the effort might be against the “very strict” laws passed by the DeSantis administration regarding the content of books — including the July 2022 Individual Freedom Act limiting how systemic racism and discrimination can be taught in schools — that could land her in jail. “You know where I’ll be!” she answered.

Check out P!nk’s tweets about her anti-book banning effort below.