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Billie Eilish uses her music to go against the standard flow. Her songs are mostly darker and grittier than what is typically viewed as "mainstream music." Theoretically, if something doesn't follow the standard trend, it shouldn't do well. However, that is not the case with Eilish. Her music has topped the charts and she has soared to fame with her first album. Instead of alienating potential listeners, her music has drawn them in.

This is not a phenomenon specific to Eilish. Nirvana and Linkin Park, two bands that Eilish has listed as influencing her music, (Bruner) have also gone against the current of mainstream music and achieved great success. These bands, including Eilish, appeal to the outsider inside us. At some point, everyone has felt like they were different than those around them. Maybe we like different things or have different opinions. Maybe we have undergone hardships that we don’t think that anyone else could understand. Regardless of the cause, that feeling of alienation exists. Because of that, we resonate with these melodies that don’t fit the mold. The ironic thing is that, even though the connection that is being made is from feeling like we are on the “outside,” the fact that these artists have done so well shows that the listeners aren’t so much on the “outside” after all. With so many people connecting through the music, the standards are turned inside out, creating a new “inside.”

Bruner, Raisa. “Billie Eilish Is Not Just for Gen Z.” TIME Magazine, vol. 193, no. 13, Apr. 2019, p. 54. EBSCOhost

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That’s because, for all its testosterone rage, the band violated the notion that to be male is to be steady, unstudied, and tough.... The musicians were genre benders, stitching patches of hard rock, hip-hop, and new wave to a veil of soft, velvety pop. - The Atlantic

KORNHABER, SPENCER. “The Sound of Rage and Sadness.” Atlantic, vol. 322, no. 1, July 2018, pp. 30–32. EBSCOhost

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Aqua Net-fueled hair metal and disposable pop songs gripped the marketplace. Then came three shaggy dudes whose blistering mix of radio-ready hits and caustic deep cuts blew the dawning decade wide open. - Entertainment Weekly

Anderson, Kyle. “The Road to Nirvana.” Entertainment Weekly, no. 1173, Sept. 2011, pp. 76–77. EBSCOhost

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Eilish has conquered the music world in part by doing everything you're not supposed to. Her music is darker and weirder than that of most teen pop stars, with a gothy, punkish edge and nary a hint of bubblegum. - Rolling Stone

EELLS, JOSH. “Billie Eilish and the Triumph of the Weird.” Rolling Stone, no. 1330, Aug. 2019, pp. 50–95. EBSCOhost