Kenneth Cappello

At only 17 years old, Billie Eilish has already accomplished something most people her age can only dream of: she met her idol, Justin Bieber, at Coachella (an event where Eilish performed for the first time). It was a moment that felt gratifying and so uniquely 21st century; fans of Eilish knew how important this moment was for her because of social media and then celebrated the moment on social.

Born two months after September 11, 2001, Eilish—known properly as Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell—has seemingly come out of nowhere to become the first artist born in this century to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 list. Her career started in 2015 through a Soundcloud link; she recorded the vocals for “Ocean Eyes,” a song her older brother, Finneas O’Connell, was producing for his own band. They uploaded it to Soundcloud, where it traversed through the internet as things do, until it reached the ears of Zane Lowe on Beats 1. The rest, as they say in modern times, was viral history.

In 2017, Eilish released her own EP, and earlier this year she debuted her first album. Along the way, Eilish has collaborated with the likes of Vince Staples and Khalid, as well as having her own Beats 1 Show and providing the sweet melody for Apple’s 2018 Holiday ad:

Unlike the pop stars dominating the music charts in the year Eilish was born, Eilish has the unique ability of knowing how much influence and power she wields to her fans. With 23.5 million Instagram followers, she’s begun using platform to advocate for mental health and has openly talked about her issues with depression, living with Tourette’s syndrome, and grappling with her own body image.

While she seems reluctant and apprehensive about all the fame that’s come for her, she’s leaning into it too, telling The New York Times, “I’m realizing the place I’m in right now is kind of my time, though—my moment.” With more than 4 billion on-demand streams, according to Nielsen Data, and a sold-out tour, it’s definitely more than her moment—it could very well be her era.—Ann-Marie Alcántara