Los Angeles newcomer Billie Eilish was just 13 years old when she posted her dreamy love ballad “Ocean Eyes” to Soundcloud, where it quickly became viral. Two years later, the song appears on Eilish’s debut EP, dont smile at me, among a slew of other gloom-pop tunes.

Billie’s elder brother wrote and produced the song, which features her vocals, for her dancing teacher, who wanted to choreograph a routine to original music. Several websites praised the song within hours of its release.

Her career started to take off not long after that. She became an internet phenomenon almost instantly, and before she knew it, she was signing record deals and traveling the world. She and her brother continue to collaborate on practically all of her music, and he still contributes to the writing of the majority of her songs.

The rising musician spoke with Billboard about breaking norms and breaking through while on tour to promote the record.

Eilish (pronounced “eye-lish”), who was homeschooled by her actor/musician parents, was taking dancing courses and singing in the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus by the age of eight. She composed her own choreographic tracks with the aid of her elder brother Finneas, a rising producer. “I was always singing,” she says. “People had to shut me up. I’m still like that.”

Eilish, who signed to Darkroom/Interscope in November 2016, says, “Everything came to me at once. I just beamed [with] joy.”

“I hate the idea of genres,” says Eilish, whose debut EP, dont smile at me, was released in August and features trap, hip-hop, and grunge influences. “I don’t think a song should be put in a category.” The strategy is working: Charli XCX and Tove Lo tweeted their support for the album, which reached at No. 20 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums list.

In a recent interview, Eilish also said: “People ask me what I want to have accomplished in 10 years. What I say is, I don’t want to have taken all of this for granted.”

Billie Eilish has an estimated net worth of $8 million dollars, according to several sources from major media and entertainment websites. Following the release of her hit track Bad Guy in 2019, she went on to achieve mainstream success.