From “Happier Than Ever” to “Everything I Wanted,” Billie Eilish has collected a bevy of hit singles since she unleashed her blockbuster debut album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? Of her hits however, just one single has reached the No. 1 spot of the Billboard Hot 100: 2019’s “Bad Guy.”
Billie shared some thoughts about her 2019 hit during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! with her brother Finneas Tuesday night (Oct. 10).”Well, objectively ‘Bad Guy’ is like the stupidest song in the world,” Billie said. “But it’s really good! Oh my God, don’t gasp,” she told the audience as she picked up on their shocked reactions to her comment. “You have to understand — you have to have humor in it … That song is supposed to be goofy, but it’s funny ’cause I’m like ‘It’s dumb!”
“Bad Guy” served as the fifth single from Billie’s debut album. The song spent one week atop the Hot 100 and 49 total weeks on the ranking. A trap-pop banger that showed off Billie’s sarcastic side — thanks in large part the “duh” ad-lib that she cheekily derided during her interview — “Bad Guy” ended up taking home Grammys for record and song of the year.
After Kimmel gushed about how his kids love the “duh” part of “Bad Guy” and spoke about the phenomenon of outsmarting yourself, Billie said, “Finneas and I, we simultaneously both really disagree with when an artist is very hateful towards their own music.” She continued, “We’re both big fans of what we make and I love my own music. It definitely changes and morphs, and with me it becomes whatever, but I still cringe. I appreciate it though.”
Since “Bad Guy,” Billie has released a plethora of music to much acclaim and commercial success. In 2021, she released her sophomore album, Happier Than Ever, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and spawned the Hot 100 top 10 singles: “Therefore I Am” (No. 2), “My Future” (No. 6) and “Your Power” (No. 10). This summer, the Oscar winner penned and sung a new original song for the Barbie movie titled “What Was I Made For?” The wistful ballad peaked at No. 14 on the Hot 100.
Check out Billie’s conversation with Jimmy Kimmel above.