Fans Think Billie Eilish Shades Taylor Swift Over ‘Wasteful’ Vinyls

Billie Eilish is slamming the popularity of musicians releasing multiple vinyl versions of the same record. The "What Was I Made For?" singer thinks it is a cheap, "wasteful" ploy to make even more money. In a new interview with Billboard, the 22-year-old award-winner likens this industry norm to The Hunger Games: “We’re all going to do it because [it’s] the only way to play the game.”

Despite vinyl growing in popularity, Eilish is aware of the environmental impact of doing this on the Earth. She tells the publication how she has been pushing the music industry and people in power to be more sustainable after growing up in an environmentally conscious household. She is furious about the "40 different vinyl packages that have a different unique thing just to get you to keep buying more." You can practically hear the artist seething as she adds, "It’s irritating to me that we’re still at a point where you care that much about your numbers and you care that much about making money — and it’s all your favorite artists doing that s--."

Eilish's 2021 album, Happier Than Ever, had eight different vinyls available for sale. However, they were made from 100% recycled black vinyl, with colored scraps for the different versions, and shrink-wrap made from sugar cane. Most vinyl releases use "virgin" vinyl containing plastic resin and come wrapped in single-use plastic. Eilish is known for her attempts to run her career sustainably, including powering her festival sets from temporary solar farms installed nearby and releasing fewer merch that are of durable quality.

Meanwhile, artists like Taylor Swift, who has four different versions of her upcoming The Tortured Poets Department album, frustrate Eilish, who is conscious about her carbon footprint tries to get others to do the same. Swift's vinyls are different-colored, which gives Swifties incentives to buy all four, as everything is a collectible for a Swiftie.

Noting Eilish's comment, folks on X (formerly Twitter) have strong assumptions that this is directly calling out Swift, who has been criticized over her private jets. Just last month, Swift sold one of her jets after years of scrutiny over her carbon emissions. In 2022, Swift topped the list of the worst celebrity private jet CO2 emission offenders, according to Yard, a sustainability marketing agency. According to the report, Swift’s shortest flight in 2022 was a 36-minute trip from Missouri to Nashville.

The same treatment came with Swift's 2022 Midnights album, which came in four different versions -- each with the same track list, but the backs of each edition featured one-quarter of a clock face. When all four pieces were combined with a separate wooden “clock kit” sold through her online shop, it created a usable clock.

Reacting to the Billboard interview on X (formerly Twitter), fans believe Billie Eilish shades Taylor Swift. One person wrote alongside a photo of Wendy Williams covering her mouth: "we know exactly who she’s talking about." Another person commented: "she spilled and if you mad that’s cause you feel your fave is attacked."

Being way more brutal and calling out Swift specifically, one fan stated: "oh the swifties are going to HATE this." Another said, "Oh billie don’t end taylor like that, we know Taylor doesn’t recycle vinyls and ruins the environment so her garbage albums can sell!" A third wrote: "Clocked Taylor swift bad [crying emojis]." One person savagely said: "the swiftards crying in the replies shows how insecure and horrible of a person their fav is [crying emojis]."

It is quite baffling that 2019 was five years ago! Time really does fly by, and it seems like it wasn't that long ago that these pop songs dropped. Billie Eilish's debut studio album, WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? released in March of that year, with her gorgeous vocals shining on tracks like "bury a friend," "ilomilo," and "i love you." That same year, Lizzo's third album, Cuz I Love You, was released the following month. She took radio waves by storm with bangers like "Truth Hurts," "Tempo," and "Juice." Taylor Swift also released new music in 2019 with her seventh studio album, Lover. It was the singer-songwriter's first album after her departure from Big Machine Records. The album featured such tracks as "Cruel Summer," "Lover," and "The Archer." According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, it was the global best-selling studio album of 2019, with sales of 3.2 million copies.

Ariana Grande's fifth studio album, thank u, next, was released six months after her fourth studio album Sweetener. It was Grande's most personal album recorded up to this point in her career, following the death of her ex-boyfriend Mac Miller and the end of her engagement to Pete Davidson. Songs like "thank u, next," "fake smile," and "7 rings" reflect on the artist's personal flaws, grief and denial, as well as independence and self-empowerment. A newcomer to the pop music scene this year was Lil Nas X, who had major success the year prior with his collaboration with Billy Ray Cyrus on "Old Town Road." His EP, 7, featured the award-winning track and the remixed version. The song went 17 times platinum in the US alone, and the music video has over 1.2 billion views on YouTube.

Take a look below at five songs that turn five in 2024:

We love this synth-pop track, with dark and violent lyrics Eilish sings so well from the perspective of a monster under someone's bed. She said, "Anything could be the monster — it could be someone you love so much that it’s taking over your life. I think love and terror and hatred are all the same thing." And yeah, we know "bad guy" is on that album and yes, that's a classic too. Don't come at us! We just love "bury a friend." 

Besides Lil Nas X's 2021 track, "MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)," all his versions of "Old Town Road" continue to have classic status. The song initially gained popularity on TikTok and later that year, was certified diamond by the RIAA for selling ten million units in the US, making it the fastest song to be certified diamond.

The title track is so timeless and it will surely be played at weddings for years to come. Swift said while recording, she imagined the production to sound like "just the last two people on a dance floor at 3 a.m. swaying." The music video is just as romantic, but with a playful idea of Swift and her lover living the ups and downs of their life within a dollhouse.

In this iconic pop R&B track, Ariana sees a guy at a club and is attracted to him, only to realize that he has a girlfriend who looks just like her -- high ponytail and all. By lingering as a third wheel to the couple, he keeps looking back at Ariana. But by the end, she pushes him away and goes for his girlfriend. The video's climax was seen as "queerbating" by some, but her choosing her lookalike insinuates she would rather love herself.

Lizzo's funky pop song was the lead single from Cuz I Love You. The self-esteem empowering track has an equally fun and empowering music video showcasing Lizzo's self-love. In the video, the singer takes part in an '80s-style workout program, late-night talk show, and selling products on an infomercial.