Billie Eilish on the VMAs & Directing Her Own Music Videos | 2020 MTV VMAs

Intro - Last time I had a chance to see you, we were on the Grammys red carpet, where you won big there, and now, you have six nominations heading into the 2020 VMAs. First of all, congratulations. This is major, including a nomination for Best Direction for "Xanny." And I wanna know, out of all of the songs in your catalog, how do you decide which ones you'll direct the visuals for? - It happens two ways. I either have some idea that I don't even know what I want it to be for, and then I kinda match it up to whatever matches well enough. Or, I think the more common way that I've done it, is, like, I just -- there's just certain songs that something just jumps out at you. And that one just came to me immediately. Inspiration behind the video What was the inspiration behind the way you approached the video? Is it one of those things where once you get into the visual process, you start to think about what this might look like? Or do you envision certain scenes as you're writing the music and creating the music? - It's honestly after the song is done, completely. It's pretty rare that I would do it during writing a song, 'cause it's definitely two different worlds for me. You know, it's not the same thing as creating music and then creating the actual visual for it. But that one, It was just so natural and kind of magical, the way that it came, because I was just like, I don't know, it's like it came to me, you know? I don't feel like I went and -- you know what I mean? It was just one of those -- - Yeah. -- things that just naturally just flowed out of me. Collaborating directing - Those are usually the special ones, when it flows naturally. That's how you know you have something special there, man. What are some of the different challenges, though, with collaborating and being directed as talent on the video set, versus being the talent on set, but also directing as well? How do you navigate those roles? - Yeah, it's a lot. (laughs) It's a lot. (laughing) A lot more work. It's definitely a lot less... I wanna say fun, but it is fun. It's fun in a different way, though. It's definitely not the same thing, but (laughs), yeah, it's definitely double the workload, especially when it's not super simple. - But really, it was exactly what I've needed, because I've wanted to direct my own stuff for my entire life. You know, since I was like nine years old, I was making music videos to songs that I just liked, 'cause I just wanted to so bad, and as soon as I started making music, I just was like, "I need to do this myself." And, you know, I went through lots of working with other directors and things, and as much as I love the videos that I've made, it's just doing it myself has made me so much happier, and just been so satisfying for me and I think everyone around me, because when you know what you want, why not do it yourself? - Right. It's gotta feel freeing, too, Everything I Wanted to be able to have that autonomy over that part of the creative process. You know, I'm thinking about "Everything I Wanted," too, which was another really beautiful visual. What was the message you wanted to get across with that video? - The message was that was a cool-ass idea to sink into the bottom of the ocean. (laughing) No, but the message was what the song is, kind of. It's like, we all should have a person that makes us feel like we're not alone in our world of being miserable at times, and people that make us feel like if nobody's on our side, they are. You know, that video was just kind of like the idea of when worst comes to worst, I'm still there for you. Literally, we're sinking to the bottom of the ocean, and I still got you. And that's my brother, and that's why he's in that video, and we wrote that song about each other and our relationship, and how we've really pulled each other out of really dark places, and yeah, that's kinda the idea of it. - I asked that question not only because it's up for Video of the Year, but I have two big sisters, and we are just as close, and I like the way when you're sinking, you guys smirk at each other, like, "I got you, you got me, it's cool, - Yeah, Yeah. - "no matter what's going on right now." Message Behind Music So, I mean, "Everything I Wanted" is up for Video of the Year, and at the end of the day, you've won so many awards for your music, and of course, those awards are affirming and they're meaningful, but almost more meaningful is the message behind the music itself. What message do you hope to convey in this season of your career to the fans out there, to everybody who's rooting for Billie this year? - I love the idea of making you think about something that you didn't even know that you thought, you know? Just being like, "Wow, I didn't even know I felt this way, undefined And I've had songs like that over my life, just you listen to, and you're like, undefined You know? (laughing) It's like when you have a dream about something, and you're like, "I didn't know I even felt that way," and then you kinda realize, "Oh, damn, this is really affecting me in my life." And I don't know, I mean, the songs that I'm working on currently, the videos I'm working on currently -- I've got a lot of things I wanna say about my life and about the world in general, and you know, why not say them? - That's beautiful, and you're helping us figure out the words to convey what we feel about our lives and the world in general right now, which is so complex right now. So, we're thankful to have you, and congratulations once again on your six nominations. The visuals are as beautiful as the music itself. Billie Eilish, thank you so much. - Thank you, Dometi, I appreciate it so much. I'm excited.