Billie Eilish’s ‘Everything I Wanted’ ‘Terrified’ This Major Celebrity

Billie Eilish’s “Everything I Wanted” has some disturbing themes, however, one major celebrity finds the song downright terrifying. Interestingly, he wrote an open letter to Eilish discussing his feelings about the track. Here’s a look at what he thought of the song and the ways it reminded him of other famous artists.

A superstar said Billie Eilish’s ‘Everything I Wanted’ is one of his favorite songs

For his 60th birthday, Bono released a list of his favorite songs of all time with accompanying fan letters. Bono named Eilish’s “Everything I Wanted” his fourth favorite song of all time. The only songs he liked better were The Sex Pistol’s “Anarchy in the U.K.,” Kanye West’s “Black Skinhead,” and “Miserere,” his own collaboration with Luciano Pavarotti and Zucchero. Bono wrote a revealing fan letter to Eilish and Finneas O’Connell, the song’s co-writer, praising “Everything I Wanted.”

“Dear Billie (Finneas too),

My ears long for such empty spaces to wander… to sneak away from the density of digital surfaces with too much information,” he said. “I step inside your song and it’s a black beauty, achingly awesomely vulnerable and terrifying, fearless and worrisome… but you are not worried by all that.”

Bono then compared Eilish and Finneas to two other famous artists. “You express it so you can own the feeling that nags,” he said. “I think of Carole King, I think of Roy Orbison. But just like them, this never existed before you did. Your fan, Bono”

Is Billie Eilish’s ‘Everything I Wanted’ similar to the music of Carole King and Roy Orbison?

Eilish’s music is definitely more electronic and sonically modern than that of King or Orbison. At the same time, King and Orbison wrote songs dealing with the sort of raw and honest emotion Eilish injects into her music. Regardless, the comparison is notable because King and Orbison are two of the most acclaimed musicians of the 20th century.

Is Billie EIlish more popular than Carole King and Roy Orbison?

Bono’s comments on Eilish, King, and Orbison raise an interesting question — was Eilish more successful than Orbison and King? Eilish released one song that topped the Billboard Hot 100: “Bad Guy.” Interestingly, “Everything I Wanted” only reached No. 8. On the other hand, King also had a single No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100: “It’s Too Late/I Feel The Earth Move.”

Of the three, Orbison had the best luck on the Billboard Hot 100. Two of his songs topped the chart: “Running Scared” and “Oh, Pretty Woman.” Eilish, King, and Orbison had comparable amounts of success on the Billboard Hot 100. With that in mind, it feels fitting that Bono compared them.